The Batman is the latest adaptation of DC's star character, with Robert Pattinson taking on the mantle of the caped crusader. Alongside him star Zoe Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, Colin Farrell, Paul Dano, John Turturro and Andy Serkis. The film is directed by Matt Reeves (War for the Planet of the Apes, Cloverfield). The synopsis is as follows:
Batman ventures into Gotham City's underworld when a sadistic killer leaves behind a trail of cryptic clues. As the evidence begins to lead closer to home and the scale of the perpetrator's plans become clear, he must forge new relationships, unmask the culprit and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has long plagued the metropolis.
Every generation will have its new 'darker than ever before' Batman. Sometimes it works (Batman Returns, The Dark Knight) and sometimes it doesn't (Batman v Superman). And yet again, The Batman (2022) takes the character to an even darker place. It is a film noir in nearly every sense of the word- a grim story set in a murky, morally ambiguous and cynical version of Gotham city. And it's definitely the best the character has been since The Dark Knight Rises.
I do worry that Hollywood will take the wrong lesson from The Batman (and previous movies like Joker) where everything has to get darker and darker and darker to the point of ridicule (The Lego Batman Movie parodies this to perfection). The Dark Knight trilogy is often lauded as an example of comic book movies turned serious and gritty, but there’s a real energy and humanity to those movies that means it never veers into the humourless or sombre. The ‘darkness’ isn’t what makes The Batman work. In fact, its desire to be grim is where it almost crosses the line of being overly dour. What makes The Batman a great movie is its craft: the acting, music, production design, cinematography and direction shine amongst the studio products that a lot of other recent superhero movies have turned into. Matt Reeves’ vision for a film noir mystery set within Gotham City is brilliant, and something that fans of the comics have wanted for a long time (an adaptation of Court of Owls from this team would be fantastic!).
The films central story is an unfolding mystery akin to movies like Seven or Zodiac where Batman and Commissioner Gordon follow a trail of breadcrumb clues left by the latest Gotham City psycho, the Riddler. As they encounter each grisly murder and clue, they uncover a winding conspiracy of corruption and lies. The mystery is incredibly compelling for the most part, full of red herrings and twists, even if the plot does get a little too dense towards the middle of the film. It may have been more streamlined to remove one or two of the story beats.
The film’s ending is unexpectedly optimistic, which I appreciated, though I think it does run a couple of scenes too long in a Return of the King fashion. Also, there’s rather an unnecessary tease of a fan favourite character to come that feels out of place.
Arguably, Micheal Giacchino’s score is the star of the show and the element that binds everything together and elevates it. Like recent blockbusters such as Mad Max: Fury Road, Dune and Inception, the music is an integral part of the experience. It largely consists of the same repeating motif, which is pessimistic and foreboding, but every so often Giacchino’s signature emotional strings shine through like a ray of light through dark clouds (speaking of which, does Gotham ever get good weather?). It reminded me of his moving work on the TV show Lost, and injected some much needed optimism and playfulness (in the case of Catwoman) in a largely dramatic affair. Speaking of which, Giacchino perfectly captures the noir tone that Matt Reeves strives for, and often the music propels the more plot-dense scenes forward. A shout-out as well to the brilliant Nirvana song, Something In the Way, that opens and closes the film which does some work to make the voice-over less overly pensive.
Another shout-out has to go to Greig Fraser, who is quickly becoming one of the best blockbuster cinematographers in Hollywood, what with his Academy award winning work in Dune, and trail-blazing work with the 'Volume' technology on The Mandalorian (also used in this movie to great effect).
For a film this committed to gritty realism, I greatly appreciate how brilliantly it delivers on some instantly iconic Batman sequences. The opening in particular captures the entire conceit of the character within a few minutes, and there are several action sequences set to Giacchino’s music combined with the cinematography that I look forward to re-watching. I do wish that Catwoman had a little more in the way of action, but hopefully that can be expanded upon in the sequel.
As for the cast, Robert Pattinson is the emo Bruce Wayne we deserved and needed, and shines in establishing his version of the character despite spending most of his time in costume. Zoe Kravitz is magnetic as Catwoman. Jeffrey Wright’s Gordon is a solid addition to the star-studded history of the role, and Andy Serkis is good as Alfred, though is given disappointingly little to do. Paul Dano as the Riddler is suitably unhinged and menacing, but doesn't reach the 'iconic' status that previous Batman villains have (probably as he's so grounded in reality).
Interestingly, this is a movie that cares very little for Bruce Wayne, and more for his alter ego, which can make the glimpses of humanity behind the mask few and far between. However, the script has a nice throughline between Wayne and a young boy that effectively brings out an emotion in Wayne other than…vengeance. All in all, the cast that you view as the most iconic iteration will likely come down to which Batman franchise you grew up watching- for me it will always be Bale as Bruce Wayne, Caine as Alfred and Oldman as Gordon, but I can imagine young people growing up with this movie will feel the same about this adaptation in time.
And that's great, because Matt Reeves has delivered a fresh vision for this property and put so much effort into the film-making behind it, rather than churning out another studio driven piece of a larger, blander cinematic universe.
Thanks for reading this article, what did you think about The Batman and where does it stack up for you amongst the other takes on the character?
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