Man, it's been years since I've done one of these.
Anyhow, yes folks. I'm going to give some things that'll be prepare you for The Batman. That way you'll be fully prepared and you'll know what to expect.
Although the other reason is Matt Reeves (the director) took inspiration from things that really should be read and/or watched. So I figured might as well share what I've read up on and share it with you guys.
And since we're in early February you'll have plenty of time to check these things out. But enough of this introduction, let's get to it. Here's what you should read/watch before seeing The Batman.
The Films to Watch
Alfred Hitchcock
One of the things Matt Reeves took inspiration from and really threw me a curve ball was Alfred Hitchcock. Now he [Matt Reeves] didn't say which movies from Alfred Hitchcock inspired him. He just said "the works of Alfred Hitchcock". So that could really mean any number of his movies.
So I would say just stick with Hitchcock's most well known movies. Those being...
-Dial M for Murder
-Rear Window
-Vertigo
and of course the all-time classic...
-Psycho
Those movies should probably give both me and you a good understanding of what Matt Reeves meant by the works of Alfred Hitchcock.
70s Crime Cinema
Wasn't too sure how I was going to title this section of this post, but when I saw some of the movies that Reeves was listing I noticed a certain theme. They're all crime thrillers from the 70s.
So let's start off the list with....
Klute. Klute is a 1971 neo-noir crime film. Now I have yet to see this movie, but I will be watching this along with a lot of other movies and this list as we get closer to The Batman.
But back to the subject, anyhow, the reason I'm throwing this movie out here is because Matt Reeves said how the dynamic between Batman & Catwoman was inspired by Klute.
The next movie you might want to watch is The French Connection. Now once again I gotta admit I haven't watched this yet, but I'm recommending it because yet again, we got another story about a detective (or detectives for this case) trying to stop a crime and solve mysteries.
Now that's twice we got a detective crime thriller movie. But it doesn't stop there because now we have.....
Chinatown. Now this is the third movie about a detective. And because I've listed three of these because 1) Matt Reeves mentioned them and 2) this really proves that Reeves really is going to give a Batman movie that's all about the detective side of the Dark Knight. Now I feel this is a very big one to watch, because during DC FanDome: Hall of Heroes, Reeves mentioned that Chinatown was a "key one".
Now after reading what he said I fully understand. Basically we have some politicians not being very good people (insert whatever joke you'd like to put in the comments). So if you're just as curious as I am to see what Matt is shooting for, then we should check this one out.
The last movie for this is....
Taxi Driver. The reason I mentioned this is because apparently Matt is taking influence from this all-time classic is because I do believe Matt said something like it describes a place and takes you inside the main character's head. Now I have actually seen this one, I even went a far as to review it. So I'm very curious as to what Matt Reeves has in store and how exactly are we gonna get into Batman's head this time around.
David Fincher
At first I wasn't gonna included this, but after seeing so many comparisons to David's work and The Batman, I thought it'd be fun to give out this suggestions as to why people were making such comparisons. Maybe these will help in the long run, maybe not.
The first suggestion is Seven (or as it's stylized Se7en). The reason I'm throwing this one out here is because a lot of people had this movie on their minds when the first trailer came out back in 2020. Also during this time a YouTuber by the name of "Burns Review" made a side-by-side comparison to both trailers. And after watching that video for myself, I can see why people would think both movies are similar to one another.
Maybe Matt Reeves took some inspiration from Seven, maybe not and it's all just a coincidence. Either way I do want to watch this movie before seeing The Batman, just because how similar they appear to be.
The last movie I'll request for this section is Zodiac. Why? Well it's because Matt Reeves based his version of the Riddler on the Zodiac killer. Now that's very interesting, and it also makes make wonder just how messed up is the Riddler gonna be this time around.
So you should watch this because it's not only a really good movie but, it also just give you some good insight about the Zodiac killer, and why people were so terrified of the guy.
Other
Yeah, I didn't have a good title for this part so I just went with other...don't question it any further than that (😆).
I gotta say of the films that I wasn't expecting it was this one.
Basically, Last Days tells a fictional version of Nirvana's frontman Kurt Cobain regrading the last days of his life. So why did Matt Reeves watch this movie, and how exactly do it influence The Batman?
Well apparently he's Bruce Wayne was inspired by Kurt Cobain. I gotta say I never heard something like that before. Doesn't put me off of the movie, if anything it makes me more curious.
The Comics to Read
Now you can't mention a comic book movie without knowing which comics to read. So let's begin with....
Batman: Year One. You can find this story in Batman #404-407 or you can just go out a buy the collected editions. Now what this story is about is Batman's first year as a vigilante.
We definitely get a Batman who hasn't quite found his footing just yet. It's a Batman that's not as experienced, still very young, and is in-turmoil. Which is what Matt Reeves is going with for his movie.
So even though the movie takes place during Bruce Wayne's second year as Batman, we'll still be getting something similar to how he is in Year One.
At first I didn't know if I should even put this on the list. With Year One I can kind of see why people would see that as an influence for the movie. So how does The Long Halloween fit into this?
Well this story does have a Batman who's in his second year on crimefighting. It also has Batman tracking down a serial killer, and just going off of the trailers, it seems Bats will be working closely with the James Gordon, who much like in this comic isn't the commissioner just yet, and it also features some great moments between Batman and Catwoman.
So I think you should read this one because it's mainly a detective story. And as I said previously Matt Reeves has said he's going for more of that detective side of Batman.
Next up is Batman: Ego. Now this is one you REALLY need to read. Because this story is Matt Reeves' primary inspiration for his film. And after reading it myself I can see why. It really dives deep into Batman's mind, and how he views his vigilante career.
So while we don't get very much action, it's very interesting to get a Batman story that goes for the more psychological side of the character. Matt Reeves has said many times he wants to explore Batman's mind, and I'm very curious how he does it. Especially since this underrated gem is his main source.
The next story or is this case stories I think you should read are Batman: Earth One. Mainly the first two volumes, but if you want to read volume three go right ahead.
Mainly because Earth One does share quite a lot of similarities with the upcoming film. Now I don't believe Reeves looked to this comics as an influence otherwise he would've said something, but the reasons I feel like you should read this are...
1) Much like the movie it features a Batman who's very much young and inexperienced.
2) Both the Penguin and the Riddler are the main villains. Earth One's Riddler especially shares a lot of similarities with Matt Reeves' take on the character.
3) Most importantly both Earth One and the film both take a more grounded approach to the Dark Knight and his villains.
Now unlike Year One or Ego, I don't really believe you have to read these. You could just read them fun like I did.
My next recommendation is Batman: Zero Year. You can find this story in Batman (Vol.2) #21-27, 29-33. Or just like Year One you can go out and find the collected editions which can be found in Batman Vol.4: Zero Year - Secret City and Batman Vol.5: Zero Year - Dark City.
While Zero Year does show us Bruce Wayne slowing becoming the Batman, it's not much of an origin story of him, but more of an origin story of when he officially started fight supervillains. And much like Earth One we get more of a modern verison of the characters and their mythos. And yes, Riddler is involved.
Now much like Earth One I don't really think you have to read these. The main connection people are making is the Riddler doing something huge to Gotham. I won't give it away in case you're trying your best to avoid spoilers.
The last one for this list is Batman: The Imposter. I recommend reading this not only because I liked it, but because it's kind of influenced by the movie.
Which makes sense because Mattson Tomlin wrote this. Why is that such a big deal? Because he's an uncredited writer for The Batman. So in a way we might just get a tiny sneak peak at what's in store for us with the movie.
I mean, check out the suit Bruce is wearing for this comic.
 |
| It was a little bit of a rough night for Bats. |
Yeah, that doesn't look familiar at all.
It's not EXACTLY like the movie, like I said it's at best going to give you tiny glimpse at what the filmmakers might be shooting for. So if curiosity is getting the best of you, look this up and read it.
So that's going to do it for me. Come back on Monday, Feb 7th for my Cinematic Disaster review of Catwoman starring Halle Berry. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day, and probably watch and/or read some of the things I recommended.
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