"The Batman" Review: A New Status Quo for the Caped Crusader?

Vega
Mar 5, 2022
7 min read

Platform: In Theaters

Release Date: March 4, 2022

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

After the success of the grounded approach acclaimed director Christopher Nolan took in his adaptation of the Caped Crusader, DC fans have been left yearning for another chance at a definitive modern Batman. For many, Ben Affleck's take on the character was worthy of great praise, but his performances were very limited and never given the screen time/focus needed to fully capture the character. With Matt Reeves next in line to tackle DC's signature hero, his knack for telling personal stories is sure to bring the characters of Gotham to life with newfound depth. With footage and trailers, thus far, encapsulating an early and raw look at the Batman's reign in Gotham, this movie will have the freedoms of establishing its own status quo of expectations. Can its unique take on the Riddler and Pattinson's donning of the cowl propel the film beyond the character's previous successes?

Set firmly in Batman's early years in Gotham, the city is plagued by a serious of murders, at which each is left a mysterious greeting card for the vigilante hero. Dubbing himself the Riddler, the mysterious killer claims to know a secret that will expose the corrupt political infastructure on which Gotham is built. Thus begins a game of cat and mouse between Riddler and Batman that tangles the likes of Jim Gordon, Catwoman, Penguin, and Carmine Falcone into the series of murders. Always a step behind the masked villain, Batman and Gordon struggle in their efforts to recognize the bigger picture of the Riddler's exposures and his ultimate plan to cleanse Gotham. As the Wayne's own legacy is brought into question, Batman is challenged with not just saving the city but also reflecting on what his presence has meant for the city he sought to protect.

Starting with Batman's most overlooked character, the setting of Gotham City, Reeves created a realistic and gritty landscape that was met with an interesting blend of modernization stamped onto a classical setting. Big, bold architectural structures and detailing highlighted the police precinct and Wayne manor, while the high traffic areas mirrored Times Square with large electronic billboards, all surrounded by the staple grittiness of slums and dark alleys. I appreciated the details in the buildings and the skylines, but in its most famous fashion, so much of it is dulled by the noir and dimmed coloring of the Batman world. It was not a bother during the movie, since it is an expected element of the Batman visual style, but one day someone could really set their vision apart by looking past the neutrals section. Even so, the movie's settings in both color, architecture, and interior designs, helped emphasize the noir and horror elements that are scattered throughout this crime thriller.

The movie opens heavily in horror fashion, as a narrative-starting murder with lightning flash reveals and a visually disturbing Riddler establishes the villain as fellow creature of the night. Serving as a direct mirror to Batman, the Riddler is given a bit more depth in his origin and takes the idea of vengeance to mean murder and exposure. As great as the opening scene was, the Riddler's impact as a character and his use of riddles never elevated much past that. As an anarchist who sought to expose corruption, he was not a complete dud, but as an interpretation of the Riddler, it was pretty forgetful. His tactics were very repetitive and, again, never felt elevated by the weird “Saw”-esque mechanisms or his easily solved riddles. The real advantage a version of this character offered was laying out a mystery that allowed Batman to play with his detective skills, something lost in other cinematic interpretations. It is the film's standout element and was a cheap, though well-done, strategy for maintaining interest in the Riddler's somewhat weak scheme.

The plot, while well-written, did not deliver much in the way of shocks or carry enough climactic lift to grip the audience into the thrill of its revenge story. The Wayne's not-so-dark secret felt weakly threaded to the backstabbing mob story plaguing the criminal underground. The movie was at its best when Gotham's political elite were exposed for being dirty and in the pockets of criminals. This was an overarching story that not only fit well in the city Reeves created, but it also seemed justifiable enough to understand why Riddler's madness would lead him down this road. However, the movie was at its worst when brooding Bruce had to confront the secrets of his own family. This was a plot point that came off very intriguing in the trailers, but when fully blossomed fell flat in the film. Bruce was already tasked with confronting the reality of the unintended influence of the Batman on Gotham, which felt better tied to the essence of the character, leaving the Wayne story like more of an afterthought.

The film's near three-hour runtime does not suffer from many drags in its pacing, however it does still end up feeling warrantless. The slower moments of the story all surround Bruce, Alfred, and the family secret and that movie would have blossomed more if all of that was removed. The hospital scene was an especially dulled moment with little heart from a poorly written (or casted, I can not decide which) Alfred that I did not feel connected well in his scenes with Pattinson's Bruce. Anything that happens in Gotham is personal to Batman, but not always Bruce Wayne, so I get the motivation to want to better tie personal stakes to that persona. This movie already had those connections with the corruption of his father's “Renewal” fund and Riddler's personal vendetta against Bruce as warring orphans. Instead, the plot stepped on its own toes with unecessarily overlapping plot threads by trying to up its Bruce connections.

Batman's detective skills were not showcased as much as I would have hoped, with the movie electing to portray him more as Jim Gordon's highly skilled informant than a master detective. But being young in his career, I suppose it was appropriate for the movie, just not as engaging of a skill set considering the crime noirs the movie homaged. Pattinson's Batman still shined as one of the standouts of the film, and thank goodness, as the entire narrative lives and dies on his performance. On complete display were his hand-to-hand combat skills (which felt similar to the flowing combos of the Arkham games), technology and gadgets, and brooding personality, all of which showcased the well-rounded approach Reeves direction and Pattinson's acting brought to the character. The other side of that coin was Pattinson's Bruce Wayne, which, for a narrative that relied on this character's connections, used very little of him. What was seen of Bruce was far from awe-inspiring, so perhaps the movie's decision to use him sparingly was in good judgement.

On par with, or maybe slightly above, Pattinson's performance was that of Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz). She was a sharp-tongued character with empathy and just enough sex appeal to embody so much of the comic character. Add all of that to her quick and stealthy combat style, and Kravitz instantly became the definitive version of the character. The chemistry between her and Pattinson as the characters teamed-up proved to be the biggest highlights of the film. The shifts in her backstory created another orphan story to parallel Batman's and Riddler's, while also driving an emotional journey that was refreshing in the dread of Gotham. Both Colin Farrell's Oswald/Penguin and Jeffrey Wright's Jim Gordon were also standouts in their performances, but I think specific recognition should be given to John Turturro's Carmine Falcone. His portrayal of a remoreseless, yet suave, mob boss who has personal ties to Selina Kyle and Thomas Wayne, was an enthusiastic scene stealer.

As over-used of a theme as it might be, the difference in perspective of what Batman means to Gotham from his own point of view and from the view of others remains a captivating play in the psychology of this franchise. This is a Batman that seeks vengeance, as does Catwoman and Riddler, all of which manifest that desire in different extremes. Batman sees himself as helping to fix Gotham, but is left to recognize how his presence influences the crazy he ends up fighting against. He, himself, is a part of Gotham's vicious cycle and this film sees him act from a selfish standpoint until the very last act, when his own voiceover signifies a change in perspective. Batman is a character that is limited in the ways he can grow and this story smartly started him at a most primal level, leaving plenty of room for growth in future stories.

I do not know if it was just my theater, but there were a lot of sequences in which the background sound and music almost drowned out the narrations and other things on screen. The score was good and I enjoyed the use of the new Batman theme, but the sound mixing with the score was too overpowering of other sounds. The Batmobile chase scene with the Penguin, while running a bit too long, was shot really well and had an epic conclusion, but the sounds of the race and the cars all blended together in a shamble of noises. I did really enjoy the use of modern songs in the movie, though, as they perfectly captured the film's moody tones and lend to this movie making better use of a soundtrack than a traditional score. The best use of sound in the film was the cowboy boot/stirrup stomping as Batman would approach a scene, giving emphasis to the attention he commands.

This was a movie with a great Batman, a great Catwoman, an awesome atmosphere, and an intriguing story, but was dragged down by a sub-par antagonist and an unclimactic mystery. I think Reeves is on the right track with how he presents this character and Pattinson is a great Batman, but there were still some inconsistencies that needed cleaning up in characterizations and plot details. That being said, this was still one of the best DC Comics films released in the past decade and a welcome addition to the Batman cinematic franchise.