Here’s our review for “The Batman” as Matt Reeves offers a gritty, noir take on The Dark Knight that feels closer to “Se7en” or “The Crow” than any DC comic book movie that came before it…
By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer
There’s going to be about a million reviews of Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” so it’s nearly impossible to differentiate one from the next but there’s also some predictability in many of the descriptions that will likely pop up in every article you’ll read about this film.
Gritty. Dark. Noir.
Those are just three off the top of my head — words that were nearly in the headline for this very review because truth be told, “The Batman” is all of those things but this latest take on The Dark Knight goes far beyond such a simple description.
Considering there have been so many versions of this character over the past 50 plus years, it seems rather difficult to make a truly original “Batman” film but that’s exactly what Reeves managed with this nearly three-hour long opus that feels much more like a “True Detective” story ripped from the pages of comic books such as “The Long Halloween,” which many consider to be one of the greatest Batman stories ever told.
Reeves clearly set out on a mission to make his film vastly different from anything that Tim Burton managed with his two “Batman” films and the same can be said when comparing this movie to “The Dark Knight” trilogy from Christopher Nolan.
Now make no mistake, this isn’t a film brimming with laughs or quippy one-liners because that’s obviously not the type of movie that Reeves set out to make. This is a bleak film soaked in cynicism with a healthy dose of despair but that doesn’t mean you’ll leave this movie in a dour mood, unhappy that you just spent your hard earned money to see it.
Just understand that this isn’t a film filled with a million CGI explosions and never ending battles just for the sake of showing off Batman’s fighting skills. No, this is a story that finally showcases Batman’s most iconic weapon as the world’s greatest detective, which means he’s got to do a whole lot of problem solving and investigating rather than just punching his way through a pile of bad guys.
This is a smarter, more focused vigilante driven to solve the crime while also tearing through the streets in souped up muscle cars and stopping occasionally to beat the shit out of some thugs — and he’s going up against an enemy who isn’t interested in matching him in a fight but rather exposing the seedy underbelly that’s been festering in Gotham City for quite some time.
With that said, let’s get to our full review for “The Batman”…
PLOT
It’s year two for the Batman in Gotham City — there’s no origin story this time around but rather an already established vigilante trusted by at least one good cop named Jim Gordon — who flashes a signal in the sky whenever he needs an assist.
Since he first arrived, Batman has become the creature lurking in the shadows who scares criminals from committing crimes in the first place but when the movie begins, he gets called into investigate a murder that has his name written all over it.
When a prominent political figure is killed, Batman arrives at the scene and he soon discovers that he’s been left a number of clues and even an envelope with his name written all over it along with a riddle that he has to decipher if he plans on stopping the next target from being hunted down just like this one.
Along the way, Batman figures out that he’s not alone on this conquest after meeting a woman named Selina Kyle, who is after something that forces her to cross paths with Gotham’s Dark Knight.
In a city teeming with mob bosses and crooked cops, Batman certainly has his work cut out for him and a serial killer with a flair for the dramatic suddenly showing up in town doesn’t make things any easier.
ACTING, DIRECTING AND SCRIPT
Beyond the script or even the direction, perhaps the question most people have been asking leading into the release of “The Batman” was how Robert Pattinson would stack up when compared to Christian Bale, Michael Keaton or even Ben Affleck.
By the end of this film it’s clear why Reeves cast Pattison in this role because it’s almost like he was born to play it.
As Batman, Pattison is ferocious yet calculating as he seemingly surveys every situation like a complex math problem he needs to solve. Then stepping into Bruce Wayne’s shoes, who in this film is a recluse rather than an extravagant playboy, Pattison nails that brooding quality that encapsulates an orphaned billionaire still mourning the loss of his parents, who were gunned down when he was just a kid.
Alongside Pattinson is Zoe Kravitz, who portrays Selina Kyle aka Catwoman — the anti-hero and sometimes love interest — and she pretty much steals every scene she’s in during this movie. Kravitz has been an indie darling for years — it’s still criminal that her “High Fidelity” series only lasted a single season on Hulu — but now this will certainly become her breakout role because she’s fantastic in it.
As good as Pattison and Kravitz are as the Bat and the Cat, perhaps the best performance in this entire production comes from Paul Dano as the mysterious Riddler. Much like Kravitz, Dano has been praised throughout his career for roles in films such as “There Will Be Blood” or even “Little Miss Sunshine” when he was a little younger.
For “The Batman,” Dano is absolutely chilling as The Riddler — a serial killer on a mission to expose the corruption that’s been infecting Gotham City for decades. Dano spends a lot of the movie behind a mask but there’s one scene in particular towards the latter part of the movie where he shines so bright that it should probably earn him an Oscar nomination.
Yep, Dano is that good.
As far as the director goes — Reeves has been solid with nearly every film he’s made before now but he really nailed every aspect necessary when making “The Batman.” The look of the film is best described as gloomy and somber — David Fincher would be proud — but even though it appears the sun never shines much in Gotham, Reeves never allows anything to happen that won’t be seen in perfect detail.
The script from Reeves and Peter Craig is almost perfect as well — the dialogue is sharp but most impressive is the mystery at the heart of the story that unravels over those three hours. In this film, The Riddler isn’t just killing for the sake of satiating some twisted need but rather he’s murdering people with a purpose — as strange as that might sound — and that really makes a difference when dissecting why this movie works so well.
WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE MOVIE?
If you’re going to “The Batman” because you’re anticipating 90 plus minutes of explosions and criminals getting their asses kicked, this isn’t that kind of movie. In fact, you could largely remove about two-thirds of the action scenes in this film and it wouldn’t really sacrifice anything to the story being told.
That might be a problem for some folks, who are possibly anticipating a popcorn action flick — and those can absolutely be a lot of fun — but yet again, that’s not this film.
There’s also the runtime, which admittedly goes a little bit too long.
Three hours seems excessive for almost any film and “The Batman” is no exception. Of course, when this movie finishes, it might not seem like you’ve been sitting in the theater for that long but there is still a bit of bloat that could have been edited out.
It’s not distracting nor does it take away from the overall effect of the film, but Reeves probably could have shaved off 20 minutes before putting this epic into theaters.
FINAL VERDICT
When “The Dark Knight” was released in 2008, it was hailed as one of the greatest comic book movies in history and that absolutely still stands true today. “The Batman” should be placed right alongside that film because Reeves has truly put together a masterpiece with this movie.
Yes, it’s dark.
Yes, it’s gritty.
Yes, it’s a noir but those words come up so often because “The Batman” is all of those things but also so much more. It’s the kind of movie that ends and immediately has you running back to buy another ticket to see it again. It’s just that good.
“The Batman” gets 5 out of 5 on the Skolnick Scale.
