The Batman
Composite Score: 83.83
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, Colin Farrell, Paul Dano, John Turturro, Andy Serkis, Peter Sarsgaard, Barry Keoghan, and Jayme Lawson
Director: Matt Reeves
Writers: Matt Reeves and Peter Craig
Genres: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Superhero
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for strong violent and disturbing content, drug content, strong language, and some suggestive material
Box Office: $770.95 million worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
The Batman is Matt Reeves’s film adaptation of the Caped Crusader, following the titular superhero on an early case in his career as he attempts to uncover and foil the plans of the sinister villain, Riddler, in the midst of the underworld politics and external corruption of Gotham City. The film stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman this time around and also features Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, Colin Farrell as the Penguin, Paul Dano as the Riddler, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, and Andy Serkis as Alfred. This iteration of the hero’s story has been celebrated for its excellent technical elements, strong casting choices, and characterization of Batman. It also received three Oscar nominations – for Visual Effects, Sound, and Makeup and Hairstyling – and has topped many people’s lists of snubs in the score and cinematography departments.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
The Batman’s weakest point is, like all other Batman films besides Batman Forever, the limited characterization and exploration of Bruce Wayne as a character. (I include Batman Forever as the exception because Val Kilmer’s Bruce Wayne is about the only good part of that film.) While much of the Riddler’s (and the film’s) plot revolves around the Wayne family and their history and even Bruce’s perception of his parents and their legacy, most of the character development that he undergoes ends up feeling more channeled toward Batman rather than Bruce Wayne. The audience never really gets to see any changes in how Bruce interacts with the world after the revelations of the Riddler case, just how Batman resolves to work on his image. I realize that this sounds like a strange criticism, but the film sows so many seeds of development for Bruce Wayne – his relationship with Alfred, his involvement with Wayne Enterprises, his potential for philanthropic pursuits, his seeming lack of a public life – that it feels a bit disappointing to really only get a weak payoff from one of them and none at all from the rest.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
Bruce Wayne issues aside, The Batman is an excellent adaptation of the comic book Batman stories. Reeves’s version of Gotham City – the grungy, out-of-time, metropolitan hybrid of New York, Chicago, and Pittsburgh – feels more like a fleshed-out comic book setting than any other Batman film that I can think of. It truly feels unique to the world that Reeves wants the character to live in rather than just a knock-off version of any of those cities I just named. Helping flesh out Reeves’s on-screen comic story is the film’s excellent cast. Not a single character feels miscast or out of place in the world. Kravitz plays Selena in her own unique way, giving maybe the deepest exploration of Catwoman/Selena Kyle that we’ve ever seen on screen. Pattinson looks, sounds, and acts the part of Batman and Bruce Wayne. Part of my issue with the lack of Bruce development stems from how interested I am in Pattinson’s interpretation of the character. I want to see more of him as both hero and alter-ego, but he carries the film with his detective-style Batman, complete with noir voiceovers. Jeffrey Wright plays Gordon with just the right mix of by-the-book, optimism, jadedness, and rule bending to capture Batman’s iconic police confidant – lending a very fun almost buddy detective feel to many of his scenes with Pattinson that takes the film in a fun direction. Turturro’s Falcone is everything you want him to be in this film. He brings a level of menace and unease to the role that few others could have accomplished, making the character more than just a stereotypical mob boss, which is usually where it ends up. Colin Farrell absolutely steals the show with his portrayal of the Penguin – helped out by some excellent prosthetics work. He steps into the character in a way that I could never have imagined possible for the incredibly talented Irishman, making himself the highlight of every scene he is a part of to the point that he’s about to have his own HBO show, and I’m not mad about it. Finally, Dano’s Riddler captures the brilliance of the comic book character while bringing to bear some rather disturbing modern proclivities as well. His 4chan/QAnon-esque personality smacks of recent developments in domestic terrorist activity while still feeling true to the film and the setting with his just barely over-the-top theatricality and creepiness (this might actually be a better Paul Dano performance than his more lauded role in The Fabelmans).
With excellent visuals and casting to set the tone, The Batman provides a satisfying and rewatchable return to the world of the Caped Crusader, capturing the essence of the Batman stories in a way that few other films have been able to, fully earning its spot among the greats. It still struggles at times to do justice to its Bruce Wayne, but the rest of the film is so great that that small disservice is easily forgiven and forgotten. This film is currently available to stream on HBO Max for anyone looking for a place to watch/rewatch it.
