The Batman

It’s become a cliche nowadays to see how the newest Batman iteration will be handled. Arguably being one of THE biggest comic book heroes of all times, he’s also been reinvented several times through several different actors and directors. He’s bounced back between overly goofy portrayals like Adam West and the Joel Schumacher era, a more classical comic-book version with Tim Burton, and grittier more realistic take with Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder, he’s been all over the place, almost to the point of being over-saturated in media. This is why when the next film simply titled ”The Batman” was announced and the sparkling pretty-boy vampire from Twilight was set to play the caped crusader, things didn’t start off in the best way. If only they knew how wrong they would turn out to be. Set within the murky, crowded and constantly raining streets of Gotham, the city is ripe with crime and corrupt people litter all positions of power, leaving very little window for true safety and justice. One who sees himself as that vengeance is billionaire Bruce Wayne (played by Robert Pattinson) who after the death of his parents, decided to take his anger out on the scum of Gotham, paroling the streets as a vigilante known as The Batman, and doesn’t care about the brutality he inflicts on his prey. He needs to quell his rage however when he is called into a police investigation by Jim Gordon (played by Jeffrey Wright) to track down a murderer who is going by the name, The Riddler (played by Paul Dano). Killing those corrupt people within powerful positions, Batman must utilize his detective skills to track down this madman, prevent a similarly tortured vigilante named Catwoman (played by Zoe Kravitz) from falling down the same pit of revenge, and slowly unearth his family’s history with Gotham that when discovered, shatters his entire identity. Originally intended to be a Ben Affleck project tied in with the DC extended universe, The Batman reworked this concept and made a movie that wasn’t tied to any other DC properties. And thank goodness that it did because this film is easily one of the best Batman films in years.

The movie had its fair share of cynical fan responses when it was initially conceived, but a lot of the film’s worries went away with the first trailer, which showed a gritty, harsh, and brutal environment where Batman was allowed to get as dirty as he wanted. Another fear was how the movie would differentiate itself from the Nolan universe, as that one also took Batman in a more grounded realistic setting, but this was also proven wrong when people saw the film. The director of this movie, Matt Reeves, proved his talent and capability of handling iconic worlds and characters with his Planet of the Apes trilogy, and brought a fresh new feeling to Batman and his universe which hasn’t been truly felt in movies. The aesthetic and atmosphere this movie takes on is something more akin to comics like The Long Halloween and Year One; Batman stories that brought in a new flair and sophistication to the hero , one that carried a complexity to its characters and created an environment that was hauntingly realistic while still feeling like a comic universe. With this in mind, The Batman feels like a blend between the stylisation, punchiness, and dramatic circumstances of the Burton universe, with the grounded feel, uncomfortably gritty atmosphere, and logical and crime-based narratives of the Nolan universe. Its also one of the first Batman films that allows someone who is considered ‘’the world’s greatest detective’’ to be an actual detective, with a detective narrative being nicely laid out throughout this film’s expansive run-time. While it is a little much to expect people to endure almost three hours worth of film, the pacing, directing, writing (handled by both Reeves and fellow screenwriter Peter Craig) and acting from everybody is so tight that it seldom becomes a problem, and the premise of reworking the story of Batman with a new coat of paint allows for a brand new atmosphere and presentation style without needing to retread old waters. The film’s third act is unfortunately not as strong as the rest of the film; feeling strangely tagged on due to the middle’s strange diversion from the main target, the dialogue becomes a lot more hammer-on-the-head obvious with its messaging, and despite not being awful, it definitely feels different from the rest of the movie in terms of pace, execution and pay-off.

With characters as infamous as these, it becomes more about the actor’s portrayal of said character rather than seeing them fresh for the first time, and Batman is a role that has faced many adverse responses from fans due to the casting choices for him, and Pattinson was no different. People were very skeptical of him from initial pitching’s, due to his lanky build, limited filmography in the mainstream and overly emo look for Bruce Wayne, but through his recent films, he’s shown to be a talented actor and here he makes for a surprisingly strong Batman. His presence, stature and attitude are spot on for what the character requires, and his mannerism and ability to move and act within the suit really conveys to the audience that he is Batman, not just someone playing him. It’s a Batman that has a lot of fresh material to work with; a Batman who doesn’t have a Bruce Wayne alter-identify (instead opting to become a reclusive), A Batman whose family secrets throw a wrench into his entire purpose, and a Batman who is vengeful and beats up criminals not to save lives, but rather to release some tension and to get a kick out of it. It feels like the first Batman that is appropriately unhinged and one that needs a wake-up call to become the proper hero. Sadly, while these elements are present, the movie’s extreme focus on the detective story-line means it doesn’t really have time to properly dissect these elements, instead placing them in and making them feel more like plot-points that need to be resolved rather than a character study. A lot of the characters feel very similar to this; Zoe Kravitz does a great job as Catwoman as (like Pattinson), her demeanor, voice and attitude feel like a perfect delivery of the iconic anti-heroine, but her story-line and development don’t feel that strong because of how much this movie is dedicated to focusing on its narrative. What saves these roles are the great actors portraying them and the great writing that accompanies them, but it does feel like some of these roles wouldn’t be anything that strikingly new or unique if it wasn’t for them. Actors like Jeffrey Wright, Andy Serkis and Collin Farrell are great choices and play their parts well, but they don’t get many chances to be more than just the basic archetype they’re playing. Paul Dano as the Riddler is a messy portrayal that harbors some pros and cons; the direction in making him a Zodiac, Keyser Söze-type personality is a nice change from the normally-goofy portrayal, his usage of technology, internet spaces and his mirrored ideology of Batman is quite brilliant, and Paul Dano is a good actor with a great expressive face, but his lack of personality, minimal presence throughout the movie and Dano’s awkwardly goofy portrayal makes him a pretty limited and weirdly non-threatening villain.

Batman films usually have a distinct look and feel to them that helps to bring a new energy to the character, from Burton’s gothic city-scape to Nolan’s shiny chrome metropolis, to even Schumacher’s bizarre glisty nightlife style, it adds a new personality when Gotham is as much a character as Batman is. This version of Gotham feels the most effective in capturing the run-down and messy side of the city; the overly industrial look, the squashed-in feel of the streets and the overwhelming size of the buildings, the heavy rain and searing orange lighting, it feels dirty and unpleasant to be around in the best way possible. Its also a fantastic-looking film, with cinematography by Greig Fraser being both intimate and cinematic at the same time. It can be slow, methodical, and well-angled in a very realistic manner, but its also a movie that is allowed to get some creative and fun visuals that feel like they’re ripped right out of a comic strip. The music is also great, with Michael Giacchino bringing forth that usual bombastic nature to his Batman theme, but with that nice flair of uniqueness that keeps it apart from other versions of the theme. The soundtrack itself is very grunge music based with a lot of moody and sullen sounding scores, but thankfully there aren’t too many of them, and they do fit the mood. The action has that needed feeling of brutality that works not only for this film, but Batman as well, as his fighting style in other films never really felt as direct and painful as it has in this film. The screenplay is very good in this; honestly holding together a lot of the film as it mostly has expositional scenes as opposed to character moments, but the writing is so good, it makes it all work.

The Batman not only avoided being just another Batman film, but it also turned out to be one heck of a great one, easily one of the strongest since The Dark Knight. Its nice to see that Batman still manages to stay strong as a film leader despite the multiple films (some of which were massive lows in the comic book film department). He still holds a special place in pop culture and people are still excited to see what new things can be brought with his name, and this movie does just that. The directing is fantastic, the plot is well laid out and gritty, the writing is very good and delivers exposition very strongly, the actors are wonderful, it looks fantastic, the action is aggressive, the score is atmospheric and its an all around great new addition to the Batman line-up. It isn’t a flawless movie and definitely could have used some changes to the Riddler and the final act, but otherwise, this is a new Dark Knight that is worth sinking down the depths to witness.