The premiere ofThe Batmanis finally here, and audiences everywhere are excited to finally see another fresh, new, standalone take on the caped crusader for arguably the first time in many years. To help commemorate the occasion, Andy Serkis had some of his own praise for the film during the press tour, prompting many to respond, “oh yeah, Andy Serkis is in this too. Rad.”
The latest actor behind Bruce Wayne’s faithful butler Alfred spoke about his time onThe Batman, dedicating plenty of kind words to director Matt Reeves andcinematographer Greig Fraser. But interestingly enough, he also took the time to emphasize how well he thought Gotham City itself was represented in this particular iteration of the classicBatmanformula. While the famous fictional city has seen countless variations in media over the years, it seems the dark metropolis has really stepped up its game this time around, and has arguably become a character in and of itself.
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In a recent interview with Collider, Serkis answered a number of questions regardingThe Batmanand his experience making the film. Amid praise for the film and its crew, the topic eventually switched to Gotham City and its presence in the upcoming alreadyhighly-rated reimagining of Batman’s tale. “I’ve never seen Gotham look so complete, and sort of its own thing, and a character,” Serkis explained while gushing over cinematographer Fraser’s work. He went on to cite Reeves' direction, Fraser’s shot composition, and production designer James Chinlund’s own work as the trifecta that brings the city to life.
Serkis isn’t the first to praise Fraser’s work on the film, as Robert Pattinson (Bruce Wayne/Batman) and Zoë Kravitz (Selina Kyle/Catwoman) have already done so, with fellow stars Paul Dano (The Riddler) and Jeffrey Wright (Commissioner Gordon) coming to bat as well. It’s certainly starting to look like anyone planning to seeThe Batmanis in for a real visual treat. It’s not often someone behind the scenes like this gets such unanimous and specific love even before their movie comes out. Of course, this is the same guy who worked asthe cinematographer forDune, so maybe it’s not all that surprising.
Fraser has had his own storied career in cinematography, lending his talents to many high-profile projects even just in recent years. Films likeRogue One: A Star Wars Storyand the aforementionedDunehave both benefited from his expertise, whileeven series likeThe Mandalorianhave been lucky enough to have him for a few episodes. Even as far back as 2012’sZero Dark Thirtyand well beyond, he’s been making things look pretty and making the act of making things look pretty look easy. Yes, that sentence works.
The Batmanseems to be achieving the impossible, at least compared to many people’s initial reactions when it was first announced. Starting out as a perceived pulpy, gritty mess of edginess, it’s now apparently begun to prove itself as a pulpy, gritty mélange of edgy polish. Not bad for a franchise that has included Bat-shark-repellent somehow more than once.
The Batmanpremieres in theaters on March 4th, 2022.
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