By Keith Walsh
Director Matt Reeve’s The Batman is a brilliant film, with a smart, psychologically deep screenplay by Reeves and Peter Craig, stellar performances by Robert Pattison, Zoë Kravitz, Colin Farrell and more, and an amazing musical score by Michael Giacchino.
The film has had no problem matching the greatness of Marvel films, exceeding them in cinematic quality and equaling some of them at the box office. The rivalry between the two studios was apparently not lost on Reeves and his crew. At a critical point at the climax of the film, thousands of Gotham’s residents are in great peril, due to the machinations of The Riddler, expertly portrayed by Paul Dano.
As Officer James Gordon, played by Jeffrey Wright arrives to the scene, he presents his badge and states his credentials. What came out of his mouth caught me by surprise. He says “MCU,” just as the attending officers attest to the “huge problems” on the scene. As you may know, MCU stands for “Marvel Cinematic Universe,” the array of films launched more than a decade ago with Iron Man, The Avengers, Thor, The Guardians Of The Galaxy and more.
No way this is coincidence or a mistake. Can anyone explain this reference as anything other than a playful jab from one studio to another?
In any event, The Batman is an engrossing thriller, and a great take on the iconic hero. I’ve seen most of the Batman films, and even some of the TV show from the 60s starring Burt Ward. The Batman stands as my personal favorite of the bunch. It’s currently streaming on HBO Max.
The Batman Official Site
The Batman at IMDB
Year Of The Bat At Popular Culture Beat
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