The Batman Movie Review
The Batman is the newest movie of one of DC’s most famous superheroes, Batman. This time The Batman will take inspiration from the “Year Two” era of comics. Where Bruce takes on a much more hands on style. Becoming a merciless detective trying to figure out the clues left to him by mastermind villains we all know and love. This time, mainly The Riddler. Batman is played by Robert Pattinson this time around and the movie is directed by Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes director Matt Reeves.
Batman At His Best
I’m just going to get this out of the way now so that I don’t forget it because it is important. If you love big explosions, brilliant and massively choreographed fights, and Batman swooping in when a madman starts doing the rounds you won’t like this version of the character. This is a much more grounded Bat, who’s only been crime fighting for two years before The Riddler comes along and plays around with him. He’s inexperienced, makes mistakes and often Commissioner Gordon is there to be his moral compass and guide when he finds himself deeper than he anticipated. This is a good thing. For a fan of the character but also a fan of the movies, this one doesn’t pull it’s punches. It shows Batman’s beginnings without having to be obnoxious about it.
Robert Pattinson’s performance as the caped vigilante is close to perfect. Never wavering from his convictions but clearly showing an emotional side we all know is there. The more emotional side is seen better when Pattinson is playing Bruce but that’s to be expected, without the mask he can’t hide. What I wasn’t expecting was how different the two are. Having a scene with Bruce put side by side with a Batman scene and you’d never know they were the same people, Pattinson brings all his acting range to the table here and thank god he did because he’s sharing a screen with people equally as talented.
Not a single weak link
Everyone in this movie is amazing, of course some shine brighter than others. But there really isn’t a single performance that’s bad per se. Definitely some questionable writing choices but the actors pulled them off expertly and make it looks like it was easy.
The only character, not actor, I would argue seems a little superfluous is Catwoman. She’s great for the first act, helps Bruce a lot, but then she kinda screws up the plan. Obviously intentionally written so Bruce has to work for answers. But the film seems to not really know what to do with her from then on and she just kinda keeps showing up. Those are the times the movie is weakest. If they could’ve found a way to write her out of the film after the first act then that would’ve saved a ton of empty noise time. But I understand why keeping her was important, it was a delicate balance that was handled relatively well.
Final Thoughts
Overall The Batman is pretty much perfect. It wears it’s influences on it’s sleeve but that’s not a bad thing. It has moments where it doesn’t quite know that “this cheesy line is gonna make you lose your audience” but does it anyway, leaving a lot of room for eye rolling. The random speeches that Bruce goes on over some scenes definitely feels a bit out of place. Thankfully it only happens 3 times but it’s still a little jarring, especially in a movie as gritty and dark, that so obviously wants to be a film first and a comic book movie second, having the random typical CBM moments in the film is annoying for a hot second.
I shouldn’t make comparisons but that’s why Joker was so successful, it knew what it wanted to be and never wavered. It was consistent. There are some inconsistencies in The Batman, but I would also say it’s not so bad that it affects the movie overall. If I’m being 100% honest that’s just me being very nit picky.
Everyone’s going to have their favourite parts in the movie and favourite characters. Personally I was taken aback at how amazing Paul Dano’s Riddler was. He was extraordinary, and made a big change in Bruce himself.
This really is the best Batman since The Dark Knight, but it won’t be for everyone. Don’t expect big explosions and massive fights. This is a deep dive into Bruce and his world, with pacing that matches that. If you’re looking for a simple “pow pow shooty shooty bad guy, now I win” comic book film this isn’t it and thank God it isn’t, we have enough of those.
