Nobody will disagree that Batman is one of the most iconic and well-known characters of any medium. It’s a rich character with countless storylines to pull from and adapt and a rogues gallery that can go toe to toe with anyone. And it’s this history and familiarity that makes it both easy and difficult to make a good Batman movie these days. For all the heat Marvel gets for making the “same” movie over and over, the swings they take are with the characters within those stories. James Gunn brought the Guardians of the Galaxy out of relative obscurity to give fans a new beloved franchise. And with the studios’ new focus on the global scale, the multiverse, the extra-terrestrial characters, they’re at least packaging that formula in new and inventive ways.
So how does a director, a studio, take Batman and give fans something to fawn over aside from that name brand value? Well, in the case of Matt Reeves’ The Batman, you go dark, literally, in more ways than one. It’s in unique contrast to the bright, poppy, CGI-filled Marvel counterparts. Even compared to some of DC’s other offerings, often criticized – to varying degrees – for being too dark (though that is maybe taking a slight turn), The Batman stands alone.
The Batman finds Robert Pattinson’s Caped Crusader two years into fighting crime as the Gotham vigilante. And right off the (I’m sorry) bat, Reeves sets this movie apart. Yes, it’s ostensibly the first movie in a series, but this is no origin story. We’re thankfully spared from seeing Thomas and Martha Wayne gunned down for the 1,000th time. Batman’s relationship with the Gotham PD – save for Lt. Gordon – is strenuous but established. They’re not sure they can trust him, but they’re not constantly trying to arrest him either. These may seem like simple choices, but credit still has to go to Reeves. He either knows the core audience already knows these pieces and more about Batman’s backstory, or he trusts that they can keep up without excessive exposition. Believe it or not, good things happen when a filmmaker trusts their audience.
The Batman also allows Batman to show off his “world’s greatest detective” skills. It’s really a crime movie masquerading as a superhero movie. And that’s awesome. It’s as gritty and gripping as any superhero movie since Logan or Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, and arguably more so. When mysterious serial killer Riddler (Paul Dano in a perfect bit of casting) starts knocking off high-ranking city and government employees, Batman must race to stop him before whatever Riddler has planned for a finale can come to fruition.
Yet again, the plot puts The Batman further away from the typical superhero movie we’re used to, even when compared to Nolan’s trilogy. The Batman is definitively the most grounded and realistic superhero movie we’ve seen in years, maybe ever. You could argue that it’s not even a true superhero movie. It’s a crime movie whose lead detective is rich and eccentric. Sure, that’s an oversimplification, but you get the point.
Along with Gordon, Wayne works with waitress/cat burglar Selina Kyle – Catwoman, though unless I missed it, the movie never uses that name – to bring down Riddler, fighting local mobsters and corruption along the way. Zoe Kravitz as Kyle is another bit of inspired casting. There’s really no other way to put it, she just feels right in the role. She and Pattinson have an easy chemistry, connecting over their shared childhood trauma and deep desire to fight for those who can’t fight for themselves. Nothing has been confirmed yet on a potential sequel, but it would be a crime if Kravitz isn’t involved.
And she’s just one example of many great casting choices. Jeffrey Wright is as reliable as anybody, so you know he brings it as Gordon. John Turturro fits in perfectly as legendary Gotham crime boss Carmine Falcone. Colin Farrell is unrecognizable as Penguin, Falcone’s right-hand man. Andy Serkis as Wayne butler Alfred Pennyworth is maybe the one miss, if only because he’s probably under-utilized. With a casting like Serkis, you might expect a little more meat to the role. Hopefully that will expand in any potential sequels.
And then there’s Paul Dano’s Riddler. I can’t speak to all the various TV shows, but we haven’t seen a live-action Riddler in a movie since Jim Carrey and his famous “unsanctioned buffoonery” in 1995’s ill-fated Batman Forever. Riddler has been a character I’ve long-wanted to see in a new update, and I was not disappointed. More menacing when he’s still a mystery, Dano’s full commitment to the insane Edward Nashton helps overcome some of the character shortcomings. As original and unique as so much of the movie feels, there’s not much novel to the Riddler. His backstory and larger plan aren’t anything new. It’s a worthy message, sure – corruption is bad – but it’s something countless movies have covered before. But the better a movie is, the easier you can forgive little things like that. It’s nothing more than a minor quibble.
I don’t often get too deep into the technical aspects of movies, unless they’re exceptionally good or exceptionally bad. Can you guess which side The Batman lands on? Michael Giacchino composed the score. I don’t really need to say anything more than that. The man’s basically a god in the music world. Zimmer, Göransson, Williams. Giacchino absolutely belongs in that same group. Cinematographer Greig Fraser brings his A game as well; nearly every shot is stunning, and he captures the grim, dark tone of Reeves’ Gotham to perfection. If the below the line work gets it going for you, The Batman has all that in spades.
This movie is going to be huge, and deservedly so, presenting an arguably definitive movie for an already iconic character. If you’re tired of seeing “the same old stuff” being made (a tired argument, but one that gets made nonetheless), The Batman should cure that itch.
Score: 95/100
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