The Batman Review: The Bat the Cat and the Riddle

 The Batman, directed by Matt Reeves was a film I was quite anticipating as Batman is one of my favourite superheroes. I have never been a big DC fan as I have always leaned towards Marvel for films, shows, and comics but the one DC character that I consistently watch/ care about is Batman. I have seen all the live-action Batman films, quite a few animated ones, watched the Gotham tv show, and read some Batman comics. When I walked out of this film, I could say that it is one of my favourite Batman movies and my favourite DC film in a while too. I found that this film created an amazing atmosphere and tone that fits the Batman character so well. This film also leans heavily into a detective noir-style story similar in many ways to the film SE7EN as the film is quite dark and creepy at many times. A detective-centric story has been something that fans have wanted for years and this film delivers with in-depth crime scene analysis and puzzle-solving similar to CSI. You really get to see Batman be the world’s greatest detective and take his time solving the crime. Sure, Batman does beat up a lot of criminals as well but I think this is the most detective-focused story we have seen from a Batman film and I think that it does a good job paying homage to the other films especially the Christopher Nolan trilogy but also differentiating itself. 

 I think the Riddler was the perfect choice as a villain for this film as he really poses a psychological threat for Batman to face and the realistic approach that this film takes with all the Batman mythos makes him seem more like a serial killer we could see in our world which just adds to the scariness of his character and Paul Dano does a great job in the role demonstrating total, yet motivated insanity that makes him a good match for Pattinson’s Batman and their scenes together were great. To talk about some of the other actors in this film I thought that Jeffrey Wright was brilliant as Jim Gordon in this film providing a partner and near equal for Batman to interact with and someone for him to trust. Andy Serkis as Alfred was great though he didn’t have a ton of screentime and I’d be interested to see where his character goes and I could say the same for Colin Ferrell as the Penguin who also doesn’t have the most screentime but he turns in an excellent performance and the makeup on him is so well done. Zoe Kravitz is amazing as Selina Kyle (Catwoman) as she truly represents someone who is like Batman but chose a different path, in this case, burglary and I really loved her interactions with Batman and I thought they had great chemistry.  
Robert Pattinson as Batman was not something I would’ve thought would work as well as it does. He really made me believe he was Batman and I loved his quiet moments where he was just observing something or saying things with his eyes. He sold the action scenes and the detective scenes and I really did believe that at only 2 years into being Batman he only cares about being Batman. My only issue with his performance is that his Bruce Wayne is too similar to Batman, he needs to create a more distinct Bruce Wayne so that people don’t suspect him being Batman. The way he acts now I wouldn’t be surprised to find out he is Batman. 

The action in the film is really well done and one of my favourite scenes is a car chase that you have seen parts of in the trailer but in general, I thought the fight scenes were really cool and awesome. Gotham as a city is interesting and I thought that the gothic touches reminded me of the Michael Keaton/Tim Burton films in a good way. This movie is quite long and I would say there are maybe one or two scenes they could’ve shortened and or cut but I do think that for the most part, it merits its run time, there is a lot of story here and it kept me engaged for the most part.