Samuel Franceschetti

A new depiction of the caped crusader and Gotham City. Batman must locate and stop The Riddler, who is killing high-profile political leaders because of their two-faced corruption. I absolutely love the look and feel of this movie, its the best depiction of Gotham City I've ever seen. The constant darkness and rain, low key lighting, bright saturated orange, gothic buildings - it provides serious immersion into this world. I felt the dirt and scum of Gotham, the desperation of its citizens, looting and stealing in a city so bleak and doomed. The production design is a 10/10, Matt Reeves and his team gave a unique and stylized look to this world, which I think Nolan was lacking. The shot variety is stylized too, which I appreciated, with incredibly low aperture the entire film and eccentric coverage of scenes. The story was great, and I enjoyed watching and piecing it together with our detective as he gets closer and closer to a psychotic and intelligent Riddler. The action is epic, notably the Bat-mobile chase scene and nightclub fights. The performances are stellar too. While I think Gotham and Batmans essence is captured incredibly, I can't say Im completely on-board with the depiction of Bruce Wayne here. Its just personal preference but I don't like the emo, reclusive and shy Bruce. He wears his emotions on his sleeve, whereas I always took Bruce for a person who makes flashy appearances, and suffers in silence. I think Nolan captured Bruce Wayne perfectly, and this film captures batman and the city perfectly. Also, why is he a complete dick to Alfred for 3/4 of the film? I felt so bad for the guy, he wakes up on his hospital bed to a cold interrogation! Overall, The Batman is a visually dazzling movie, capturing Gotham and the neo-noir detective with panache.

This film is a biopic of the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, a nuclear physicist, during the period of time he spearheaded the development of the atomic bomb. It deals with not only the project and its impact on the lives of Robert and others, but also with the time period after, when the government trials him. I have to give credit to Nolan. I was seriously expecting to be antsy and feel this run time (given the minimal to no action), but I was compelled for the three hour runtime. The script is written in masterful fashion, jumping between time periods, leaving key clues and context unanswered until later, and giving a real weight and importance to every conversation. The manner in which the story unfolds is unconventional and polished - Nolan's ability to tell a riveting and intelligent story stays unrivalled. Apart from the script, I loved the little stylistic touches that embellish the entire film. During close ups of Oppenheimer, we often see intentional focus racking/ breathing, really showing us his unstable and conflicted mental state, like he is ready to collapse due to the pressure. Apart from this almost every scene where a face is involved, there is a subtle zoom happening, drawing me in, making it feel interesting. The sound design is superb, with its jarringly loud explosions, beautiful score and a plethora of subjective, expressive sounds which really add to scenes. Every single scene Oppenheimer is in, there is light contrast on his face, one side brighter, one darker. The lighting is never flattering, making him appear troubled, weathered and rugged. I really wish I did some mild research beforehand. I am extremely ignorant on this man and even this section of history, so I found some sections a bit confusing. I was trying to take in the general scene composition, but also piece together what is happening and why. I'm specifically talking about the last section of the movie where the court and interrogations take centre stage. My mind was constantly running in the background because I didn't understand why Oppenheimer was being tried, and by who exactly. If I had a bit of context beforehand, I would have appreciated this section so much more. That isn't really a complaint, as I could have easily missed a piece of dialogue or detail, so here are my complaints. The film felt a little convoluted. It throws enough minor characters at you to fill a warehouse, and I was constantly taken out of the movie trying to remind myself who a character is, what their importance is, and where we'd last seen them. The final 30 mins or so, where we constantly jump from Downys black and white scenes to Oppenheimers interrogation room - it lost me. The issue is with a film this dense, where every single line and detail matters, is becoming confused snowballs extremely quickly as events and conversations carry on. Or maybe its just me… I felt like the Los Alamos section of the film was the pinnacle, with tightly paced scenes and conversations, high intensity and intrigue, and an explosion that was technically and stylistically executed to what I’d consider perfection. The last hour of the movie I felt dragged, and it sort of felt like a slow death of my interest until the credits rolled. Overall, Oppenheimer is a layered character piece, where Nolan weaves an intelligent story of inward and outer destruction, burden and government deceit. Its visuals and sound compliment the script exceptionally, but some sections feel like they drag behind others.

In this last instalment, Batman must come out of an 8 year physical and mental rut to fight The League of Shadows' new face - a brooding mercenary called Bane. A worthy third and final film to cap off a superhero trilogy that has cemented itself as one of the best. I would say this film is my least favourite of the three, but that is by no means saying it is a bad movie - it had ridiculously big expectations following The Dark Knight. I think Bane is a top tier villain in the Batman universe and especially his depiction in this movie. It really succeeded in portraying him as a menacing freak of nature, a man born in turmoil who has seen the depths of the world and humanity. He gave me chills in many scenes, not just when he's beating down the Dark Knight with ease. I felt his power and presence whenever he was in frame, and was truly convinced this was Batmans most powerful adversary. Side note - he was only ever framed from a low angle, making him appear bigger in the frame, whereas in their scenes batman would be shot from a high angle, really highlighting the size difference. There is some top-tier, epic scale set pieces here, such as the football stadium destruction and stock exchange robbery. There is impactful character moments and dynamics throughout, which give depth and meaning to the action, which has become standard for these films. Once again we get a powerful and character driven story, wrapped up with a bat shaped bow. I don't think this movie, and in turn this trilogy, could have ended better. Such masterful and intelligent writing by Nolan to tie up all loose ends: Batman flying off with the bomb after a teary powerful reveal to gordon, being witnessed by the world saving Gotham, Alfred seeing Bruce in Florence with Selina, introducing Blake's true name to be robin - It just feels like it couldn't have ended any other way. A full circle, satisfying but incredibly bitter-sweet ending. The first half of the movie felt a bit too dense to me, introducing a plethora of new faces, motives and storylines in a short time. It was also a slow start, leaving me drifting off here and there as bane kills some businessman in a fancy hotel. Once the characters and motives came together it was an amazing climax and second half, but it took some time to get there. I also wanted more Batman. He honestly felt like a side-character to Bane for most of the movie, which made me disappointed when Bane was revealed to not be the person we thought. A person preference I have which this film missed is nightime and dark scenes. The majority of it is bright, daytime sequences. This may be fine for some, but I think Batman is synonymous with darkness, and I wanted much, much more. Also, it at times felt like a good action movie in a big city, and Batman just happened to be in that city. Overall, this film wrapped up a phenomenal franchise with a great entry. A menacing new villain in Bane, an intense climax, emotional depth, great characters and a flawless conclusion - a great film.