FILM REVIEW: The Batman – What’s in the box?

This is a Batman for 2022, it’s class conscious, it stars a brooding teen turned indy film heartthrob and thankfully, the CGI isn’t terrible. The Director of ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’ and ‘Cloverfield’, Matt Reeves, was an exciting choice for the new Batman movie. A big fan of the comics, Reeves promised audiences a different style of Batman film, one which would emphasise the character’s moniker of “The World’s Greatest Detective”.

On that promise, Reeves delivers with ‘Se7en’ levels of darkness. It’s a film packed with moments of perverse voyeurism and senseless acts of violence. When a Mayoral Candidate is murdered in his own home, the killer leaves a note for ‘The Batman’. Arriving on the scene, Batman is pulled into the dark world of Gotham’s oligarchs. Robert Pattinson is a mopey, loner of a Bruce Wayne. He is the complete opposite of Christian Bale in Batman Begins and the polar opposite of Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark. In one scene, a political hopeful approaches Wayne at a funeral, stating “Mr Wayne, your family has a history of philanthropy but as far as I can tell, you’re doing nothing”.

Pattinson is the third actor to play the caped crusader in the last decade. As we creep further and further down the path of superhero saturation, I wouldn’t be surprised if you asked if this film is even warranted. While Bale’s Batman feels like a distant memory and Battfleck was rather uneventful, I’m glad that Warner Bros decided to choose something different with casting for this outing. If I had to limit this film to one strength, it’s the casting.

The intense chemistry between the leads is exciting to watch. The interactions between Robert Pattinson’s Wayne and Andy Serkis’ Alfred are heartfelt, while also driving the detective plot. Jeffrey Wright’s Gordon is a shining star amongst his corrupt workmates. Zoe Kravitz, as Selina Kyle, makes an undeniably great counter to Pattinson’s batman. Their pairing has a class consciousness, which shapes an underlying tension not seen in previous superhero movies. In one scene Batman states that Kyle and her associates reaped what they sew in choosing a life of crime. Kyle hits back with “you must be rich if you think it’s a choice”. After so many superhero films where billionaires are shown to be down and out on their luck, it’s refreshing to see Reeves challenge convention in a way that motivates the story.

Wrapped beneath layers of somehow believable prosthetics, Colin Farrell’s Penguin is an excellent foil to Patterson’s Batman. While not the evil backbone at the heart of the narrative, the Penguin’s constant presence creates enough havoc to prevent you from asking too many questions about the film’s plot. However, there were still moments where I was confused as to why the police didn’t just unmask Batman or how the film arrived at its completely left of field final act. Once the film leaves its murder mystery, it rapidly descends into unearnt chaos. Reeves probably should have taken a note from ‘The Dark Night’ on having a convincing climax.

The film is bookended by this janky narration that feels oddly out of place. It seeks to offer the audience a moral treatise, which is easily lost in the moment of trying to decide if the gruff batman voice is funny or not. The film could have easily ended just after the two-hour mark and preserved its question for the audience on what the impact of Batman and his actions are. While the film’s final moments unwraps Batman’s anger and morality, it could have been done in a less fantastical way that aligned with the rest of the story.

Outside of the Penguin, the Batman has a strong rogues gallery of villains. John Turturro is the cold, calculating mob boss, Paul Dano, a chilling psychopath and Barry Keoghan, a brief tease of what is to come in future instalments. It’s hard to dwell on their roles without potentially spoiling the plot.

This is a film about watching and being watched. Predators view their prey from a distance, Batman lurks in his pursuit of justice and cutting edge technology is used to capture even the most intimate of conversations. The way Reeves frames voyeurism can be quite uncomfortable at times, with his choices of where the camera lurks informing not only the story but how you perceive the characters in control of the moment. Where do Batman’s binoculars linger and who is the killer about to strike next?

On a slightly nerdier note, one of the great things this film does is Batman’s gadgets. From inflatable wingsuits to camera contact lenses, Reeves has created a world teeming with technology and experimentation. The brilliant production, cinematography and sound design help to elevate Gotham ‘totally not New York’ City into a fleshed-out world, with its history of politics and criminal underground.

Reeve’s ‘The Batman’ is an undeniably dark and gritty film. However, this is not a critique, the cues that Reeves takes from films like Se7en are its strong points. Giacchino’s score manages to incorporate both the grunge of Nirvana’s ‘Something in the Way’ and more traditional orchestral offerings. The performances are really exciting to watch, with Patterson leaving his mark as Batman. While it’s a shame it doesn’t quite stick the landing, the film is one of the more exciting superhero offerings of recent years.

Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures/ ™ & © DC Comics