Saw it today. Liked it alot.
I think it's the most grounded of all the Batman's and feels the least "superhero-y" of them.
Pattison and Kravitz were great.
Paul Dano was great.
Real vibes of Batman: Year One.
Some interesting camera work.
Stuff that appeared in the trailer still felt fresh in the context of the film.
Very little fan service (except for one moment at the end, but it was still handled fairly, I felt -- the film would have been fine without it, though).
Even familiar elements were treated as entities in themselves, rather than being tossed in as fan service.
It only felt like a 2 hour 15 min film, and I'm not sure what could have been removed that wouldn't have really undercut the story.
I felt like it set up Penguin (being only a mid-level crime boss here) to become a far more dominant crime boss in later outings. Farrell was unrecognizable, aside from a bit of voice.
To give a sense of how the film felt -- 2/3 of the ending credits were to the musical themes done on classical piano, and the opening music is really unexpected.
Also, we joke about "dark and gritty" but the film doesn't really feel like THAT in the manner in how it is used. In fact, I would dare say it ends in a more uplifting fashion than expected, as Batman tries to figure out who he is tonally and/or reinvent himself and his motivations for doing what he does. It's not dark like BvS dark (dark for dark's sake); it actually feels like there's an arc for Batman that is life-affirming. Also, there are character beats here that are more than "Martha," lol. We don't even have to watch Batman's origin told yet again.
I'm happy Reeves could find his own tonal version of Batman that wasn't a duplicate of other director's visions. Nolan is a hard act to follow sometimes.
This is what Matt Reeves does, though. His writing and directorial work typically brings tone and heart to his films. "Cloverfield" benefited from the human core, especially at the end, along with the scifi-horror trappings. "Let Me In" was a decent adaptation of the book and prior film; it only looks lesser when compared to the original Swedish film. His two films to wrap up the Planet of the Apes trilogy could have been disastrous but they scored well, again bringing human themes into the scifi elements. And Batman feels like like a superhero film and more like a crime drama / human film.
And the last well-written, dynamic version of Batman was for the animated series in the 1990s. The last entertaining Batman film was starring legos. Hands down one of the most boring superheroes ever created. He's a glorified film noir detective in tights. No amount of Robert Smith makeup will refresh or reinvigorate this franchise. It's become a watering hole for method actors and untalented children of fading rockers who can't get any other interesting roles in a Hollywood that is now only interested in making "gritty" character dramas for the big screen if they happen to be about comicbook supervillains' mental issues or somehow tie into some grand cinematic universe. Endless trash, and let's not kid ourselves that it's anything more than the latest commercial to sell toys and merch to overgrown manchildren and youtube shills paid to record good reviews of the latest blockbusters. Batman and Robin would actually be great if it didn't take itself too seruiously. That's what the lego films had going with their portrayal of Batman for what he really is, a rich playboy with dead parent issues. They were a blast because they not only didn't take Batman seriously, they played up the absurdity of the character and the silly aura around him. B&R failed not because it went "light" but because it was presented as an earnest, sincere film instead of the camp mess it was. I challenge Hollywood to improve on the failures of B& R and truly think outside of the box by making a Batman film that goes against expectations and doesn't take itself too seriously.
You did get off a good rant here -- but I'd give this film a chance (through to the end), I think it ends up doing its own thing and is more than the expectation, even if it doesn't follow the path you'd like to see in the Batman franchise at some point.