Here's How Robert Eggers Really Feels About The Batman
Robert Eggers made waves with the release of his first two films: "The VVitch: A New-England Folktale" and "The Lighthouse." The former of these, a 2015 horror film capitalizing on the folklore of colonial New England, was released to critical acclaim and grossed over $40 million at the box office despite its meager $4 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). Meanwhile, 2019's "The Lighthouse," a psychological drama detailing the delirious downward spiral of two deranged lighthouse keepers played by Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, debuted to similar success and even netted itself a nomination for an Academy Award (via IMDb). Both films bask in their own eccentricities, proudly heading in directions indicative of anything but Hollywood's mainstream movie machine, a tradition Eggers certainly continues with his upcoming Viking-inspired revenge tale, "The Northman."
But while Eggers tends to forsake mainstream movies as a filmmaker, he isn't above enjoying them from time to time. In a recent interview with the Guardian, the "Northman" director let slip that he had seen "The Batman," DC's latest reiteration of the Dark Knight formula, starring Robert Pattinson. You might expect a guy like Eggers would levy heavy criticism for something so conventionally popular, but this isn't so. In reality, how Robert Eggers really feels about "The Batman" will probably surprise you.
Eggers enjoyed The Batman and praises Matt Reeves
Shockingly, an unconventional filmmaker like Robert Eggers doesn't completely hate "The Batman." Eggers may not watch many superhero films, and hasn't read comics since he was a kid, but he still found plenty to enjoy in Matt Reeves' moody take on the caped crusader.
"I saw it really just because Rob [Pattinson] is my friend. But I liked it, and I learned a lot of stuff from it, frankly," Eggers told the Guardian. "I applaud Matt Reeves for keeping an identity and making a film like that. I can't imagine. I guess I just made a big movie, but it's not the same."
When you get down to it, Eggers' enjoyment of "The Batman" actually isn't too surprising. As far as superhero movies go, "The Batman" differs greatly from its contemporaries in terms of tone and structure. Compared to Batman's last appearance in the bombastic team-up picture that is "Zack Snyder's Justice League," Reeves' take on the character and his world is much closer in style to the films that Eggers makes. In time, this could open the way for Hollywood to make more artistically driven superhero films, but that's a big "maybe." So for now, "The Northman" will have to do.