Director Matt Reeves brings Batman to life in a way we haven’t seen before, turning this story more into a psychological thriller instead of just your typical superhero movie.
Batman (Robert Pattinson) ventures into Gotham City’s underworld when a sadistic killer leaves behind a trail of cryptic clues. As the evidence begins to lead closer to home and the scale of the perpetrator’s plans becomes clear, he must forge new relationships, unmask the culprit and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has long plagued the metropolis.
Just like everyone else, I was skeptical about this movie after the announcement that Pattison was gonna be taking on the role of the Caped Crusader in this new film. It was just hard to see him go from a sparkling vampire in the Twilight movies to the Dark Knight. However, as images and trailers for The Batman began to role out, my skepticism slowly started to fade. Now after watching the film, I am completely blown away by his performance and onboard his casting.
This is definitely not your typical Batman film. From the very first scene, it is made absolutely clear the amount of thought, work, and creativity that has gone into creating this movie. The Batman will scare you, consume you in its mystery, excite you with its action, and amaze you with its commitment to telling a darker and grittier story about corruption in Gotham. Director Matt Reeves has done a masterful job in directing each scene. He is definitely a point-of-view-driven director. There a quite a few shots in the movie where he puts you in the character’s shoes and gives you a glimpse into how that character sees the world and how the world sees them. As soon as Batman enters a crime scene you are immediately put into his POV and can see how each police officer sees him as a menace and doesn’t want him there. This helps establish the world and the relationships within in a subtle way.
Reeves also brilliantly adds scenes of horror and thrills which were unexpected and delivers some awesome nailbiting and riveting moments. All of these scenes are enhanced by the amazing camerawork by Greg Fraser (One scene, in particular, was the Batmobile chase scene). Gotham is very dark and gritty but never feels dead. Unlike most DC films where it looks so dark to the point that you can’t see anything, The Batman dials up its contrast allowing all the colors to pop and really suits the dark depressing setting of Gotham.
The film’s score by Michael Giacchino is his best work yet. As the action begins to heat up, you can hear little hints of Dum-Da-Dum-Dum pick up and you immediately know things are about to get crazy. Besides that, the soundtrack is also able to showcase moments of mystery, emotion, and romance.
The Batman might have the least amount of talking by the character in any Batman movie because Robert Pattinson brilliantly displays emotions through his body language and expressions. Pattinson brings the character to life in a way we haven’t seen before. His take on Bruce Wayne is a little more depressed and quite eccentric. He has traveled the world to gather knowledge and is always analyzing his surroundings is absolutely gonna be an introvert and kind of recluse and this is showcased very well.
Now, there are a lot of side characters in this film and they all brilliantly bring their characters to life. Colin Farrell is brilliant and unrecognizable as the Penguin and Paul Dano is just terrifying as he makes his take on the Riddler more menacing and violent. Jeffery Wright is brilliant in really anything that he does and his take on Detective Gordon is no exception. Zoe Kravits is the Catwoman of my dreams. Kravits is intoxicating and electric as Selina Kyle and her chemistry with Pattinson is undeniable. This movie is a straight-up murder mystery and that’s what I really enjoyed about this movie and that it allows Batman to actually do some detective work and you get lost in that journey trying to put all the different puzzle pieces together, which takes you deeper into the dark secrets of Gotham’s Elite including Batman’s own past.
Overall, The Batman isn’t a good story because it’s an engaging murder mystery, but because it allows the characters within to grow as well. As Batman, Catwoman, Penguin, and Alfred get caught in the middle of these murders that all grow as a character in their own way which will make future sequels a lot more interesting and exciting to watch.
The Batman is now playing only in theaters.
What did you think of the film? Let me know in the comments.
