Film
- After opening with the Riddler's first murder, the film treats us to how this version of Batman operates. He stalks the streets of Gotham disguised as a drifter, ready to suit up at a moment's notice. When a group of thugs accost an unlucky passenger from the subway, we see him do just that.
- In only his second year as the Batman, Bruce's scare tactics have gotten so effective that the mere act of turning on the Bat Signal causes Gotham's petty criminals to panic and run away, fearing that the Batman is right around the corner in the darkness, waiting to strike.
- Accompanying the opening sequence is, for the first time in a live-action Batman film, a traditional noir-style Batman narration, which Robert Pattison does spectacularly:
- There are several scenes of criminals looking into the shadows, afraid that Batman is there. Of course, he isn't... until the one time he is. A group of Jokerz hear slow, heavy footsteps and realize that he's coming for them.
- Batman's Slow Walk in this scene, as well as in several others where he enters with a slow walk, is punctuated by the extremely satisfying sound of his boots stomping into the rain-soaked asphalt, reverberating off the walls of the subway, striking fear into the thugs before they can even see him.
- The Jokerz are apparently the only people in the entire city to not know who the approaching figure is, laughing at his outfit and nerve to confront them. One beatdown later, they aren't laughing anymore.Thug: Heh. You see this guy? The hell are you supposed to be?
[The Batman pummels the living bejesus out of him]
The Batman: ...I'm vengeance.- Even better — one of the Jokerz is heard muttering "Oh, shit, it's him," implying that Bruce has very quickly managed to become an urban legend in the two years since he started being Batman. Not bad work!
- As the following brawl reveals, this Batman is bulletproof. He gets shot in the chest, only for the round to bounce off and only seems to make Batman even more mad at these poor dopes.
- Bruce and Alfred working together to determine the answer to Riddler's first cipher, with Alfred figuring out how to apply the cipher to the table and Bruce realizing that using the letters forms a larger word on the table.
- Batman's work tracking down Annika, the girl from the thumb drive pictures.
- First, he identifies the Penguin and visits the Iceberg Lounge. Attempts to turn him away are met with brutal beatdowns.
- While talking with Penguin turns out to be a dead end, he quickly catches on to one of Penguin’s employees, Selina Kyle, recognizing the girl.
- He proceeds to tail Selina to her apartment and then to the scene of the murder, where he allows her to discover the mayor’s secret safe and then confronts her.
- When the DA shows up at the memorial with a bomb strapped to him, the police evacuate the church and send in a bomb robot. Then they notice that the DA isn't looking at the robot. Cue Batman's slow, heavy steps as he emerges from the shadows, putting himself in range of a bomb because he knows it's the best way to save a man's life.
- Before this, everyone at the funeral realizes that Colson has a bomb attached to him and all scream and duck when the phone taped to his hand rings. Bruce doesn't even flinch.
- The Batmobile chase has a lot of great moments:
- The reveal of this version of The Car. After being peppered with bullets, it seems like Batman has bailed on Catwoman... only for a big black muscle car with a freaking rear-mounted jet engine to come to life with a screaming howl that remains still just long enough for Penguin to understand how completely screwed he is. Meet the Batmobile, Mr. Cobblepot. Now start running.Penguin: KENZIE, GET THE MONEY!
- Even better, the Batmobile doesn't start chasing Oswald right away. It instead stalls, lurching forward as if to fire a warning shot. Bruce is actively toying with Penguin, and finally injecting fear into his black heart.
- To his credit, Penguin appears to be having the time of his life dodging the Batmobile and escaping from Batman. He doesn't even seem all that scared until the end."This guy's crazy! Hahahahah! COME ON, HEY!"
- Penguin is such a skilled driver that he outmaneuvers the clearly faster Batmobile on the highway several times.
- After Penguin causes a massive pile-up, including an erupting gas truck, it looks like it's all over for Batman... until he spies a ramp. Oswald hardly has time to celebrate before the Batmobile leaps from the flames and rams him from behind, sending his car tumbling down the highway.Penguin: I GOT YOU, HAHAHA! I GOT YOU! TAKE THAT, YOU FRIGGIN' PSYCHO! I GOT YOU! HAHAHAHAHAHA-
[the Batmobile roars through the flames and rams him] - Once again, Batman does The Slow Walk. It is no less intimidating for the fact that Penguin can actually see him. If anything, as the page image shows, the imagery of Batman calmly approaching Penguin's completely wrecked car, lit up only by the flames behind him, is even more intimidating.
- The reveal of this version of The Car. After being peppered with bullets, it seems like Batman has bailed on Catwoman... only for a big black muscle car with a freaking rear-mounted jet engine to come to life with a screaming howl that remains still just long enough for Penguin to understand how completely screwed he is. Meet the Batmobile, Mr. Cobblepot. Now start running.
- Batman's assault on the Iceberg Lounge to stop Selina and arrest Falcone. Sneaking in without his suit, he cuts the lights and takes an elevator up. When one of the guards goes to check the lift he is only able to catch a quick glimpse of Batman in the roof corner before he is jumped. He proceeds down the pitch black hallway with only the muzzle flashes of the guns providing any light, as he takes out Falcone's men without a sweat, at one point getting a full magazine into his armored chest as he continues powering forward like it's nothing.
- When Falcone is confident to boast to Gordon that he has enough cops on his payroll to keep him out of prison, he is met by a whole squad of cops waiting for him outside and ready to bring him in.Gordon: I guess we don't all work for you.
- Although he's depicted as a dark, Zodiac serial killer with a not so-sound mind, Paul Dano's Riddler is possibly one of the most successful and intimidating interpretation of the classic comic book villain, with some comparing him to the likes of Heath Ledger's Joker.
- The Riddler's game of riddles is often stereotyped as a dumb gimmick, because Batman will always solve the riddles and beat Riddler before hauling him off to jail. Not so for this Riddler. Instead of being the thread for Batman to unravel his schemes, this game of riddles advances the Riddler's ultimate plan, with Batman being his Unwitting Pawn (or as Riddler saw him, a partner). Due to Batman solving these riddles, the Riddler is able to expose a drug busting conspiracy and murder Carmine Falcone, the ringleader behind all of it. After murdering Falcone, the Riddler allows himself to be caught by the police rather than Batman, all according to plan.
- Even more impressive is that Riddler's manipulation is entirely unintentional. The whole time, he genuinely believes that he and Batman are on the same side, and that everything Batman does to advance his schemes is intentional and pre-determined. Not to mention that Batman still hadn't figured out the last part of his scheme: blowing up the Gotham seawall to flood the city. If he hadn't inadvertently revealed that part of his plan during his Villainous Breakdown, he would have won.
- When you stop and think about it, this is the first incarnation of the Riddler who is actually smarter than Batman!
- The absolutely scathing "The Reason You Suck" Speech Batman gives the Riddler in Arkham after realizing he's just a Loony Fan of his can be rather cathartic after spending a large chunk of the movie with Batman scared shitless of what Riddler seems capable of.Batman: ...You're out of your goddamn mind.
Riddler: What...?
Batman: This is all in your head. You're sick, twisted!
Riddler: How can you say that?!
Batman: You think you'll be remembered? You're a pathetic psychopath begging for attention! You're gonna die alone in Arkham. A NOBODY!- Unlike the Joker, who went completely unfazed from similar speeches from Batman in films like The Dark Knight, the above exchange completely shatters the Riddler's ego for a good few seconds. For the first time in the entire movie, Edward Nashton is absolutely humbled, unable to cohesively talk back to the man that he was previously several steps ahead of.Riddler: NO, NO, NOOOOOO! OOOOHHHHHHHHHHH!! THIS IS NOT HOW THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO GO! I HAD IT ALL PLANNED OUT!
- Unlike the Joker, who went completely unfazed from similar speeches from Batman in films like The Dark Knight, the above exchange completely shatters the Riddler's ego for a good few seconds. For the first time in the entire movie, Edward Nashton is absolutely humbled, unable to cohesively talk back to the man that he was previously several steps ahead of.
- Riddler's army has set up shop on the stadium rafters and watch as people come in to escape the flooding. As Reál tries to calm the crowd, they end up shooting her... then Batman explodes the glass ceiling and bursts down right above them, taking out two of the snipers simultaneously with akimbo grapnel guns. As he runs along the sides of the scaffolding, Batman proceeds to beat the shit out of them, dropping them like flies and leaving them dangling helplessly under the rafters.
- If you look closely, you can see that the movie managed to include the iconic image of Batman with his cape spread out like bat wings as he drops down from the ceiling.
- Eventually, it seems that Batman has lost the element of surprise as Riddler's thugs surround him on all sides as he hangs on for dear life on the rafters... and then he ruptures a nearby gas tank and disappears into the mist, before body slamming one mook whilst concealed. He then uses the mook's rifle as a melee weapon to take out all but one of the remaining thugs.
- When it seems that the remaining mook has Batman dead to rights after a point-blank shotgun blast, Catwoman steps in to save him... only for her to get ambushed by the mook right after. Batman responds to by injecting himself with adrenaline, giving himself not only the strength to get back up but to tackle the mook to the ground, screaming in a frenzied rage, as he proceeds to cave the man's face in with his bare hands. Unfortunately, it becomes concerning and nightmarish when he doesn't stop...
- Give Reál some credit as well. Just from a few scenes, it's clear that the woman truly does want to make a difference in Gotham, to the point where she attempts to calm everyone down during the flooding scene even when all of the police are telling her that she needs to move to safety.
- After taking down the last of Riddler's followers, and coming to the conclusion that his vengeance isn't worth much in the end, Batman performs a series of truly heroic acts. Firstly, he grapples over to an exposed wire that threatens to electrocute the survivors, cutting it off from its power supply. Once he falls into the water, he lights one of his flares, pushing debris out of the way to get all the trapped people out and lead them to safety.
- It's all but stated that Batman spent the entire night, all the way until the next morning, evacuating hundreds of civilians. By morning, he's visibly shaking under the sheer stress he has put his body through fighting the Riddler's army and then aiding in the evacuations. But he's still going, working to undo most of the Riddler's grand plan and giving him one hell of a Villainous Breakdown over in Arkham in the process.
- At the end of the film, Reál still manages to give a rousing speech about it being important to inspire hope in Gotham, even after the Riddler's serial murders, the city flooding, and the power vacuum brought on by Falcone's death. If anything, this past week motivated her to stand strong, because the city needs hope now more than ever.
- The Sequel Hook to end all Sequel Hooks. Riddler sits in his cell at Arkham, mourning the failure of his plans, and that they were thwarted by his idol and inspiration Batman no less. Then the inmate in the next cell starts to chat him up, and even encourages Eddie by mentioning how people "love a comeback". The inmate is well hidden, but a chill will go down your spine as the audience immediately figures out who he is...when he starts to LAUGH.
- In the deleted scene, The Joker gets his time to shine as Batman consults him about the Riddler and his plans. In only a few minutes, the clown is able to deduce Riddler's motivations and why he's reaching out to Batman. And with what little screentime he has, this Joker has proven himself as not only a psychotic maniac, but also an intelligent mastermind with an established history and connection to Batman and perhaps the only person the Dark Knight's unnerved by.
Previews
- From the DC FanDome 2020 trailer:
- A shot of Gordon entering the crime scene of one of the Riddler's murders has various police and FBI members backing away and looking concernedly at someone behind him... which, a few cuts later, is revealed to be none other than Batman walking in with him.
- Bruce tackling a kid out of the way of the runaway car. Terror Hero though he might be, this is still an unmistakably heroic Batman.
- Batman responding to a What the Hell Are You? variation with a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown, followed by the Badass Boast "I'm vengeance."
- The Batmobile being started up and releasing a jet of flames out the back, à la the Batman: The Animated Series opening sequence.
- Speaking of, the Batmobile itself looks like a souped-up muscle car with jet engines strapped to the back.
- A mook with a gun out shoots Batman in the chest at point blank range... only for the bullet to bounce right off him.
- The last shot before the Title Card, with Batman growing larger and larger in the foreground, while a Gang of Hats in the background grow increasingly frightened.
- The simple score for the trailer should not be ignored: the amazing build up of Michael Giacchino's score, combined with Nirvana's "Something In the Way." And it works so damn well!
- From the DC FanDome 2021 trailer:
- Batman taking on a group of Joker thugs, responding to one shooting him at point blank with a taser to the neck.
- Later, him taking on Cobblepot's minions, with excellent choreography.
- The scene lit by machine gun fire, with Batman completely No Selling the rapid-fire bullets hitting him on his way to kick the two mooks' asses.
- Near the end, when Cobblepot mistakenly believes Batman to be dead after being caught in a tanker explosion, only to be proven dead wrong seconds later as the Batmobile flies Out of the Inferno unharmed, smashing into Cobblepot's and flipping it, leading to an upside down P.O.V. Shot that shows us exactly why criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot, while the movie's badass, threatening main theme by Michael Giacchino plays.
- The imagery from at least half the shots employed.
