THE BATMAN (2022)
Updated: Dec 10, 2022
The Iconic Superhero is Successfully Rebooted In This Long Yet Engrossing Saga
Grade: A
To make a movie like The Batman is a tricky business, simply because it centers on a superhero so ingrained in pop culture that at this point, pretty much everyone knows his shtick and his formula. We know who Batman is (Bruce Wayne), where he operates (Gotham City), why he fights criminals (as a child, his parents were murdered in front of him), and who works with him (his butler Alfred, and occasionally Robin). And that’s not even mentioning the fact that Robert Pattinson is the third actor to portray a live-action Batman in ten years, following Christian Bale in The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and Ben Affleck in the DC Extended Universe. The question, then, is how to keep such a well-known character fresh for audiences. Director Matt Reeves and his cast and crew manage to pull this off in an entertaining reboot. It may not be perfect (the third act, while exciting, seems to have been added to give fans a more traditional superhero movie ending), but it is still a standout in the Batman’s cinematic career and one of his most compelling and intriguing stories to date.
The first half of The Batman may trick audiences into thinking this is more of the same, albeit with a few tweaks (for example, this time the Batcave is beneath a tower in Gotham instead of Wayne Manor). Set in his third year of crime-fighting, the film centers on Bruce Wayne’s search for a mysterious and psychotic killer known as the Riddler (Paul Dano), who seems determined to expose a deep-seated corruption in Gotham’s elite citizens. Along the way, Batman teams up with a cat burglar named Selena Kyle (Zoe Kravitz) who has a connection with Gotham’s crime lords. As he digs deeper, he discovers that there is an even bigger and more sinister plot afoot for Gotham and its citizens.
For viewers who are already aware of the corruption subplot, the first half may not hold many surprises. A serial killer stalking Gotham is nothing new in the Batman lore, nor is the love/hate relationship that unfolds between Batman and Catwoman. What is new, however, is the amount of time devoted to the mystery surrounding the Riddler and Gotham’s underworld. Thus, it is the story, not the action scenes, that is the main attraction in this movie. As the plot moves along, people who weren’t already invested would likely become so eventually.
At three hours, the story is one of the densest and most twisted of any superhero flick, sending Batman down many dark paths to learn that the corruption the Riddler seeks to expose is greater than he could have imagined. One revelation forces Bruce to re-think everything he thought he knew about his beloved parents. In this way, the movie earns all its thrilling moments, especially the climax where Batman crashes through a skylight to save the day.
The performances are another major factor in the movie’s success. Robert Pattinson is good as Batman, but some of the more interesting moments in the story come when he is Bruce Wayne. When he learns about the corruption his parents were apparently involved in, he perfectly conveys the despair and confusion that anyone would feel who might have had a similar experience. These moments, though, are surprisingly few, since the Caped Crusader unexpectedly has far more screen time than Wayne. Similarly, Andy Serkis does not appear all that much as Alfred, but he has great chemistry with Pattinson’s Bruce, especially in a scene where he explains more about the scandal surrounding his parents.
The supporting cast is impressive as well, effectively deviating from their more traditional counterparts. Jeffrey Wright’s Gordon is not a police commissioner who sits back and lets Batman do the heavy lifting; he works closely with Batman, protecting him from his skeptical fellow cops and even joins him in interrogating some criminals. And the movie’s version of the Riddler is unlike any seen before; he is not a hyperactive goofball, but a deranged serial killer. His scheme is so shocking and brilliant that it rivals any the Joker ever put together. And Paul Dano is perfect as both the Riddler and his alter ego, Edward Nashton. When unmasked, Nashton is one of the most convincing movie psychopaths this reviewer has seen in a while.
The writers of The Batman, apparently knowing what most people have come to expect from the Dark Knight, have crafted a saga that does what all great reboots do: take the character and his mythos in new and exciting directions. It has action, but it also has a great story. There are villains, but they interesting to watch. And it concludes with the Batman going from vigilante to hero, setting out to guide the citizens of Gotham to a better future. Thus, the stars and makers of the movie prove that no matter how many times a character has been reintroduced, there will always be ways to keep him interesting.
One final note: towards the end of the film, another character is teased who, much like Batman himself, has been brought to the screen many times before, especially in recent years. Given how well Batman was reintroduced in this movie, it will be interesting to see how the filmmakers will treat this other character in future installments of this new series.
Director: Matt Reeves
Screenplay: Matt Reeves, Peter Craig (Based on characters from DC Comics; Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger)
Producers: Dylan Clark, Matt Reeves
Cast: Robert Pattinson (Bruce Wayne/Batman), Zoe Kravitz (Selena Kyle/Catwoman), Paul Dano (Edward Nashton/Riddler), Andy Serkis (Alfred Pennyworth), Jeffrey Wright (James Gordon), John Turturro (Carmine Falcone), Peter Sarsgaard (Gil Colson), Colin Farrell (Oswald "Oz" Cobblepot/Penguin)
Rated: PG-13 (for strong violent and disturbing content, drug content, strong language, and some suggestive material)
Comments