The Batman Earns Three Oscar Nominations
Matt Reeves's The Batman earned three Academy Award nominations this morning, all in the kind of technical categories that action and superhero movies traditionally have a little more luck getting recognized for. It isn't quite as exciting as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever earning five nominations, including Best Actress, but it has to make Warner Bros., whose DC films have struggled to connect with critics and audiences in recent years, feel pretty good about the direction of their biggest franchise going forward.
The Batman earned nominations for Best Sound, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and Best Visual Effects. That puts the movie in competition with some of the year's biggest blockbusters, including Avatar: The Way of Water, Top Gun: Maverick, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
The Best Makeup and Hairstyling category includes nominations for All Quiet on the Western Front, The Batman, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,Elvis, and The Whale. Best Sound nominees include All Quiet on the Western Front, Avatar: The Way of Water, The Batman, Elvis, and Top Gun: Maverick. Lastly, the Best Visual Effects category pits The Batman against All Quiet on the Western Front, Avatar: The Way of Water, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Top Gun: Maverick.
According to The Batman's official synopsis, "Two years of stalking the streets as the Batman (Robert Pattinson), striking fear into the hearts of criminals, has led Bruce Wayne deep into the shadows of Gotham City. With only a few trusted allies -- Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis), Lt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) -- amongst the city's corrupt network of officials and high-profile figures, the lone vigilante has established himself as the sole embodiment of vengeance amongst his fellow citizens.
"When a killer targets Gotham's elite with a series of sadistic machinations, a trail of cryptic clues sends the World's Greatest Detective on an investigation into the underworld, where he encounters such characters as Selina Kyle/aka Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), Oswald Cobblepot/aka the Penguin (Colin Farrell), Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), and Edward Nashton/aka the Riddler (Paul Dano). As the evidence begins to lead closer to home and the scale of the perpetrator's plans becomes clear, Batman must forge new relationships, unmask the culprit, and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has long plagued Gotham City."