Okay, so the first trailer for the Batman dropped at the DC Fandome, and I thought I would do one of my classic "Over analyzing 2 and a half minutes of trailer because Batman punched someone who was already down."
First of all, I love the vibe I'm getting. How it's being marketed as a crime thriller instead of a superhero movie gives me a lot of faith in the project. I love all of the characters it looks like it has, including Penguin, Catwoman, and Riddler (!), and right now I'm getting Batman Begins/Gotham vibes from it.
But, there is a question we have to ponder: What will this be rated? R or PG-13? Well, PG-13 makes the most sense. Mostly because: A) Batman has always been PG-13 and still pulled off dark and existential. B) Money. Keeping it PG-13 means that entire families can see it instead. C) Batman is an extremely popular character. He's a protagonist in nearly every DC media, and he's merched to hell and back. You can't sell kids R-Rated movie merch. It's not the 80s anymore, and D) Every generation seems to have a Batman. 80s-90s kids had Burton, 2000s kids had Nolan, and this should be the next step in the cycle.
But, could it be rated R? Well, yeah. Here's why: A) Artistic integrity. The Batman right now looks
very violent and grim dark. If it wasn't a Batman movie, I would probably be thinking it would be R-Rated. B) The director, Matt Reeves, listed the film taking inspiration from Chinatown, the French
Connection, and Taxi Driver, which are all R-Rated crime dramas. C) Batman deals with some messed up stuff. For some reason, Gotham City has some of the most gruesome and graphic murderers to ever exist. Joker's insane, Penguin's a mob boss, Mr. Pyg, Hush, Man-Bat? Those aren't exactly PG, and D) The success of Joker and Deadpool proves R-Rated superhero movies can succeed
But, are there rebuttals to those ideas? Yeah. A) Artistic integrity? Batman already had an extremely violent and moody and excellent film in the form of the Dark Knight. B) Matt Reeves has already directed two extremely violent Planet of the Apes movies which should be able to cover any violence the Batman would require. C) Violent villains? The Dark Knight was able to pull off the Joker, one of the most gruesome villains ever. In that movie, he straight up killed someone with a pencil, and it was still PG-13.
And, let me just say, the success of Joker and Deadpool means literally nothing. Those are truly violent characters where an R-Rating would justify the movies in the eyes of the audience. We already saw a PG-13 Deadpool in X-Men: Origins, and that sucked. Joker was a movie about a mentally unstable man who kills people. I wouldn't expect that to be PG-13, and the film was already Oscar-Bait. Plus, Deadpool was marketed as the first R-Rated superhero blockbuster, and Deadpool 2 was a sequel to a popular film. Joker was given extremely wide media coverage because they thought watching the movie would turn people into... the Joker?
But with Batman? Well, people expect PG-13. While an R-Rating for movie like Joker would justify it, an R-Rating for the Batman would probably draw more people away than in.
And, let's not forget: Joker and Deadpool are outliers. Outliers, I cannot stress that enough. R-Rated superhero films have been flopping forever, with even Birds of Prey, a fine but unnecessarily R-Rated movie, being a bit of a box office disappointment. And sure, Birds of Prey may have been hampered by corona, but Sonic the Hedgehog, released around the same time, made $100 million more.
Basically, Birds of Prey would've been a great PG-13 movie. It would've been the first superhero team up with only girls, and there's a huge market of young children who would love and need to see that. I know my 7 year old sister would've loved to see a Birds of Prey movie starring Harley Quinn. Who wouldn't? But, alas, I guess it was crucial to the film to see Harley Quinn destroy people with a baseball bat. Now, Harley Quinn is a very R-Rated character. But there's, like, two versions of Harley Quinn. One of which is the profane and violent one found in comics and the Harley Quinn show. The other is everyone's favorite antihero, a star of Super Hero Girls, the best part of Suicide Squad, and marketed to children.
So, while the Joker and Deadpool were successful, Batman has always been successful. While Joker was the first R-Rated film to break a billion dollars, Batman has already had two movies past that benchmark.
But, could the Batman be R? Sure. The dark and moody shots in the trailer suggest a route that's a mix between Nolan's sense of Batman and Joker's dark take on everything. It would just be unnecessary, and cost the studio a lot of money in box office and merch.
But, in reality, there's no precise way to know until we know or see more footage. Until I hear an F-Bomb in the trailer, it's probably a 70% chance it's PG-13. Why don't studios just let people know? I mean, if you have 70 F-Bombs in a script, it's gonna be R-Rated. And what am I basing these suspicions on, exactly?
The fact that it looks good. The atmosphere, the shots, the cinematography, they all look like something you'd find in an Oscar film, not a factory line superhero blockbuster. And how Batman beat a criminal to a pulp. I mean, he broke that dude's arm, punched him, like, six times, knocked him to the ground, and punched him twice more, and Bruce Wayne having long hair and looking crazy.
And does an R-Rating even make sense? The movie seems to be taking inspiration from the Long Halloween, a Batman comic with a lot of violence but is ultimately very clean. And, Warner Brothers will be suffering from theaters closed for half of this year and might need a billion dollar movie to get back on track. Plus, DC fans will already get their R-Rated fill in 2021 by way of The Suicide Squad, which is looking unabashedly R.
Plus, with the existence of HBO Max, we can have a PG-13 theatrical version and a darker and more violent R-Rated series or whatever on streaming. Not only would that be a good boost for the service, as people do want an R-Rated Batman movie, that also gives everyone a chance to see it.
That's the route I would take. Billion dollar dark and brooding blockbuster with just enough off screen violence to get PG-13, and then an R-Rated cut released for HBO Max, or the other way around, whatever.
I just want my Batman movie. Every generation has one, and it seems rude to deprive the Gen Z/iGen/Zoomers of that chance. And, since this'll be the first stand-alone Batman movie in 9 years, it should be PG-13.
Like with the MCU, they make so many movies that one R-Rated Deadpool or Blade movie won't be too much of a problem because they'll make three billion dollar blockbusters for each one of those. So we should have more Batman or DC before we start getting into R-Rated.
Like, already in 2021, we have The Suicide Squad and maybe Black Adam, which are R. That's following Birds of Prey, which was R, and that was following Joker, which was R. The only other ones we'll get before those are Wonder Woman 1984 and The Flash. So I would rather have this movie and a few sequels before we start getting into R-Rated Batman. Maybe, with The Flash bringing back Keaton's, we can have an R-Rated sequel to Batman Returns, an older property whose main audience would be those who are tired of PG-13 Batman and want an R-Rated version, instead of now, when there's a huge market for that.
But what am I talking about? It'll probably be PG-13. Batman's a huge and extremely popular character. After all, why wouldn't it?
 |
| No more complaining about Robert Pattinson as Batman, okay? This look should be enough justification. |
First of all, I love the vibe I'm getting. How it's being marketed as a crime thriller instead of a superhero movie gives me a lot of faith in the project. I love all of the characters it looks like it has, including Penguin, Catwoman, and Riddler (!), and right now I'm getting Batman Begins/Gotham vibes from it.
But, there is a question we have to ponder: What will this be rated? R or PG-13? Well, PG-13 makes the most sense. Mostly because: A) Batman has always been PG-13 and still pulled off dark and existential. B) Money. Keeping it PG-13 means that entire families can see it instead. C) Batman is an extremely popular character. He's a protagonist in nearly every DC media, and he's merched to hell and back. You can't sell kids R-Rated movie merch. It's not the 80s anymore, and D) Every generation seems to have a Batman. 80s-90s kids had Burton, 2000s kids had Nolan, and this should be the next step in the cycle.
 |
| This is Riddler? Hush? Well, whatever it is, he looks terrifying |
But, could it be rated R? Well, yeah. Here's why: A) Artistic integrity. The Batman right now looks
very violent and grim dark. If it wasn't a Batman movie, I would probably be thinking it would be R-Rated. B) The director, Matt Reeves, listed the film taking inspiration from Chinatown, the French
Connection, and Taxi Driver, which are all R-Rated crime dramas. C) Batman deals with some messed up stuff. For some reason, Gotham City has some of the most gruesome and graphic murderers to ever exist. Joker's insane, Penguin's a mob boss, Mr. Pyg, Hush, Man-Bat? Those aren't exactly PG, and D) The success of Joker and Deadpool proves R-Rated superhero movies can succeed
But, are there rebuttals to those ideas? Yeah. A) Artistic integrity? Batman already had an extremely violent and moody and excellent film in the form of the Dark Knight. B) Matt Reeves has already directed two extremely violent Planet of the Apes movies which should be able to cover any violence the Batman would require. C) Violent villains? The Dark Knight was able to pull off the Joker, one of the most gruesome villains ever. In that movie, he straight up killed someone with a pencil, and it was still PG-13.
![Joker Magic Trick Gif [Subtitles] I'm gonna make.. by bedobaho on ...](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/bdf378f4-0ab7-498b-baf7-4cc1d4d61509/d7urpdo-7af16bcb-17a5-46d6-acf2-e03658dda70c.gif?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3sicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvYmRmMzc4ZjQtMGFiNy00OThiLWJhZjctNGNjMWQ0ZDYxNTA5XC9kN3VycGRvLTdhZjE2YmNiLTE3YTUtNDZkNi1hY2YyLWUwMzY1OGRkYTcwYy5naWYifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6ZmlsZS5kb3dubG9hZCJdfQ.LCd7JpmPwwKM7wPst9Fbvg0S8lRHlxJU0bfDvmNtWl0) |
| This was in a PG-13 movie |
And, let me just say, the success of Joker and Deadpool means literally nothing. Those are truly violent characters where an R-Rating would justify the movies in the eyes of the audience. We already saw a PG-13 Deadpool in X-Men: Origins, and that sucked. Joker was a movie about a mentally unstable man who kills people. I wouldn't expect that to be PG-13, and the film was already Oscar-Bait. Plus, Deadpool was marketed as the first R-Rated superhero blockbuster, and Deadpool 2 was a sequel to a popular film. Joker was given extremely wide media coverage because they thought watching the movie would turn people into... the Joker?
But with Batman? Well, people expect PG-13. While an R-Rating for movie like Joker would justify it, an R-Rating for the Batman would probably draw more people away than in.
 |
| A billion dollars is not the norm for R-Rated movies. If this wasn't a Joker movie, it wouldn't have made that much. |
And, let's not forget: Joker and Deadpool are outliers. Outliers, I cannot stress that enough. R-Rated superhero films have been flopping forever, with even Birds of Prey, a fine but unnecessarily R-Rated movie, being a bit of a box office disappointment. And sure, Birds of Prey may have been hampered by corona, but Sonic the Hedgehog, released around the same time, made $100 million more.
Basically, Birds of Prey would've been a great PG-13 movie. It would've been the first superhero team up with only girls, and there's a huge market of young children who would love and need to see that. I know my 7 year old sister would've loved to see a Birds of Prey movie starring Harley Quinn. Who wouldn't? But, alas, I guess it was crucial to the film to see Harley Quinn destroy people with a baseball bat. Now, Harley Quinn is a very R-Rated character. But there's, like, two versions of Harley Quinn. One of which is the profane and violent one found in comics and the Harley Quinn show. The other is everyone's favorite antihero, a star of Super Hero Girls, the best part of Suicide Squad, and marketed to children.
 |
| This is a kid's show starring Harley Quinn. There aren't kids shows starring Joker or Deadpool. |
So, while the Joker and Deadpool were successful, Batman has always been successful. While Joker was the first R-Rated film to break a billion dollars, Batman has already had two movies past that benchmark.
But, could the Batman be R? Sure. The dark and moody shots in the trailer suggest a route that's a mix between Nolan's sense of Batman and Joker's dark take on everything. It would just be unnecessary, and cost the studio a lot of money in box office and merch.
 |
| This looks like a shot from a regular superhero film, mostly because I don't need to adjust my phone's brightness to see it |
But, in reality, there's no precise way to know until we know or see more footage. Until I hear an F-Bomb in the trailer, it's probably a 70% chance it's PG-13. Why don't studios just let people know? I mean, if you have 70 F-Bombs in a script, it's gonna be R-Rated. And what am I basing these suspicions on, exactly?
The fact that it looks good. The atmosphere, the shots, the cinematography, they all look like something you'd find in an Oscar film, not a factory line superhero blockbuster. And how Batman beat a criminal to a pulp. I mean, he broke that dude's arm, punched him, like, six times, knocked him to the ground, and punched him twice more, and Bruce Wayne having long hair and looking crazy.
 |
| This is my reasoning: Everything is gray and black and he has long hair. |
And does an R-Rating even make sense? The movie seems to be taking inspiration from the Long Halloween, a Batman comic with a lot of violence but is ultimately very clean. And, Warner Brothers will be suffering from theaters closed for half of this year and might need a billion dollar movie to get back on track. Plus, DC fans will already get their R-Rated fill in 2021 by way of The Suicide Squad, which is looking unabashedly R.
Plus, with the existence of HBO Max, we can have a PG-13 theatrical version and a darker and more violent R-Rated series or whatever on streaming. Not only would that be a good boost for the service, as people do want an R-Rated Batman movie, that also gives everyone a chance to see it.
 |
| With HBO Max, we can have more stuff like the Snyder Cut, just extended versions of existing movies. Or just be like Batman V Superman and have an Ultimate Edition R-Rated cut. |
That's the route I would take. Billion dollar dark and brooding blockbuster with just enough off screen violence to get PG-13, and then an R-Rated cut released for HBO Max, or the other way around, whatever.
I just want my Batman movie. Every generation has one, and it seems rude to deprive the Gen Z/iGen/Zoomers of that chance. And, since this'll be the first stand-alone Batman movie in 9 years, it should be PG-13.
Like with the MCU, they make so many movies that one R-Rated Deadpool or Blade movie won't be too much of a problem because they'll make three billion dollar blockbusters for each one of those. So we should have more Batman or DC before we start getting into R-Rated.
Like, already in 2021, we have The Suicide Squad and maybe Black Adam, which are R. That's following Birds of Prey, which was R, and that was following Joker, which was R. The only other ones we'll get before those are Wonder Woman 1984 and The Flash. So I would rather have this movie and a few sequels before we start getting into R-Rated Batman. Maybe, with The Flash bringing back Keaton's, we can have an R-Rated sequel to Batman Returns, an older property whose main audience would be those who are tired of PG-13 Batman and want an R-Rated version, instead of now, when there's a huge market for that.
But what am I talking about? It'll probably be PG-13. Batman's a huge and extremely popular character. After all, why wouldn't it?
 |
| Whatever happens, this looks dope. |
Comments
Post a Comment