Having seen Matt Reeve’s ‘The Batman’ I can say with certainty that the costume and make-up of the actors also played an important role and helped contribute to the films’ cohesive, gritty, neo-noir theme.
As mentioned in my vlog review, Matt Reeve’s ‘The Batman’ effectively carves a space for itself among the pantheon of Batman films as it paves its own way as an effective, thriller-mystery. Distancing itself from the loud, campy, colorful and glittering costumes of previous Batman films, Reeve’s villains are more grounded with current trends and are also a reflection of our reality today.
From the Riddler to Catwoman, you can see that the costumes in the film also are also more practical when it came to the characters’ motivations in the films and of course, their own personal style and technique of getting their message across (if you know what I mean).
And then there were three
Local cosplay trio made up of Kino Kaoru and cosplay power couple Prince and Awie De Guzman teamed up to bring Matt Reeve’s iteration of these Batman characters to life.
Kino Kaoru worked on his movie accurate “Battinson” (a combination of Batman and Robert Pattinson, who of course plays the caped crusader in this film) in only a week’s time, all the while doing other commissions and cosplay projects also! Like the character, he cosplays, I feel that he too has most probably had many sleepless nights recently.
Kino has been cosplaying different Batman costumes over the years. His favorite Batman is Michael Keaton. He first saw Batman Returns (1992), which Keaton starred in, on television, and this led to a lifelong passion of cosplaying Batman from films.
Power couple at work
As fans of the DC Universe, cosplay royalty Prince and Awie De Guzman were thrilled to cosplay as Catwoman and the Riddler.
Having the same delicate features and full lips as actress Zoe Kravitz, who plays Selina Kyle (Catwoman) in ‘The Batman’ it was a slam dunk for Awie to cosplay the character. It also helped that there was a genuine excitement about the character, which was brought about Awie’s fascination with Catwoman’s skills and attitude.
In the films’ trailer, Selina says: ‘I have a thing for strays.’ This of course refers to a number of stray cats she takes care of at home. Being a furparent herself, Awie can relate to this side of Selina. She and Prince are furparents to 2 stray cats and one adopted Siamese cat. Check out their babies who joined Awie in a shoot as Catwoman!
Known as the ‘Horror Prince of Cosplay’ Prince De Guzman’s claim to fame was doing accurate cosplays of horror characters like Pennywise and Valak and of course, scaring unsuspecting mall goers and fans. So, it was just perfect that Matt Reeve’s ‘The Batman’ was taking the thriller route, the creepy-detective elements were definitely a plus. Prince immediately became curious about the Riddler, played in the film by Paul Dano. Taking a different direction from Jim Carrey’s portrayal of the Riddler in Batman Forever (1995), Dano’s take on the character, is more of a modern, computer-literate psychopath, with a penchant for (of course) riddles.
With ‘The Batman’ also lifting themes and elements from films like: The Zodiac Killer, Se7ven, and The Silence of the Lambs, Prince who is a fan of murder documentaries was even more excited to cosplay the character.
Now, Prince can add the maniacal Riddler to his roster of monsters to both delight and terrorize his fans and followers, whichever they prefer. I for one, wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of that tape.
Matt Reeve’s ‘The Batman’ is now showing in Philippine cinemas. Aside from my vlog review, you can also check out my written review here.
Fore more amazing and accurate cosplays from these three. Make sure to follow their socials:
Kino Kaoru on Facebook and Instagram.
Awie De Guzman on Facebook and Instagram.
Prince De Guzman on Facebook and Instragram.