Keith Hagen

Zero Stars, if I could. I get that the goal was (in the name of Art for Art's sake?) to shoot as dark as you possibly can to make the film hyper-ominous. Did they succeed? Does the incessant black mood of The Batman make it more foreboding? Hell, no. The screenplay's storytelling is so tragically bad that the lighting and subsequent tone become big fat speed bumps- completely in your face rude. I also get that it is a gratuitous attempt at portraying the current zeitgeist. But the biggest insult is in the pathetic way this movie tries to reflect that world view, and tells its story so poorly while demanding nearly three hours to do so. To cast its banality inside such feeble storytelling and tiresome imagery in an attempt to create a fresh take on Batman and miss so badly is unconscionable. Doesn't even get a nice try pat on the back. If you think this is a great film, I offer up any of the Christian Bale or Michael Keaton Batman portrayals as counterpoint. Watch those if for nothing more to get the gift of understanding just how insulting this most recent Batman film is to the Batman legacy. Hey and those "oldies" are plenty dark! And hey their darkness doesn't not get in the way of everything else in the film! This new Batman? Total ripoff. The only good thing about it was not having to pay at the theatre to have to endure the abomination. Heath Ledger rolls in his grave, poor devil. RIP, The Real Joker.