Blu Tuesday: “The Batman” and More

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Robert Pattinson in "The Batman"

Blu Tuesday is a weekly column where we review the newest Blu-ray and 4K releases, along with a brief rundown of the included bonus material, to determine whether they’re worth buying, renting or skipping.

Pick of the Week: “The Batman”

It was going to take something pretty special to outshine Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, so it’s not surprising that Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” comes up short. Nevertheless, it’s a solid addition to the Batman cinematic universe that manages to distinguish itself from all the previous films (both in style and tone) by going back to the character’s roots with a dark and gritty detective story that serves as the perfect launching pad for a new series. Robert Pattinson does a much better job as Batman than Bruce Wayne, so it’s fortunate that he spends most of the movie under the cowl, while Jeffrey Wright turns in good work as James Gordon. Unfortunately, that positivity doesn’t extend to everyone in the cast — Zoe Kravitz is uninspiring as Selina Kyle and Paul Dano isn’t given enough to do as The Riddler — though Colin Farrell makes the most of his limited screen time as The Penguin. At nearly three hours, “The Batman” is way too long for its own good, especially for how little it seems to accomplish, but it’s still a mostly entertaining Batman film that will leave fans wanting more.

Extras include a behind-the-scenes look at making the film and some deleted scenes. FINAL VERDICT: BUY

Also Out This Week:

Umma” — This Sam Raimi-produced horror film about a woman who is stalked by the spirit of her estranged mother starts off well enough, but it quickly devolves into a generic and (at times) nonsensical ghost story that can’t decide whether it’s dealing in the supernatural or the psychological. Though “Umma” tackles some interesting issues, like generational trauma and cultural identity, there’s not enough room in its short 83-minute runtime to effectively explore them in much detail. The half-baked script doesn’t help matters, as it plays things a little too safe and conventional to have any real impact. Sandra Oh and Fivel Stewart do an admirable job with the material provided, but it’s not enough to rescue this disappointing debut from director Iris K. Shim. FINAL VERDICT: SKIP

Disclosure: Bullz-Eye was provided a copy of the above titles for review purposes.

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About Author

In addition to writing for Bullz-Eye.com, Jason is a proud member of the Columbus Film Critics Association (COFCA) and the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS).