Bruce Wayne, The Dark Knight, The World's Greatest Detective, Vengeance. Whatever you may call him there is no doubt that Batman is one of the world's most popular superheroes. We've seen him in movies about 17 times now, animated and live action, but we've never seen a Batman like this. The Batman, from director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, War for the Planet of the Apes) is a dark, noir entry into the superhero movie genre. The Batman follows Bruce Wayne in his second year as the Bat. He ventures into Gotham City's criminal underworld when the sadistic Riddler begins murdering high profile citizens and leaving a trail of clues that lead too close to home.
The Batman was easily one of my most anticipated movie of 2022, and boy did it live up to the hype. From the beginning, The Batman sets an epic stage. Bruce Wayne narrates while criminals warily peer into the shadows to see if The Dark Knight will emerge in a chilling introduction. And when he finally does appear to a crowd of thugs, it made for an on screen moment that won't be forgotten any time soon. I love the direction that Matt Reeves went with this film by portraying a younger, inexperienced Batman. Bruce Wayne doesn't care a thing about being Bruce Wayne in this movie. He is addicted to the night and doling out his own form of justice on the criminals of Gotham as the Batman. It makes for a very dark film, both visually and emotionally. We get to see more of Batman being an actual detective and working alongside Jim Gordon to solve crimes than we ever have before. I love the relationship that we see between these two characters. Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) is so cool when talking to Batman (Robert Pattinson), even when Batman brings an almost Darth Vader -like presence to the screen.
The entire cast was fantastic. Zoe Kravitz was a perfect casting as Selina Kyle/Catwoman. She was bad to the bone and killed every scene she was in. To me, she is the definitive Catwoman. I really hope we get more of the Bat and the Cat in the future. We didn't see a ton of Andy Serkis as the trusty butler Alfred, but he was great in the scenes he was in. The relationship between Bruce and Alfred is completely different in The Batman. It seems that they don't even like each other much at the beginning of the movie. I can't get over how completely unrecognizable Colin Farrell was as The Penguin. That transformation is truly incredible and he seemed to have a ton of fun playing the low level gangster. Besides Pattinson (who I'll get to in a minute), the standout for me was Paul Dano as Riddler. I've never seen a movie that I didn't like Dano in and that remains true after The Batman. The guy just brings his A-game every single time. Heath Ledger's Joker is the gold standard for Batman villains, and Dano's Riddler is right behind him. I love how Reeves modernized the Riddler and turned him into a Jigsaw/Zodiac type killer with a twisted internet channel and a group of insane followers. That decision is so grounded in reality. The whole movie is a blend of genres really. Riddler's first introduction is like something straight out of a horror film. At times it doesn't feel much like a superhero movie at all and more of a crime thriller.
Even Gotham City itself felt like a character. I love Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, but Gotham in those movies feels too much like Chicago or New York. Reeve's Gotham in The Batman feels like it does in Batman: The Animated Series (which is fantastic and on HBO Max). It's almost like Gotham is in an isolated snow globe with a bunch of maniacs running rampant and only a Bat to keep them at bay. I though Robert Pattinson was brilliant as Batman. Was he an "emo-Batman" as the internet has dubbed him? Absolutely. But that was the point. He doesn't care about his life as Bruce Wayne or anything other than beating criminals to a bloody pulp. He is perfectly dark and brooding. At times he is genuinely frightening with the physicality to match. He's damaged and vulnerable and Pattinson does a great job of capturing the doom and gloom beneath the mask. This version of Batman isn't a hero yet. He's nothing more than a vigilante. If this isn't the version of Batman you're looking for, don't fret. Pattinson's version will grow throughout this new trilogy. We already see some growth at the end of this movie as Batman begins to realize that he needs to be Gotham's hope and light in the darkness. I am by no means taking away anything from Christian Bale or Michael Keaton because they are great, but when it's all said and done, Robert Pattinson may just be the best.
A few final notes - the score of this movie is perfect. Batman's incredible theme adds another dynamic when the character comes on screen. We don't see much of the new Batmobile, but what we do see is sick. The chase scene that we see in the trailer with Penguin is executed really well. My only complaints are that it is a bit long. They probably could have shaved off 20 minutes of the movie and it still would have worked. I wish we saw more of Dano's Riddler and I think the trailers showed a little bit too much, but these complaints are just nitpicking. If you're a fan of Batman or superhero movies or just movies in general, I definitely recommend heading out to the theater to see The Batman. It's a ton of fun and I predict it will make my top 10 list by the end of 2022. Matt Reeves, Robert Pattinson, and company have created a really interesting world and laid the groundwork for some really cool things to come for this new era of Batman.
- BH
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