| Batman: the Price of Victory | |
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Directed by |
Bryan Singer |
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Produced by |
Steven Spielberg |
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Writer |
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Based on |
Characters by Bob Kane |
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Narrated by |
Patrick Stewart |
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Starring |
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Music by |
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Cinematography |
Eduardo Serra |
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Release date(s) |
November 15, 2015 |
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Running time |
165 minutes |
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Country |
USA |
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Language |
English |
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Budget |
$200, 000, 000 |
| [Source] | |
- "Everything has a price. Especially triumph!"
- ―The film's tagline
Batman: the Price of Victory is a 2015 American comic-book action superhero movie directed by Bryan Singer (X-men franchise), produced by Steven Spielberg (Jaws, Indiana Jones, ET) and starring Julian McMahon, Tom Hiddleston, Patrick Stewart and Rosamund Pike, among others.
It was released after the commercial success of The Dark Knight trilogy, as well as its critical triumph with every installment. It was offered to Anthony Horowitz to be the co-writer of the film, alongside George Lucas and Christopher Nolan. Nolan was chosen for his central role in the creation of Christian Bale's Batman films, and Lucas for his world-famous Star Wars filmography of directing. The film went through several script changes, under the tutelage of Horowitz and even Tim Burton, before being released in 2015 after two years of script-editing and casting choices.
Upon release, Batman: the Price of Victory received widespread critical acclaim from critics and viewers alike, with immense praise for its story, action sequence, musical score, and the highlighted acting of Juliam McMahon and Tom Hiddleston as Batman and the Joker, respectively. It was a colossal box-office success, grossing approximately over $3, 700, 000, 000 worldwide, breaking the box-office successes of all Pirates of the Caribbean films and the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. It also won a myriad of awards, including Best Film, Best Editing, Best Director, Best Fight (Julian McMahon and Josh Brolin), Best Actor (McMahon), Best Ensemble Cast (McMahon, Hiddleston, Stewart, Butterfield and Brolin), as well as Best Villain (Hiddleston). Its visual effects were also widely praised.
The film was rated 15 because of strong language, intense horror elements, threat, strong action violence, bloody violence and scary scenes.
Plot[]
Bruce Wayne is the brilliant and compassionate twelve-year-old son of Thomas and Martha Wayne, founders and operators of Wayne Enterprises. Whilst playing tag with his best friend Vicki Vale, he falls through a mine shaft near the woods of Wayne Manor, where he is attacked by a disturbed horde of cavern bats, which accidentally leave him with multiple scars and an intense fear of bats. He is rescued by his father, and after he leaves hospital from being treated for the scars, his parents take him to a theatre production which was funded by Wayne Enterprises. While they were leaving the theatre, a thug named Joe Chill attacks them and tries to extort money out of them. When the parents try to resist, Chill shoots them dead before being gunned down by Police Commissioner James Gordon. Bruce Wayne is traumatised by the brutal deaths of his parents and goes into shock, and is comforted by Vicki Vale and Alfred Pennyworth, the Wayne family butler. He vows that he will never demonstrate such weakness as he did that night ever, ever again.
Twenty years later, Bruce Wayne has become the head of Wayne Enterprises and has become enormously wealthy and influential in Gotham, as well as several foreign establishments. He has also gained popularity for adopting an orphan named Dick Grayson. However, an armoured mercenary named Deathstroke leads a raid on a bank that holds the finances of Wayne Enterprises, and takes hostages. Gordon and his men set up a perimeter to neutralise the area, but a shadowed figure on a rooftop realises that their strategy, though effective, will risk the hostages and the bank's money too greatly. Moments before the robbers can escape with all of the money, a masked vigilante ambushes the gang, freeing the hostages and overpowering all of the thugs except for Deathstroke, who escapes in a getaway truck before the vigilante can fight him. One final thug survives and tries to shoot him, but the vigilante breaks his arm and holds him off the ground. The thug hysterically asks him who the hell he is, to which the vigilante replies 'I'm Batman', and knocks the man out. Batman enters a heavily-armed motorcycle dubbed the Batpod, and races to the caves underneath Wayne Manor. Batman is revealed to be Bruce Wayne, in disguise. He took inspiration for his dual identity from the idea that he could use his own fear of bats against Gotham's criminals.
Bruce Wayne is revealed to have secretly spent every single day since his parents' deaths rigorously training his body and mind to be at the peak of human potential. Dick Grayson is his sidekick, Robin. Bruce Wayne's alter-ego Batman serves the purpose of protecting all of Gotham's citizens from the infection of crime and terrorism, but he has taken a vow not to kill a single opponent. Batman and Robin's activities have been observed and investigated by Vicki Vale, now an ambitious reporter for the city newspaper, working under her boss, Clement Sampson. Sampson is pressing her with the task of discovering the identity of the Batman, claiming that she will receive a promotion and a glowing reference from him if she succeeds. She takes pictures of the crime scenes where Batman has appeared, but finds herself unable to determine his identity. She eventually follows the trace to James Gordon, who has appeared always minutes after the two vigilantes leave the scene. He rejects any and all knowledge of who Batman is, but admits that he has been in league with the Caped Crusader from the beginning, using him as a means of rounding up the city's criminals as effectively as possible.
Bruce and Dick are sparring in combat in the Batcave when Alfred arrives, explaining that Deathstroke is in fact a world-class assassin who is renowned for taking missions which are marginally impossible and completing them. Bruce decides to track down the assassin and discover who he is working for, but Dick suggests that they just wait for him to approach, and then strike. He tracks down Deathstroke's followers to his ex-wife Adeline Kane, an ex-military captain who fought in Afghanistan alongside Deathstroke - real name Slade Wilson - and married him, but broke up with him after he failed to prevent their son from being permanently muted by a rogue gang of soldiers. She tells him that he has been following the same employer for five years, but does not know the identity of this employer. Mid-conversation, Deathstroke shoots his wife dead from seven blocks away, on a rooftop, leaving Bruce to be rendered a suspect of her murder. Gordon investigates the crime scene, and rules Bruce out as a suspect, but the jury and the judge are not completely convinced.
Meanwhile, Deathstroke travels to an abandoned warehouse, where one of his mercenaries meets him. Deathstroke asks after a man named the Joker, but the mercenary denies any knowledge of who he is talking about. He is lying, and the Joker appears behind Deathstroke. The Joker talks with Deathstroke, who explains that he was interrupted in his bank heist by Batman. The Joker is intrigued by the continuing appearance of this man, and admits that the bank robbery was just a way of studying the methods of the Batman. The Joker instructs Deathstroke to track down Vicki Vale, given her interest in the Dark Knight. Vicki has remained in touch with Bruce since his parents' deaths, but he keeps his true identity a secret from her. On a date with Vale, the two are interrupted by Grayson, who calls him away from the date and tells him that the Joker is leading an attack on the local police precinct, with Deathstroke as his second-in-command.
Batman intervenes with the attack, and Deathstroke holds him back with machine-guns and explosives, but the Joker steps in and faces Batman. He claims that the two of them were meant to be like this, and that the Joker would go, for unknown reasons, to the ends of the earth to bring him down. The Batman tries to attack him, but the cops arrive and interrupt by driving back the attackers with heavy gunfire. The Joker flees with Deathstroke in a military jeep, and Batman and Robin pursue him on the Batpod. In the midst of a car chase, Batman crashes the jeep into a river and Robin hotheadedly swims after them to confirm they had been killed. The two villains escape before Robin investigates the sinking jeep, but finds himself unable to swim out of it. Batman swims in and rescues him before he drowns, and when he awakens accosts him for acting so impulsively. Dick argues back by saying that he should be trusted to do what he wants as part of the team, and when he argues with Bruce over this philosophy, Dick storms out.
Determined to catch the Joker alone, Batman tries to trace details of the Joker's past by studying certain locations in Gotham where the psychopath would be likely to have lived. The trace leads him to Arkham Asylum, where he learns that the Asylum had taken in a patient from birth, diagnozing him with a borderline, narcissistic and antisocial personality disorder at the age of five. The patient, who turns out to be the Joker, lived out most of his life but, after the Waynes were murdered, their operations on Arkham were slackened, meaning that treatment for the young Joker hit a moot point. The Joker escaped custody when the Asylum was closed, and at seventeen he started working at Wayne Enterprises, until his connections with the Asylum were exposed and he was thrown to the streets. Maddened to the point of obsession, the Joker tried to cure his sadness with an experimental gas he had invented in the laboratories of Wayne Enterprises, which he dubs Smilex. The gas caused his skin to convulse into a permanent grin, and while he was cured of his sadness, it was replaced by a maniacal enjoyment of causing havoc.
The Joker orchestrates a series of elaborate murders of business rivals to Wayne Enterprises, and leaves evidence that insists Bruce being the culprit. When Gordon is told of this by his boss, he protests fiercely, but is eventually coerced into arresting Bruce, who comes quietly. He is subjected to a trial which is hopelessly one-sided because the brutality of the murders compels the jury into declaring him guilty. He is held in Blackgate Prison, where he is routinely attacked by inmates, but subdues them very easily every single time. Dick learns of this but, despite severe persuasion by Alfred, refuses to help him because he is still angry at Bruce. Bruce manages to orchestrate an escape, subtly making it look like the Batman freed him from Blackgate Prison because it was unjust to keep an innocent man behind bars. Once he has escaped, Deathstroke reports this to the Joker, but the Joker again explains that this was only a way of studying Batman's methods without his Batsuit. Bruce succeeds in clearing his name and gaining a clean record, but is hugely unnerved by the brutal ruthlessness of the Joker.
The Joker attacks a mob establishment in the slums of Gotham, holding the leaders at gunpoint while they are debating on how to deal with the Batman constantly ruining their operations. The Joker holds the group at gunpoint, and when they challenge his authority, he makes an example by spraying one of the mob bosses, Gambol, with Smilex, the same gas that had infected him so long ago. Gambol collapses and starts writhing and lashing out uncontrollably, his face turning chalk-white and he is uncontrollably shrieking with laughter. The Joker then finishes example by breaking Gambol's neck, stating he died with a smile on his face. He threatens to do the same with the other leaders if they do not play ball. The Joker instructs them to place a series of explosives at certain populated areas of Gotham, which they do without hesitation. The Joker is caught alone, talking to himself, and he remembers the Asylum being closed down, and since then having nightmares about a bat-like monster attacking him and ripping him apart, time and time again. He comes to the conclusion that Batman - whom he views as the bat from his dreams - isn't there to kill him, just to make his life more exciting.
Meanwhile, Vicki finally deduces that the Batman has connections with Wayne Manor, and brings this to Sampson so that he can publish it in the next day's papers. After she explains all of her sources and conclusions, instead of agreeing to publish it, Sampson attacks her and drugs her, revealed to be a spy in the newspapers who was bribed into helping discover the Batman's identity. After bringing her to Deathstroke and demanding his money, Deathstroke, on the Joker's orders, beheads Sampson in front of Vicki, then takes Vicki to the Joker. The Joker holds Vicki as a hostage, demanding that Batman and Robin turn themselves in to the police and reveal their identities, or he will set off a series of explosives in unknown locations and kill millions, including a captive Vicki Vale. Batman works with Gordon to try and locate these bombs, which sparks a series of gunfights between the police and the Joker's thugs. He finally tracks down all but one of the bombs, which the police take to seperate secure locations in order to defuse them. He learns, by observing the behaviour of the Joker, that the last bomb is in the same place as Vicki is being held. At this point, Dick returns and reconciles with Bruce, and the two of them set out to rescue Vicki.
The Joker raids Wayne Manor with a group of his men, and Alfred fights off several of them with a hunting rifle, but the Joker outwits him, beating him with the rifle whilst laughing uncontrollably. This provokes Batman to appear and assault the Joker, kicking him to the ground and stomping on him repeatedly, but the Joker just laughs. Eventually, Batman is deterred when Deathstroke sprays him with his machine-guns, drawing him back. The Joker stops the mercenary from firing, draws his own pistol and fires repeatedly at Batman, shaking and giggling hysterically, just enjoying the fact that Batman is unhurt by the bullets. Growing tired of the Joker's games, Batman grabs the Joker by the neck and orders him to tell him where Vicki is. The Joker just sneers, claiming that if he wants her, he's going to have to beat him harder than that. Batman is about to do just that, when Deathstroke shoots him in a weak point in his armour, stunning him. The Joker escapes Wayne Manor and leaves with his men.
However, after the Joker escapes, the police succeed in defusing all of the bombs in their locations, but the moment they are defused another 30-second countdown begins, and instead of exploding the bombs unleash a vicious dose of Smilex, whcih drives the scientists who are defusing them insane with laughter and stretches their faces into terrifying grins. The detonation of the gas canisters inside the bombs remotely triggers the activation of other, smaller gas bombs placed all over Gotham, except for Wayne Tower, and Wayne Manor - the latter of which has security devices in place to counteract gas attacks. over 90% of Gotham's population runs amok all over the city in a mindless, hysterical rage, which unnerves Gordon into realising that defusing the explosives in the bombs would trigger the gas tanks in them - the Joker knew that they would find and defuse the bombs, as it was part of his plan to infect the city with Smilex the whole time.
Alfred tends to Bruce's wounds, but Bruce gets up immediately and intends to go after the Joker. He is joined by Dick Grayson, who agrees to go with him. The duo combine forces with the police and try to track down the Joker, but their searches lead them away from Wayne Enterprises and towards Arkham Asylum, where a complex trap set by the Joker - intended for Batman and Robin - kills several of the police officers and injures Gordon, whom Batman drags out of the wreckage of the Asylum. A recorded message on Batman's earpiece - designed to be sent to Batman after he survived the explosion, which the Joker knew he would - from the Joker taunts Batman, saying that the explosion was a trap that Batman had fallen into just as predictably as the Joker expected. The Joker claims that Vicki is being held at the top of Wayne Tower, where the Joker is expecting them. The survivors of the explosion follow Batman and Robin as they try to lead a retaliation at Wayne Tower. Meanwhile, Smilex victims are going increasingly out of control, even starting to attack each other and raid homes all over the city.
Riding through hordes of maddened citizens, whilst the police and the Joker's men battle in the streets, Batman and Robin - the former's suit has systems that counteract the Smilex, and the latter has been immunized from it via injection - move through Wayne Tower from the ground floor. When they arrive, the Joker uses a custom-made but powerful rocket-propelled grenade to destroy the Batpod and force the two of them to continue on foot. Deathstroke appears and ambushes the duo, and Batman battles him whilst Robin continues up the Tower. After a vicious fight, Batman eventually defeats Deathstroke and knocks him unconscious, before finding and defusing the bomb with seconds to spare. He then rescues Vicki from a storeroom filled with gasoline that would have reacted to the bomb with enough force to cripple the building and vaporise Vicki. He replaces the gasoline with a solution of the antidote to Smilex, which he created in the Batcave, which explodes and transforms every single Gotham citizen effected by the Smilex back to normal. He leaves her in the hands of Gordon, then goes back after Robin. Meanwhile, Robin searches for the Joker at the peak of Wayne Tower, and the Joker attacks him with a crowbar viciously, whilst maniacally laughing.
Robin tries to fight back, but the Joker beats him and comes close to killing him. Batman arrives and the Joker changes tactics, holding Robin at the point of a gun. He stands close to the edge of the tower, so if Batman intervenes in the wrong way then they both go down. Batman eludes the Joker and throws a Batarang, which plunges into the Joker's eye and disorients him. Instinctively, the Joker shoots Robin and misses. The Joker falls to the ground and shoots again, gunning Robin down just as he is about to attack. Enraged, Batman lunges for the Joker, disarming him of his gun, and the two of them engage in an intense battle atop Wayne Tower. The Joker tries to kill Batman with a knife, but Batman breaks his wrist and kicks him over the edge of Wayne Tower. The Joker grabs a window ledge and Batman reaches down, trying to save him. Batman cries out for him to take his hand, but the Joker hysterically screams 'I'll see you in Hell, Batman!' and his grip slips. The Joker falls, laughing maniacally, to his death. Batman runs to Robin and tries to bandage his wounds, but Robin holds him back. With his last breath, Robin thanks Bruce for his company, and calls him 'father', before dying in Batman's arms.
Two days later, Bruce Wayne is standing with Vicki and Alfred, over Dick's grave in the gardens of Wayne Manor. Asking for a moment alone, Bruce kneels in front of the gravestone and sorrowfully apologizes for being unable to save his sidekick. He says that he had never asked to be called father, but would be proud to call Dick his son. He then gets up and walks back into Wayne Manor, turning and shutting the door behind him. The screen darkens with Alfred, quoting Horatius with 'How can man die better, than facing fearful odds,
for the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his Gods'.
In an end credits scene, Deathstroke is chained to a table in a dark room, stripped of his armour and wearing a straitjacket. A masked figure in a pinstriped suit approaches him, most of his features hidden in shadow. He accosts Deathstroke for failing him, to which Deathstroke vows that he will never fail him ever again. Laughing, the figure remarks 'No. You won't.' and suddenly Deathstroke starts writhing and screaming in terror.
Cast[]
- Julian McMahon as Batman/Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne is the mysterious, dark and extremely brave millionaire playboy who, after the violent murder of his parents, was inspired into becoming the Batman, a masked vigilante who roams the streets of Gotham City and protects the population from the infestation of criminals. McMahon voiced his intent on making the Batman character significantly darker and more complex than that of Bale or Kilmer.
- Lion Facioli played a young Bruce Wayne
- Tom Hiddleston as The Joker. A psychopathic, sadistic and dangerously unpredictable criminal mastermind, and the archenemy of Batman. The Joker is obsessed with defeating Batman, but also with keeping him alive as he sees him as the only way his life will stay exciting. Hiddleston was chosen, based on his acclaimed performance of Loki in the Avengers franchise.
- Rosamund Pike as Vicki Vale. Vale is an ambitious but well-meaning Gotham newspaper reporter who was a childhood friend of Batman, and as an adult is investigating the activities of the vigilante known as Batman. She is quickly caught up in the battle between the Dark Knight and the Clown Prince of Crime. Pike was chosen for the role after five other options - including Mila Kunis, Eva Green and Scarlett Johannsson.
- Chloe Grace Mortez played a young Vicki Vale
- Patrick Stewart as Alfred Pennyworth. Bruce Wayne's wise, bespectacled butler and constant shoulder to cry on. Alfred acts as Bruce's moral compass and has served the Wayne family for most of his life. He is a philosophical force to be reckoned with. Patrick Stewart was finally chosen, after Jeremy Irons, Michael Gambon and Richard Gere turned down the offer due to already starring in their own films and series.
- Asa Butterfield as Dick Grayson/Robin. Bruce Wayne's adopted son and the Caped Crusader's loyal sidekick. Grayson is extremely brave, but cocky, arrogant and unhealthily confident in his own abilities, which means that he is as much of an obstacle to Batman as he is a companion.
- Kiefer Sutherland as Police Commissioner James Gordon. Gordon is a pragmatic and idealistic police officer who is an ally of the Batman and a very skilled detective.
- Josh Brolin as Slade Wilson/Deathstroke. Deathstroke is an extremely dangerous and accomplished assassin and mercenary and an employee of the Joker. Brolin was selected on the basis that he looks more like the original Deathstroke archetype.
- Neil Diamond as Thomas Wayne, Bruce Wayne's father.
- Emilia Clarke as Martha Wayne, Bruce Wayne's mother.
- Robin Lord Taylor as Joe Chill, the Waynes' murderer
- Peter Weller as Clement Sampson, Vicki Vale's treacherous boss
- Gary Oldman as Bullock, Gordon's boss
- James Earl Jones as Hooded Figure, Deathstroke's true employer
Production[]
After The Dark Knight Rises was announced to be the last film in Christopher Nolan's series, DC Comics expressed interest in creating a new Batman series, stating "he's the guy people just can't get enough of." In fall of 2012, when The Dark Knight Rises was finally released, ending the trilogy, Nolan expressed wanting to create a new Batman movie franchise with an all-new cast. Within two month, it was officially announced that Bryan Singer would be directing a new Batman film. Also, the film would be written by Christopher Nolan, Anthony Horowitz and George Lucas. It was released a week in advance.
Development[]
Soon after the story was finished, it was green-lit for production. Steven Spielberg signed on to be producer of the film, as well as Michael Bay, who was declined. Spielberg contributed to being producer and is credited as one. The initial development began in December 2013, and ended over two years later on September 16th, 2015.
Filming and Design[]
Singer selected a variety of locations as fit to make the film. The primary scenes of focus were Wayne Manor - actually shot in the same locations as were used in The Dark Knight trilogy. The scenes depicting the Batcave, however, had to be reconstructed to be more elaborate and modern than that which was seen in Nolan's films. The car chase between Batman and the Joker was filmed in Atlantic City, for which several streets had to be closed.
Arkham Asylum was a set-piece that Lucas and Spielberg cooperated in designing to add the authenticity of a dark and dangerous place where the Joker would be likely to live. Scenes depicting Bruce's physical training were shot in Tibet.
The film had to be shot in a certain way that it added to the intensity of such a story. The fight scenes, especially the final battles against Deathstroke and the Joker, had to be specially edited to make them more fast-paced than people were used to, taking inspiration from The Bourne Identity and Captain America: the Winter Soldier.
After a teaser poster was released, Singer announced that Batman: the Price of Victory wouldn't be filmed in 3D, but rather in regular 2D and IMAX. Filming concluded on November 3rd, 2015.
Stunts and Makeup[]
The stunts of the film were particularly challenging for the cast, especially that of the final battle. The scenes where the Batpod was used were edited from actual scenes of McMahon riding a motorbike whilst wearing the Batsuit through the streets of Atlantic City. McMahon commented that riding a motorbike whilst wearing the suit was a terrifying experience because the suit was heavy and trickier to manoeuvre than he had expected. The car chase was actually filmed without editing except for the final moments of it. Hiddleston remarked that the scenes where his character had to stick his head and arms out of the window of the car to sneer at his pursuers was nerve-wracking, and at one point he nearly fell out of the vehicle. The fight between Deathstroke and Batman was choreographed several times before it was actually filmed and the screenplay was decided upon.
The brawl with the Joker was only rehearsed once, so most of the stunts by McMahon and Hiddleston were improvised and completely on instinct, but the cast, director and critics agreed that this made the whole fight so much more compelling because their efforts to make a gripping fight, combined with their instinctive rage at being attacked so brutally, made the whole sequence absolutely riveting. The moment where Robin was shot was achieved via Tom Hiddleston using a paint-gun shaped like a pistol, and during the first try Hiddleston shot Butterfield in the leg. This made Butterfield more nervous about doing the scene on-screen, but it also added authenticity as Butterfield's fear of Hiddleston missing bred realism in the idea of Robin being murdered. The Joker's fall off Wayne Tower was achieved through a very deep swimming pool being built at the bottom of the drop, and Hiddleston falling into it. The splash was edited into a thud, and the pool was edited into a busy street. Hiddleston complained that he landed in the water flat on his back, and was partly stunned for nearly an hour afterwards, but his cry of pain also contributed to the death of his character.
The makeup for certain characters had to be extremely precise, especially for the villains. Butterfield's makeup to make him look younger but fitter was described as very quickly completed, and Butterfield even said he looked more handsome when he looked in the mirror. Josh Brolin's makeup as Deathstroke was not much of an issue throughout most of the film because he wore a helmet. For the three scenes where he was unmasked, his makeup included shaping his cheeks and adding intense surgery to his face to make him look older and more like a hardened, ruthless soldier. The only true challenge for his makeup was Deathstroke's scar down one eye, which rendered him half-blind for the best part of his days of filming. Hiddleston's makeup was the hardest of all and by far the most authentic. Turning his skin pale was a chieved through a spread of intense white gloss pain, which he complained made his skin burn slightly. His having to constantly smile in the scenes he was in to make his blood-red grin look more frightening was also a challenge, and he would spend several minutes between shots massaging his cheeks.
Release and Reception[]
Box Office[]
The film opened in the USA and the United Kingdom with two days between them in November 2015 and was ranked at the top of the Box Office list for two whole months. It cost $200, 000, 000 to accomplish the film's creation, but when it opened it gained $3, 700, 000, 000 becoming one of the highest-grossing Batman films of all time.
Critical Reception[]
Batman: the Price of Victory received universal critical acclaim, with a 98% approval rating from critics and audiences alike. Praise went to the acting, compelling characters, mercilessly brutal action sequences, gripping storyline, musical score and depiction of the characters of Batman, the Joker and Robin. Upon seeing the film with the cast, Patrick Stewart remarked 'Magical! This film is everything that the cast dreamed it to be, and more. It's possibly one of the darkest instalments to this magnificent franchise yet'. The film was particularly praised for its dark tone and its reliance on thrill elements as part of the story. The final fight between Batman and the Joker was acclaimed, viewed as one of the best fight scenes in a DC superhero movie, especially since it was almost completely improvised by the actors.
The performances of Tom Hiddleston and Julian McMahon attracted widespread acclaim. Superhero film critic Michael Summers commented 'There's just so much going on with these characters. McMahon brings the darkness, ruthlessness and conflict that makes Batman who he is, and Hiddleston just smashes on to the big screen with a performance worthy of Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs'. Critics believed that Hiddleston had exceeded his performance as Loki in the Marvel movies with this role, because of his incredible ability to capture the mannerisms and characteristics of the Joker. Butterfield commented that, whilst performing on set, Hiddleston's transformation into the psychopathic maniac was 'terrifying to the point that I felt scared to step near him after the director called for cut'. McMahon's performance was praised especially because his role as the enigmatic billionaire.
It was remarked that the tone of the film was that of constant climax, with the excitement peaking at every scene that followed the other. The cinematography and screenplay was viewed as 'gripping, powerful and mercilessly epic', and that the cast only added to the sense of excitement with magnificent performances by heroes and villains alike. He highlighted the message of the film, and its representation of the fact that 'Batman will always suffer, will always be that broken, traumatised little boy in the dark alley, kneeling over his parents' corpses'. The decision to kill off Dick Grayson, when originally it was Jason Todd who was killed before being replaced by Grayson, was met with firstly mixed, but increasingly positive reactions. Audiences said it added a more intense level of tragedy than was predicted in the film.
The decision to have the Joker fall to his death whilst laughing hysterically was protested against by some of the crew members, as it looked like they were sending the wrong message to younger audiences. Singer rectified these complaints by saying that to have the Joker fall to his death whilst screaming in fear would be too similar to the ending in Tim Burton's Batman - to which, Burton personally agreed. Plus he wanted to create a darker film than Burton's, and the Joker's psychological extremes, he felt, would add intensity to the film.
Hiddleston's emphasis on calling 'I'll see you in Hell, Batman' was met with acclaim, archived as 1st of the 100 Best Movie Quotes of the Year, for being extremely impactful, terrifying to watch and to revolutionize the way people viewed the character. McMahon, having been the recipient of the quote, remarked that 'The very idea that he would say such a thing to his archenemy just screams the depths that the Joker would go just to spit in the face of the Caped Crusader'. The casting, and performance, of Tom Hiddleston as the Joker provoked a widespread internet debate of Tom Hiddleston versus Heath Ledger: Who Is the Best, which has constantly ended in a draw.
Accolades[]
The film was met with a large number of awards upon release. It received three awards for Best Screenplay, seven for Best Score, four for Best Cinematography, as well as Singer receiving a Best Director award, and Horowitz, Nolan and Lucas being awarded Best Writer for each of them. It was also awarded for MTV Award for Best Fight (McMahon and Brolin). Finally, the cast received a number of awards and nominations, specifically McMahon (Best Hero, Most Charismatic Hero of the Year, Best Anti-Hero and Best Actor), Hiddleston (Best Villain, Best Gut-Wrenching performance, Best On-Screen Transformation, Teen Choice for Favourite Villain, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor), Pike (Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Damsel), and Butterfield (Teen Choice for Favourite Hero, Best Performance by a Young Actor, Best Hissy Fit). The cast itself won the award for Best Ensemble Cast (McMahon, Hiddleston, Stewart, Pike, Butterfield and Gere). It won Best Film, Best Superhero Film, Best Thriller and Best Spin-off or Re-hash. Finally, the Joker, Batman and Deathstroke were nominated for Coolest Character, but the Joker won this award. The final fight against the Joker won Best Action Sequence, Dick Grayson's death at the hands of the Joker earned the film a Best Holy Sh*t Scene of the Year, and Butterfield a Most Dramatic Death Scene of the Year.
Sequel[]
Five months after the release of the film, Singer announced that a sequel to the film would be released, entitled Batman: the King of Crooks.