BaddBadger

I had never heard of this, I just stumbled across it by accident at 3am and fully expected total trash. But sometimes in life you are very happy to be wrong, and this totally blew me away. I can't recommend it enough if you like cheap sci-fi done well, or any films where just one or two people are stuck in one room the whole time. To make a film so minimal, and still have me captivated from start to finish when I was just wanting to sleep, speaks volumes about the quality of film making here. But if you are someone that only likes big budget action films, car chases, explosions, or superhero extravaganzas, then this will be 2 hours of absolute torture for you.

The world needs more films like this. Its like The Mighty Boosh wanted to produce a sci-fi as a side project, but for some reason they wanted to keep their names out of it. Every criticism that you may have about this being ridiculously cheap and making no sense is everything that makes this film wonderful. I can't be the only person thats sick of knowing everything about a film the second i see the poster or hear the byline. The bigger budget a film has then the more cliches they usually cram in. But this film looks like was made for the price of a lunchtime snack for the main cast. And a small snack at that.

I'm not massively into DC, I'm much more of a Marvel fan-boy. Though I love each version of "Watchmen", and I also think that DC have way better animations than Marvel do. But for the most part, I could have happily lived in a world without any Batman, Superman, or Wonder Woman in it at all.

. So I'm as shocked as anyone to see me write the following.... This is possibly the greatest superhero film ever made.

. I know! Right? But hear me out. Because this is NOT all lasers, robots, aliens, giants, and action galore. This is an amazing film that's as different to something like "Justice League", or Marvels "Endgame", as it is possible to be.

. But here's the thing.... It's awesome, BECAUSE it's so different to those spectacular events. This is basically a noir detective film. And while it might be about a billionaire caped crime fighter, everything else here is as down to earth, gritty, realistic, and even as believable as possible.

. The Batmans costume here looks like he has cobbled bits together from various military and hardware shops. Colin Farrell is unrecognisable as The Penguin, who here is just a fat guy with a bit of a pointed nose, rather than someone with actual flippers like in some versions! The Batmobile here is just an extra souped-up muscle car, rather than the one off armoured car of the Nolan trilogy. Everything here works BECAUSE it goes against the grain of all other superhero films.

. And for lovers of Nirvana, the soundtrack being one long reworking of "Something In The Way" just never gets old. If anything, it helps this film seem both classic and timeless, while somehow still being more modern than anything, all at the same time.

. And what we have here might be slow, dark, atmospheric, and just shy of three hours long. But at no point in my first viewing did it feel slow or did my attention wander even slightly. Even in my second viewing I was into the last twenty minutes before I so much as glanced away from the screen.

. This is the best Batman film, with easily the best Batman ever, the best Gotham ever, the best Alfred, best Penguin, Riddler, and CatWoman. And all by light-years, rather than miles. This wipes the floor with almost anything and everything that DC have ever done, and gives the very best of Marvel some stiff competition. Though as I say, this wins by being at completely the other end of the film spectrum. Well, as opposite as can possibly be while still being a superhero film I should say.

. If you ever saw a film called "Franklyn" and loved the mood, style, and atmosphere, but just wished it had been a better actual film, well this, is that, times a thousand.

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