The Batman Review

8.5/10

It’s difficult to review a film that has already been made by multiple other people in various forms. I have no attachment to the Batman character, though I have certainly enjoyed some of the films in that universe. DC’s quality control has the consistency of a blindfolded baseball player trying to hit a fly in one strike. Their attempts to copy the MCU have been abysmal. Even the fan-favorite Snyder Cut of Justice League I thought was dull. Joss Whedon’s original cut was bad, but it was at least short. I’d rather watch short and dreadful over long and boring. The few times DC succeed seem almost by accident. Wonder Woman was solid though a tad overrated. They immediately fell flat on their face when they released the terrible Wonder Woman 84.  

            Suicide Squad was one of the worst films I can remember seeing, but they salvaged that failure with the surprisingly solid follow-up, James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. Shazam was surprisingly delightful and one of my favorite modern superhero films. With DC’s track record, the chances of the sequel being a dud are higher than they should be. DC are at their best when they facilitate a self-contained filmmaker’s vision, like with Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy.

I did not enjoy Joker much, but many did, so I’ll include it here. This director-driven approach makes DC sometimes stand out, yet they keep forgetting this is where they excel.  That is very different from the assembly line approach Marvel takes. Except for the Guardians of the Galaxy films, their films usually feel like they are made by an audience-pleasing algorithm rather than a filmmaker.

            Now we get to The Batman. I went into this with as neutral of a mindset as I could, considering their last attempts at putting the character on screen. Ben Affleck was a fantastic Batman/Bruce Wayne. Unfortunately, he was never given good material to work with. I think he was the best live-action portrayal of the character we’ve had. He perfectly captured the billionaire playboy swagger of Wayne and the grit and darkness of Batman. I say best live-action portrayal because we all know the best overall version of Batman was Kevin Conroy’s. Here we get a fantastic revitalization of Gotham thanks to director Matt Reeves.

            Reeves’ strengths lie in humanizing grandeur. He can take a typically large-scale film, like Cloverfield and his Apes trilogy, and make it down to earth and relatable. The Batman is almost 3 hours long, but it never drags It faced an uphill battle from the start. We have seen everything here before, the grit of Gotham, the villains, and the overarching tale of finding personal redemption via the fight for justice. Robert Pattinson is a great fit for Bruce Wayne/Batman.

Christian Bale got a lot of praise for his portrayal, but despite him being one of the best actors we have, his performance for me felt one-dimensional. Pattinson embodies a younger version of the caped crusader, one who is trying to find his footing in a world he feels is beyond his control. He is still in the early days of establishing his fear-based approach to ridding Gotham of crime. He struggles to understand his place in this city when he feels like his impact is minimal. Criminals still run rampant, making his efforts feel meaningless.

            The film feels more like a gritty thriller than a typical superhero film. His dive into the city’s grimy underworld is similar to film-noir detectives. It tries to emulate that genre by adding a Noir inspired voiceover. Unfortunately, this is dropped and forgotten about for most of the film. I felt like it could have been sprinkled in throughout to enhance the Noir style it was aiming for. Pattinson does an exceptional job embodying Wayne’s inner turmoil. I much preferred him over Bale and most of the other Batmans. Or Batmen?

            We have seen all these characters before, but the actors manage to mold the role around their talents. Zoe Kravitz adds a smoldering intensity and charisma as Catwoman. She completely dominated the role and made it her own. Paul Dano was an interesting choice to play Riddler. Visually, he reminded me of the infamous serial killer Edmund Kemper. Personality-wise he has the snobby entitlement of some of the well-known mass shooters, especially the ones with a misplaced god complex. He genuinely feels a connection to Batman and thinks they are doing the same thing. In a twisted way, I can see his logic. They both wear a costume and aim to rid the city of crime and corruption. Except Riddler doesn’t care how many innocent people get in the way to achieve his goal.

Then we have The Penguin. I could write an entire essay about how brilliant Colin Farrell is in the role. Many of his previous attempts at sounding anything but Irish have been iffy with some exceptions like his surprisingly good Russian accent in The Way Back. Here he is utterly transformative. If I did not know in advance who he was playing I would not have guessed he was Penguin. He doesn’t even sound like Farrell. I did not detect a hint of his vocal mannerisms and how he usually sounds. I hear he is getting a spin-off series too. I think that has a lot of potential.

            The Batman is a splendid start to this new series. It easily could have copied what Christopher Nolan did before without having a distinct identity of its own. There are certainly echoes of Nolan with the way Riddler is portrayed and the grim vision of Gotham, but for the most part, the film feels like its own animal. Certain aspects could be improved upon in upcoming sequels. As I mentioned before, the Noir influence is underutilized and should have been more prominent with the voiceover to put us in Wayne’s head.

Andy Serkis is really good as Alfred, but he is too quickly sidelined. The Penguin has the same issue. They are both engaging, but so much so to the point where their absence is noticeable when they aren’t on screen. Dano is outstanding and sinister as Riddler, but with such a long runtime I think the screen time of Penguin could have been extended. A 3-hour runtime is a difficult endeavor to balance. The film could have easily tipped into self-indulgent territory. There are many threads to weave into a coherent narrative, but at no point did I feel the film was overstuffed. It even forgoes typical Batman scenes, such as showing the murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents yet again.

God knows we have seen that far too many times. Instead, we are shown a conflicted Bruce Wayne trying to live up to a promise he made to his father. This idolization of his legacy proves to be misguided when the film reveals the corruption buried deep in the past. This is not a typical story of Batman fighting for truth and justice, it’s a twisted kind of coming-of-age tale about confronting the past and your purpose in the world. The Riddler serves as a reflection of how far into oblivion Batman’s torment could force him.

  We even see the detective side of Batman brought into focus, an aspect of the character that is usually overlooked. His scenes with Commissioner Gordon, a superb performance by Jeffrey Wright, are among the best in the film. Their investigation into unraveling the mysterious killings in Gotham reminded me of David Fincher’s Seven. Overall, it’s a well-made and impressive film. One that I think is superior to the Nolan films. I’m looking forward to seeing where Matt Reeves takes the series from here.