At 9:00 PM, March 5th, I made my way to the Cineplex at Conestoga Mall to see The Batman with a group of friends. I know, I’m not known for being a fan of superhero films – however, DC films do have a… tiny space in my heart. I’m one of those weirdos who liked Man of Steel – yes, I am prepared to be roasted for that fact.
My snack of choice for this film showing was a vanilla milkshake – expensive, but worth the seven dollars in my opinion. If you’re wondering what other flavours there are to choose from, you can also get chocolate or cookies and cream. I’ma vanilla milkshake person.
So, I was actually excited to see this film. However, I was aware that the film had an incredibly long runtime. Just under three hours. As a self-labelled Grandma who falls asleep every night at 10:30, I didn’t have much hope that I’d manage to stay fully awake and infer every detail of the film.
Well, I was right.
The Batman is a good film. I did enjoy it. However, it felt VERY long. I understand I’m in the minority with this belief, as most people I have spoken to have said that it felt just long enough. It was about as much superheroness as I could take.
Some of the plot details went over my head as well. I don’t know the Batman lore– as I like to joke, all I know about the character comes from the fact that I played LEGO Batman on the Playstation 2 growing up. This is a joke but has a LOT of truth to it. I haven’t read the comics.
If you’re a fan, I am sure you’ll be able to pick up all of the Easter eggs and have a full viewing experience. If you’re like me and know very little, a lot of the smaller details will likely go over your head.
One thing I loved about The Batman was that it felt like more of a spy film than a traditional action-superhero film. You actually SEE Batman doing detective work to piece clues together rather than just meaningless action scene after meaningless action scene. This helped to keep my attention, and when there actually was an action scene, I felt more engaged with it since the film was not bloated with them like so many other superhero films (looking at you, Marvel).
My one recommendation would be to see the film earlier than 9:00 at night. The film finished just after 12am and I found that I was getting antsy for it to end throughout the final half. Due to this, I plan to watch the film again after it comes out to fully get a grasp of the final section of the film. This is a big feat for me.
If you’re wondering about this film, go and see it! You have nothing to lose, and there’s something for everyone – even non-superhero film fans like me.