The Batman portrays a young, rough-around-the-edges, version of Batman never before seen onscreen. It has a great cast, beautiful visuals and an original script making it worth watching.
The movie opens with little drama as the title ‘The Batman’ silently appears on the screen. It’s understated and indicative of the experience you will have watching the movie. It’s different from all other versions of Batman we have seen onscreen yet. Every time they cast an actor for the role of Batman, it is a ‘hard to imagine’ kind of a situation and this time was no different. However, unusual casting is only the beginning of what sets the movie apart. It’s 3 hours long, an original story, a psychological thriller and a love story.
The film begins with a murder, quite horrific and scary in how it is shown onscreen. The scene looks like it’s straight out of a Nordic thriller or a David Fincher movie. We are then introduced to Batman, as a fearsome, intimidating figure. And he is seen as such not just by the criminals but also by the cops. As he is invited to the crime scene by Detective Gordon (Jeffrey Wright, giving the beloved character his twist), all the other cops there are visibly unnerved by his presence. The tall, silent figure dressed as a bat, however, is not distracted at all. He is focused on the investigation at hand, taking in all the sights laid out in front of him, trying to solve the clues carefully placed by the murderer. Some clues are at the crime scene, just for the Batman. It is clear that the murderer is an unhinged man with a plan that has only just begun. The investigation leads the Batman to meet with Oz, also nicknamed the Penguin, played by Colin Farrell. He is virtually unrecognisable and stunning in the role (just as he was in The North Water) not only because of the unbelievable makeup work but also because of good writing and his excellent performance. Every scene with the Penguin is amazing and I couldn’t get enough of him. He runs a nightclub for Carmine Falcone which is frequented by the shady characters of the city. Batman also meets Selina Kyle (Zoe Kravitz) at the same time who is snooping around in the nightclub trying to help a friend who is apparently in danger. It’s love at first sight for the Caped Crusader.
Murders continue as they take Batman one step closer each time to the mystery laid out by the murderer. But he is still no closer to catching him. The mystery, apparently, involves everyone from cops and district attorneys to the big boss of crime Carmine Falcone (played here by John Turturro, as charming and menacing). What I loved about the movie was that we get to see Batman doing his thing here more than in any of the earlier movie versions we’ve seen. We barely see him without his cape and cowl as he is trying to solve the mystery and that’s one of the reasons why I wasn’t able to understand what to make of Robert Pattinson’s performance. What I can assuredly say though is that I believed him as both Batman and Bruce Wayne. This Batman is young. He has just set the ground rules on how he wants to carry out his vengeance but he still has a lot to learn. He is rough around the edges, angry and ready to intimidate or put the fear of God in someone. We can see that meeting Selina Kyle, who wears a mask just like him affects him despite his face being covered by the mask. Zoe Kravitz is superb as Selina as the story is just as much about her as it’s about Batman. We see her effortlessly move as Catwoman, kicking and screaming at times with the ease of an acrobat. She successfully made Selina Kyle relatable and it was understandable why Batman would fall for her even though they don’t share the same ethics or morals. However, the person making all the moves in the story is the Riddler, played by Paul Dano who gets very little screen time but does a fine job.
The Batman feels less like a movie and more like a graphic novel. Most of the movie takes place at night (obviously), but it’s also a lot darker in its cinematography than the previous Batman movies. Light and colours are wisely used providing a thrilling experience as we watch the Batman dressed in a black suit with a leathery cape in bloody, rainy and fiery backgrounds. The scene (also shown in the trailer) where the Penguin is lying upside down in his crashed car and sees the Batman walk in slow motion toward him as the music steadily escalates just blew me away!
One must also applaud that Warner Brothers didn’t try to add more humour to the film to try and have it resemble a Marvel movie. The humour in the film is dark, just as dark as the dark knight and the world he lives in. The movie is made by people that love the Batman for people who love the Batman (needless to say, I love the title). Matt Reeves has done great work as both writer and director. I would highly recommend watching the movie if you are a fan of the character, as I am.
Thug – ‘What the hell are you supposed to be?’
Batman – [beats down the thug] ‘I’m vengeance!’