Review: The Batman
After languishing in development hell for many years and being delayed due to COVID-19, Matt Reeves's The Batman has finally hit screens. Initially set in the DCEU, to be written, directed, and starring Ben Affleck, the film was eventually retooled as a detective thriller set during Bruce Wayne’s second year as the famed Caped Crusader. Robert Pattinson plays the titular character, investigating a serial killer named The Riddler (Paul Dano) who has been murdering prominent figures in Gotham City. With the aid of Capt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) and Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz), Bruce Wayne uncovers Gotham’s corruption, seemingly tying itself with crime lord Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) – who may be the key to uncovering The Riddler’s identity.
You may have heard this already, but it’s true: The Batman is unlike any other Batman film ever made, simply because it brings the character back to his detective roots. Reeves’ love for Frank Miller’s Year One and crime thrillers like David Fincher’s Se7en and Zodiac, is evident from the film’s first frame to its last. Those who are expecting an action-heavy comic-book epic, however, may be disappointed. Its nearly 3-hour runtime allows for a slower, more methodically paced movie, which unravels each clue left by The Riddler like one small piece of a puzzle being solved. For some, it may be too slow. For others, it’ll be a dream come true.
Throughout the (long) history of comic book cinema, we’ve never seen a Year One vision of Batman on screen, which is baffling. The closest resemblance to the “world’s greatest detective” we’ve had in any Batman film was in Zack Snyder’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, where Affleck’s Bruce Wayne goes to Lex Luthor’s gala to steal encrypted data. With The Batman, we’re finally seeing the world’s greatest detective in action, going from one place to the next in the hopes of uncovering the Riddler’s identity. What’s even more interesting is how human Batman appears in the suit. He’s just started perfecting his skills as a vigilante, far from being the Caped Crusader we know and love in films like The Dark Knight.
He doesn’t “mysteriously” appear from the shadows when the Bat-Signal calls for him; he arrives in his Batmobile (more on that later), takes the elevator, and shows up. The same thing happens when he wants to meet the Penguin (Colin Farrell); he knocks on the door of the nightclub as opposed to entering unseen, not afraid of being confronted by anyone. Pattinson even said that most of Batman’s courage comes from his belief that the cape and cowl works for everyone else to fear him, even if his suit isn’t necessarily “protective.” And it’s because of that reason that he always has the upper hand during a fight sequence, even if he does get viciously beat down from time to time. He knows he’s vulnerable, but if he doesn’t show it to his enemy, he will have a fighting chance.
As Batman, Pattinson couldn’t have been a better choice to play a younger version of Bruce Wayne. His casting was immediately met with the same kind of skepticism as when Ben Affleck’s got announced, but those who criticized the choice for casting “Edward from Twilight” as Batman clearly did not see The Rover, Good Time, The Lighthouse, and Tenet. After The Twilight Saga, Pattinson reshaped his career and starred in incredible films from A-list filmmakers. The Batman seems to be the next logical progression in Pattinson’s career, portraying the character with more vulnerability than ever. It doesn’t reach the same heights as Affleck’s performance, but it’s certainly an angrier, and more impulsive Batman, nailing the gruff voice while also bringing a different type of physicality to the hero than we’ve seen before.
His fighting skills are way more precise than any iteration we’ve seen so far, always moving forward and cornering anyone in front of him to best gain the advantage. Reeves and cinematographer Grieg Fraser have created some of the very best Batman action sequences ever put to film. No hyperbole intended, as the “I’m vengeance” sequence shown in the DC FanDome teaser is just a taste of what this film offers: a staggering (and brutal) hallway fight lit only by the sporadic gunfires of Falcone’s henchmen, or, even better, an electrifying Batmobile chase that may very well give Batman v. Superman’s chase sequence a run for its money. Every action scene makes the most of Batman’s brutality, and never fails to blow away the audience in a state of pure awe, with Fraser now ranking himself as one of the best digital cinematographers of this era.
And if you thought Pattinson was going to be incredible as Batman, wait until you see the supporting cast. Colin Farrell is barely recognizable as Penguin, playing a mixture of Tony Soprano and, oddly enough, Robert De Niro’s Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas. It shouldn’t work, but in the hands of Farrell, it definitely does. Pattinson also shares terrific chemistry with Zoë Kravitz’s Catwoman. In my review for KIMI, I said Angela Childs was her best performance yet, but I spoke too soon. Kravitz was born to play Catwoman. Technically, this is her second time playing Kyle, with The LEGO Batman Movie being the first, but this is the first time in which we see her in complete control of the screen, totally stealing the spotlight from Pattinson in some scenes.
However, the award for total show-stealer goes to Paul Dano’s Riddler, a riveting reinterpretation of the iconic DC villain. It’s incredible how he immediately gets our eyes glued to the screen every time he appears, even for a brief moment. He’s as frightening, if not, even more frightening, than his character in Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners, and makes the film even more intense than it already was. I wouldn’t dare spoil the best scene of the film, where Batman directly confronts The Riddler in person, but it’s part of the reason why Dano was the perfect choice to play him.
Jeffrey Wright was also the perfect choice to portray Gordon; with a calm demeanor that alleviates some of the film’s tense atmosphere, and a wry and smartly-delivered humor that was a refreshing change of pace from the usual comic book film pathos. At its core, The Batman is more of an actors’ showcase than a “cape film,” as it’s more interested in developing its terrifically written characters through the actors’ portrayal of them than incessantly building the world and setting up for potential sequels. And while that does happen from time to time, the actors are able to smartly transform the more expository dialogue about Gotham and its corruption in a way that never feels like endless exposition dumps.
Yes, The Batman does set up multiple spin-offs and sequels (as it’s apparently become necessary with comic book films), but it’s still able to stand on its own two feet and be a damn good standalone Batman film. If all of the HBO Max spin-offs (and sequels) were canceled, it wouldn’t necessarily matter, because the movie we have is unlike anything that came before (and will come after). It gives us a completely different vision of the Caped Crusader we would never have had if Matt Reeves was not attached to the project. With incredible performances, eye-widening cinematography and intricately choreographed action sequences, The Batman is a one-of-a-kind reinterpretation of the DC hero we may never see again. And if the spin-offs do happen, and are as good as this movie, then we may be in for something truly special. Cinema is back.
