Chrisedge

I walked out of the theater Sunday really liking it. It's only gotten better in my mind since they. I am not a massive comic book movie guy, (Still catching up on the Marvels) but I thought this was great. Joaquin Phoenix was amazing.

4.5 out of 5 for me...

Ash Ketchum

No way a tycoon like Thomas Wayne would be taking his family to a regular movie theater on a weeknight, esp. those two movies, riot or no riot. He'd be used to private screenings and such. I figure the writer and director felt a last-minute need to shoehorn the Bruce Wayne origin story into the narrative and this was the only way they could make it dramatically plausible without having to rewrite a significant portion of the script. It struck me as an idea they had during the writing process and then they completely forgot to put it in till they started shooting. But I'm glad they did it anyway. It gave it a tie-in to the rest of the Batman saga.

I thought that was Alec Baldwin in the role of Thomas Wayne until I read the cast list at the end. It sure looked like Baldwin to me. Maybe I'd read the reports of Baldwin originally being cast in the role way back when and it just stayed with me.

Shannon Nutt

Yeah, I would have liked to see Baldwin in that part, but he probably didn't find anything in that role that he liked (Wayne is pretty one-key here).

With that in mind, am I the only one who thought Thomas and Martha were cast way too OLD? The actor playing Thomas (Brett Cullen) is 63. The actress playing Martha (Carrie Louise Putrello) looks younger (IMDB doesn't list an age), but the movie makes her look as if she's at least in her 50's.

Compare that to Justice League, where Jeffrey Dean Morgan (early 50s) and Lauren Cohan (mid 30s) played the Waynes.

3nthebag

Sooo glad that Baldwin was not in the film. That would have really made think twice about seeing it as I have zero desire to give any money to that clown.

Mabuse

Ash Ketchum

As someone who vividly remembers NYC in the 1970s and '80s, I was most impressed with the production design. They shot all over New York, as well as in Jersey City and Newark, NJ, but I wish I could find a list of actual locations used. Some were familiar to me, some weren't. And how'd they get Times Square to look like it used to? And where'd they find all those movie theater marquees? IMDB lists only generic locations for the film, e.g., Bronx, Brooklyn, Harlem, New York, NY, Jersey City and Newark. But I want more specific info, e.g. specific train stations used. (I know that one big scene of the clown riot takes place at the Bedford Park Blvd. station, one of my old stomping grounds). And what building did they use as a stand-in for Arkham State Hospital? I imagine some CGI was used, but if so, I couldn't tell what.

Mike86

JackoOnHisBacko

By seeing the movie, didn't you end up giving your money to a clown anyway?

Dr. DVD

Anyone else take note of the fact that this didn't have the whole "DCEU" logo and animatics before it started? It was just the old school WB logo from the early 80s. That could kind of solidify the claim that it's an elseworlds entry.

The_Cube

This is my favorite movie of the year so far. I wasn't expecting much after seeing it got a 69% on RT. Not sure how it is that low? I can't stand Robert De Niro as a person, so I gotta admit that I really enjoyed one particular scene in the movie. Give Phoenix actor of the year right now.

Shannon Nutt

For those wondering, the movie is set in July 1981. There's a theater marquee with the titles "Blow Out" and "Zorro The Gay Blade" on it in the movie. Both films were released in July 1981.

raven56706

the theater where martha and thomas wayne left was the old Jersey city theater(Lowes) located in Journal square. The Alley way where they were killed is right next to it. Fun fact, there is an amazing hot dog place right next door called Boulevard Drinks. Its fucking magical.

Brack

RichC2

I'm in that area next month, thanks for the recommendation

dex14

Here's some of the Jersey locations: https://www.nj.com/entertainment/201...d-billing.html

mphtrilogy

Deftones

I absolutely loved it. The look, the feel, the performances. Absolutely fantastic. It was slow as hell, but I enjoyed every minute of it. It is going to be great that the only 2 comic book Oscars could both potentially be from the same character, portrayed by 2 different actors. Probably my favorite movie of the year so far, and might be my favorite of the past few years.

The Antipodean

I liked this more than I thought I would, even if it's so much of a homage/tribute to Taxi Driver/King of Comedy that it starts to feel like plagiarism. (See also Tarantino's Kill Bill, which seemed a lot less jazzy than I first thought when I finally got around to seeing Lady Snowblood). Phoenix singlehandedly lifts it from OK to near-great, I thought, and at the moment he seems like a shoo-in for Best Actor nod and probably a win, which he deserves in general at this point in his career. I did like how they tied the Batman mythos in more than I thought, even if it's a weird alternate version (I mean, if Batman finally "grows up" and fights the Joker he'd be beating up a senior citizen at that point). The scene at the gate genuinely gave me chills. For all the bitching about DC movies, they're really taking an interesting path now with Aquaman/Shazam/Joker all in a row like this.

Mike86

IDrinkMolson

Ended up seeing an IMAX showing on Thursday morning. Ticket taker said I was the only one in there so far. So right up until the first trailer started, I had the whole IMAX to myself, then 2 guys came in.
Anyway, great movie. Joaquin was great. Cinematography was great.
I left feeling a little sad for Arthur.

I think the only thing I could complain about is this is probably going to be a one off. And since the whole thing was basically an origin, it was the longest origin ever. I wasn't sure about the laugh in the early going, but it grew on me by the end.

"Dark" stuff doesn't bother me at all, especially entertainment since it's not real. But, anytime a son is giving their mother a bath, there's going to be trouble.

bunkaroo

jeffkjoe

How many times have the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne been depicted on TV and in movies?

Shannon Nutt

This should be its own thread, but let's see:

Batman (1989)
Gotham (TV Series)
Batman: Year One (animated movie)
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (animated movie)
Batman Begins
Batman v Superman
Joker

What am I missing?

DWilson

Along the same lines, when did the Martha's string of pearls (which break and scatter) become part of the scenario?

bunkaroo

Thinking this was a visual nod to the other movies. There was also a shot with Joker in the police car which was very reminiscent of Dark Knight when Ledger is in the police car - same type of shot.