#REVIEW: “THE BATMAN”

Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong

Over thirty years ago, I was introduced to Batman. I was never the same. He quickly became my favourite character in all of fiction and the films made by Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan have had a seminal and irrevocable effect on my life. To say I was excited for Co-Writer/Producer/Director Matt Reeves’ take on the Caped Crusader was an understatement. This was my most anticipated movie of the year for as long as it has been in development, especially because we have not been privy to a solo Batman film in nearly a decade.

Reeves leaves years of DCEU baggage and toxic fan demands behind and starts fresh – Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) is in his second year of fighting crime in Gotham City as Batman, and has forged a working relationship with Detective James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright). When he is called in to assist on a high profile murder case, Batman is thrust into a world of mobsters, corrupt politicians and long held secrets, all while he searches for their connection to a serial killer who calls himself The Riddler (Paul Dano).

As a lifelong fan, it delights me to say that I loved THE BATMAN. Full stop. End of sentence.

What Reeves has captured here is the very essence of the comic book Dark Knight. This is the version of Batman that we have dreamed about for decades, ripped straight from the pages of Frank Miller, Grant Morrison, Jeph Loeb, Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Instead of just being a billionaire vigilante haunted by his parents’ deaths, Reeves’ Batman is the World’s Greatest Detective. He is solving crimes like never before in the realm of live action cinema, and his fractured psyche is more apparent than ever. We barely even get to see Bruce Wayne; most of the film takes place at night with Batman prowling the streets and hunting for clues to the Riddler’s endgame. And because he is only in Year Two, we get to see Batman make mistakes and recklessly lose his cool. It was something Nolan dabbled in with Batman Begins, and Reeves (alongside Co-Writer Peter Craig) really hone in on it here, breathing a new and refreshing sense of humanity into a nearly infallible character.

Speaking of refreshing, they completely abstain from showing Thomas and Martha Wayne being murdered in the street – which is cause for celebration alone.

Reeves and Craig also take some major swings when it comes to tone and aesthetic. The first hour is a full-on Horror film steeped in suspense and terror, resembling a Saw movie more than any previous Batman film, before morphing into a classic Film Noir Thriller. Major props go to Production Designer James Chinlund and Cinematographer and recent Oscar-nominee Greig Fraser (for his work on last fall’s Dune) for being able to interpret the script so brilliantly, and for reinventing Gotham City as the kind of festering hellhole that would breed a costumed vigilante in the first place. You can smell and taste the grit coming off the pavement in every scene. The streets and gothic buildings soaked in never-ending rain are a thing of beauty, and the use of bright red and orange motifs is astounding. I could barely look away from how stunning it all looks.

I could go on praising that look, or rack my brain attempting to properly describe the incredible, instantly iconic Score by Michael Giacchino, yet it would all mean nothing without the terrific cast. They all understand the assignment and each make a lasting impression that never dissipates. John Turturro is excellent as the intimidating gangster Carmine Falcone and Colin Farrell completely disappears under layers of makeup to play the devious Penguin. Dano is chilling as The Riddler, completely subverting expectations and becoming a sinister, menacing and altogether unpredictable monster. Andy Serkis is a wonderful, albeit underutilized Alfred Pennyworth, and Wright is a rock solid Jim Gordon. His ball-busting banter with Pattinson feels complex and acutely developed, despite this being their first go-around with the characters. Zoë Kravitz is impeccable as Selina Kyle, equally embodying the sultriness and independence of the character. Her chemistry with Pattinson practically sizzles from how palpably sexy it is.

As for Pattinson, he is truly magnificent as the glue holding everything together. He is tremendous from the very start as a tortured soul exorcising his demons, and we hang on his every word and move as he inches closer to the truth. He is vengeance incarnate, and his tactics are brutal to say the least. He is afforded a few moments of brevity and light humour, and understands exactly when to flip back into bleak darkness. Pattinson’s Batman is not the judge, jury and executioner quite yet, but we can see glimpses of what he will soon become. He taps into something primal here, something that is more elemental and human than his predecessors. We are not watching an actor here so much as we are a fractured individual who will stop at nothing for justice. I need to see more of him as Bruce Wayne in order to judge his rendition of that character. As a street-level Batman fighting for his soul? Pattinson is perfect.

Where THE BATMAN falters, if anywhere, is in its Third Act. The first two-thirds are brilliantly plotted and precisely edited. They move at a hypnotic pace. When the Third Act kicks into gear however, it feels rushed and chaotic. The Swiss watch precision is sacrificed for something more populist and more in line with Burton and Nolan’s action-heavy films versus a hard-boiled Detective Thriller. It stops being about this story, and starts being about the future of this new Franchise – you can practically see the pieces moving into place for the future film sequels and HBO Max spinoffs. Worse, the film manages to end three completely separate times, each more inorganic and egregious than the next. While I remain genuinely impressed by how well paced the Film’s nearly three-hour running time is, I feel that Reeves could have only improved on an already terrific film by maintaining the efficiency of those first two acts, and sticking to the story at hand instead of laying down the blueprints for the franchise to come.

Much like the titular character (though not Pattinson‘s performance), THE BATMAN is imperfect. But what Reeves and his team have created here is outstanding and really pushes the boundaries of what is possible within the Comic Book genre. The level of violence and darkness is bound to be divisive (I will never understand how this got away with a PG-13), and it is bound to have its detractors and toxic fandom groups rallying against it. Despite all of that, I still loved THE BATMAN will every fibre of my being. It is hypnotic and downright stunning to watch. Pattinson is a terrific Batman, and I cannot wait to see where Reeves and company take him to next.

Warner Bros. Pictures Canada release THE BATMAN on Friday, March 4, 2022.

*Please exercise caution observing COVID-19 protocols if seeing this in theatres*