Review: The Batman

Going into The Batman, there was so much about the film that I was excited for that part of me was worried it could collapse. Matt Reeves was coming off two of the best films of the decades with his Planet Of The Ape sequels, Robert Pattinson had spent the last 5-10 years successfully shedding off his Twilight image and had grown into one of the more interesting actors around, the move away from the troubled DCEU and into its own entity allowed the film a lot more freedom and every piece of media leading up to the release looked like the very thing Batman needed.

That amount of hype cannot sustain itself without cost and part of me feared that studio-interference or rough editing to fit a PG-13 rating or any number of issues that have plagued tent-pole films could send this whole thing tumbling over itself. Rest assured that not only was I wrong to doubt the talents behind this film, but this might just be the best Batman film put to screen.

It’s easily the best opening chapter he’s ever had.

Set in present day Gotham City, Bruce Wayne has been operating as Batman for two years now and crime in the city has only gotten worse, with the skyrocketing crime rate the focal point of a mayoral election debate between sitting mayor Don Mitchell Jr and opponent Bella Reál. More focussed than ever to live up to his family’s legacy, Bruce Wayne had become a billionaire recluse, hiding away from the public spotlight to put all his energy into his work as Batman, much to the disappointment of his only friend Alfred.

When Mayor Mitchell is brutally murdered in his home, a letter and a riddle addressed to Batman puts the already iffy GCPD on edge with the dark knight with only Lt. James Gordon on his side. Following the clues left behind, Batman and Gordon uncover evidence that Mitchell was cheating on his wife with a woman from mob hangout, The Iceberg Longue, run by Oswald Cobblepott, right hand man of mob boss Carmine Falcone. It’s here that Bruce discovers the mysterious woman is friends with waitress Selina Kyle, a catburgler trying to help her friend escape town. Bruce and Selina join forces but when a second victim is found, Batman realises that whoever this riddle obsessed killer is, they’re targeting Gotham’s corrupt elite and posting their works on social media to rally the disenfranchised.

Working with Gordon and Selina, Bruce must track down this killer whilst discovering what the connection is between him, Falcone’s operation, the arrest of rival boss Salvatore Marone, the deep corruption of the GCPD, and Bruce’s own father Thomas Wayne before Riddler can finish his list of targets and amass an army of Gotham’s underclass.

This is a really strong story, it plays out like an old-school detective thriller with each new piece of the puzzle unlocking the next stage. What starts as a serial killer story evolves into a battle against corruption and then evolves even further to become a personal struggle for Bruce in his quest to differentiate between Batman and Bruce Wayne. There’s a lot of plates spinning throughout this narrative with Riddler, Falcone, Selina, the police, Bruce’s own story, but they keep them all going steady and tie everything together exceptionally well, it’s a story worthy of a classic Fincher film and shows off Bruce’s detective skills like never before.

My only gripe is that at nearly three hours long, things do start to get longwinded towards the end, the last 15 minutes especially feels like it has as many endings as Return of The King and personally my ass was chafing me by that point. But honestly the length works to the film’s favour, it allows the film to breath naturally and gives every story its chance to shine whilst contributing to the overall narrative. There are actions scenes of course but the bulk of the film is the investigation and allowing that to play out without compromise works heavily in the film’s favour, you don’t feel those three hours until the final push and by that point you’re already invested.

Acting across the board is fantastic, there’s not a weak link in the entire cast which is impressive given the size of it; from Pattinson and Dano giving some of the most unique performances in a comic book movie to a pair of club bouncer twins who managed to make two memorable characters out of three short scenes. Like most Batman films, this had a number of villains alongside Riddler, most notably Carmine Falcone and Penguin, Falcone is played by John Turturro who doesn’t instantly grab you outside of being a creep, but he comes into the film big in the second act and Turturro plays the guy almost like a Scorsese character, always with that air of confidence befitting of a man who has all the power in the world and isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty to prove it.

Penguin is a smaller character than you might think given the amount of marketing towards him, but he stands out in the time he’s given. For starters, the make-up work on Colin Farrell is out-fucking-standing, he is visually unrecognisable and the thick accent he gives the character means that you often forget it’s Farrell playing the character. There’s definitely more to come from Penguin, the aftermath of this film leaves a wide door open for him but going by this film, I’m happy to see more of him, he’s a vile piece of shit of course but injected with just enough humour and showmanship to break through the film’s bleak tone. It’s a fun take on the character and I’m eager to see Farrell return to him sometime.

The focal villain though is Riddler and goddamn is this the most frightening version of Riddler yet, Paul Dano taps into an almost Dahmer like quality, and from the very first scene where he’s chillingly hiding in the darkness one second before attacking his victim like an animal the next you can tell this guy is fucked up, he is terrifying and he is fantastic. What’s so great about his performance is that Dano taps into the theatricality of Riddler, of his psychotic need for attention, but never feels like he’s going overboard with it, whenever he’s taunting his victims he’s clearly enjoying himself way too much but the fear of what might happen takes the focus away from Riddler’s rambling long enough that he doesn’t feel like he’s trying to take the spotlight, whilst simultaneously actually taking the spotlight. This also translates into Riddler’s social media presence, something that I’m surprised hasn’t been touched upon before now – at least not in the cinematic iterations – with how vast and toxic the internet can be, even a nutjob like Riddler can amass a small but loyal army of disenfranchised who ultimately feed into his delusions as much as he feeds into theirs. It’s one of the most frightening parts of the film and personally I think could’ve used more screentime.

Although it does give us an awkwardly hilarious video of Riddler addressing his followers where he could’ve easily told them to “Like and subscribe” and it wouldn’t have felt off.

On the side of good, Jeffrey Wright takes on the role of Jim Gordon, still just a Lieutenant to account for his own rise in the ranks and the only police officer willing to vouch for Batman. With the heavy corruption angle within the police department, Gordon actually works into the film a lot more than expected, both as the only officer that Batman can trust and a foot-officer who can get Batman into crime scenes and help him work them. Gordon has always been a guiding light for Batman but in this film he feels more necessary than ever, with how broken and psychologically fucked Batman is, having the steady hand of Gordon to guide him makes a big difference and Wright’s natural charisma and soft-spoken nature make him a fantastic fit for the character, potentially rivalling Oldman’s perfect run.

In a smaller role is Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, I would’ve definitely liked to have seen more of Alfred but his absence makes sense, this Bruce wants to spend all his time as Batman whereas Alfred wants to see him more as Bruce to protect his family name. Their distant and often at times strained relationship is a key point to both their characters and Serkis easily captures that tired but determined disposition of a man who knows he isn’t Bruce’s father but damn well treats Bruce like his son. Much like Penguin there’s a lot of room for Serkis to grow into the role and the little we see of him and Pattinson together gives me hope to see that someday.

Still good but less heroic, Zoe Kravitz takes on the role of Selina Kyle, not yet named Catwoman but the leather catsuit and plethora of strays in her home shows a feline theme going on. Much like Gordon, someone like Selina is necessary for Bruce, especially when he’s still growing as he is in this film, Batman has a very black and white view on justice here but Selina offers an uncomfortable shade of grey, she does good things but in bad ways, not afraid to get her hands dirty or even kill to fulfil her goals, which in this film are to find her missing friend and to hell with whatever ‘big picture’ Bruce is looking at. Theirs is an iffy partnership but as the film goes on they realise that they can help and be helped by the other and certainly become a lot more comfortable talking to each other, it’s Kravitz’s ability to touch on both the sleek confidence of Catwoman and the rage-filled vulnerability of Selina that make her work wonders with the character, especially once she reveals certain truths about her mission - something that I found out after the fact was a deep pull from the comics and I’m even more impressed with the film for including it.

Far and away though, this is Robert Pattinson’s film and for anyone still shitting on him for Twilight – it was 14 fucking years ago people, come on – this is the film that will make them understand why he’s been an indie darling throughout the 2010s. Pattinson’s Batman is DARK, probably the darkest he’s ever been to the point of almost mid-2000s emo parody – thankfully never going that far. It’s also the youngest Bruce has been in the cinematic world and the film plays into that, Batman as a figure is only in his second year, a lot of people still don’t know who is it, or what he is and those that do are concerned and frightened by him. Bruce himself even says that in the short time he’s been working it feels like everything is getting worse so he pushes himself harder to try and combat it which takes away from his time being Bruce Wayne, leading to a public persona of a reclusive, almost vampiric figure – I know, I’m sorry - stuck in his massive, gothic mansion. It’s a far cry from the typical playboy socialite we usually see Bruce play but in the same sense, this is a far different Batman to what we usually see, he’s can still fight and deduce things like the great detective he is but he doesn’t have perfect control over every fight and he even makes mistakes, there’s points in the film where Batman has to be told certain things because privileged white boy Bruce Wayne doesn’t know them and has never had to know them. It’s a fascinating turn for both elements of the character, especially with how Pattinson portrays him, aloof, distant, even borderline pushy to those closest to him, Batman has to learn to allow others to help him and Bruce has to learn that being Batman doesn’t help himself.

What stands out about Pattinson’s performance, outside of just how fucking amazingly he nails the darkened, reclusive nature of this young Bruce, is how much he is able to convey with so little. A recurring theme of the film is Mayor Mitchell’s young son who is still in the public spotlight after the murder of his father, whenever Bruce or Batman sees him he sees himself at the same age and that recurring look Bruce gives the kid showcases all the pain and trauma that Bruce went through and how much he’s trying to make sure no kid ever goes through that again. Batman as a character has always been on the fringes of psychology, it’s one of the things that’s most interesting about him, but Pattinson puts that into a perspective that we’ve rarely seen and I’m all for it.

After both his Planet of the Ape sequels, I’m fully on board with whatever Matt Reeves puts out there and he showcases why he was the best choice for this film is just the two opening scenes. The first with Riddler killing his first victim is tense, nerve-wracking and animalistic in the jarring violence, whilst the second introduces both Gotham City in its seediest, shittiest version yet, and Batman with the mere shining of the batlight sending the fear of fucking God into the criminals. Those opening 20 minutes set the stage for the darkest, most violent take on the live-action Dark Knight yet and across the next 150, Reeves does not disappoint.

Perhaps what’s most interesting about Reeves’ direction is that there are very few action sequences, they’re there but in the whole runtime I can only count three off the top of my head with one of them being five minutes long if that. That might sound like a really slow film but this actually works in the film’s favour, the crux of the film is the detective storyline and that unfolds so naturally that you’re focus never leaves that mindset, you’re with Batman and Gordon as they uncover every piece of the puzzle trying to fit it all together in your head as well. We’ve certainly seen Batman do detective work before but it’s usually a scene or two for plot convenience, never actually the full story, this could’ve been a proper police thriller had it not been in Gotham but the added flair of using Gotham and using Batman’s inner psychosis and his detachment from Bruce Wayne just added to the story.

The result of this is that when the actions scenes do come in, they hit even harder because of their rarity. An early scene from the trailers of Batman beating up a group of thugs is shocking in just how brutal it is and for how long Reeves lets the scene play out, that alone sells you on just what how far this film is going to push its PG-13 rating (it’s actually rated 15 here in the UK which for a modern comic-book film is fairly rare). A later scene in Falcone’s hideout utilises darkness in pitch-perfect fashion, showing Batman taking on Falcone’s henchmen lit only by the gunfire in a frantic, confusion and fucking awesome style while Selina plays cat-and-mouse with the man himself. The absolute highlight though was a car chase with Penguin, building on a failed recon mission to a one-sided shootout to the phenomenal reveal of the new Batmobile with an engine you can fucking feel through the sound design before exploding (often literally) into a frenetic free-for-all down a Gotham highway with Penguin’s careless driving putting everything he could into Batman’s path. Reeves injects the car chase with a ton of simply but highly effective decision that individually they might not sound like much but together they create one of the better car chases I’ve seen in years, the persistent rain highlights the atmosphere, the frantic cuts lasting JUST a moment longer then you think they will allowing for each new camera position to let you appreciate its impact, the camera itself staying fixed instead of shaky-cam bullshit so you can actually tell what’s going on. Nothing in the scene feels wasted so that the final, chaotic end feels properly earned.

Arguably what Reeves does best, the best I’ve seen in a Batman film since Burton, is tone. Obviously he nails the darker tones through Pattinson’s performance and Riddler’s Zodiac Killer style of murder, but in the larger world there’s a prevalent theme of destitute. Every part of the city if littered with graffiti or trash or thugs, nothing about Gotham feels like it’s a good place to live and this is before most of the supervillains even start showing up, it’s the grittiest depiction of Gotham yet, save for perhaps Joker. And yet at the same time, there are moments of the film that feel lifted straight out of the comic books, whether it be Batman slowly and menacingly emerging from the shadows, the darkened reveal of the Batmobile, or a scene near the ending with a flare that I won’t spoil, moments like those looked like comic book panels jumping off the screen. For Reeves to be able to balance both the harsh realism and the darkened comic book style and do it THIS well, it’s the closest the live action films have been to feeling like the Animated Series and I mean that as an absolute compliment.

On a final note, I love that Reeves didn’t forget to include some humour to gain a little levity now and then, Penguin is just hilarious whenever he’s on screen, an early joke with a severed thumb catches you off-guard and one moment where Batman is escaping with a flightsuit doesn’t end as smoothly as you might think but it adds to the rookie nature of his character. They didn’t have to include these scenes, but the film is improved so much by them being there.

I know hyperbole is a problem with modern reviewing, I’ve been guilty of it myself, so I’m not going to call The Batman the best Batman film ever, it took Dark Knight several viewings to reach its top spot and I can tell this film has some minor issues I need to keep an eye on to see how they handle repeat viewings. The engorged runtime probably could’ve lost 30 or so minutes, Selina and Bruce’s relationship feels a tad rushed at parts, does the detective storyline hold up after knowing where it all leads and which dead-end are just there for filler?

But currently, not only is The Batman one of the greatest films for the caped crusader ever made, it’s one of the best comic book films ever made. A slow-burning detective tale befitting the likes of Se7en or Zodiac, a Batman who isn’t this perfect hero, who still has to learn about this world he’s thrown himself into, an incredible cast with Pattinson and Dano tackling two different but eerily similar dichotomies of vengeance and trauma and a director who takes the classic murder mystery formula and mixes it with psychological duality, vigilantism and comic book thrills to deliver something outstanding. It’s not perfect, but damn does it feel like it.

10/10