The Batman Review

From a cinematic spectacle, Matt Reeves’s The Batman does deliver. The look of the film is spectacular. It’s a film made for the movie theater experience. The build-up and tension towards the first time seeing Batman is top-notch filmmaking. There’s a palpable sense of dread. The score from Michael Giacchino is excellent can be considered amongst the best of any Batman film.

The performances by the cast are all quality as well. Paul Dano, at times, brings a menace lacking in many superhero movies. Not quite as up there as Ledger and Hardy, but creepy nonetheless. Colin Farrell is wholly unrecognizable and amusing as Penguin. John Turturro brings a sly sinister quality to Carmine Falcone. Zoe Kravitz does a fine job as Catwoman. Pattinson brings the proper sense of moodiness to Batman. Fans will be happy to see Batman has standards again regarding killing.

Where The Batman stumbles is the script. As the film goes on, it becomes less and less impressive. I liked the small-scale scope of the first half, but it balloons into a giant action spectacle in the second half that doesn’t mesh well with the tone established in the first half.

There are also severe paradoxes in how we’re supposed to feel about Bruce Wayne and his wealth. The screenplay attempts to criticize and distort the popular image of the Waynes. We are introduced to a corruption element that greatly bothers Bruce. However, there’s no serious examination of those themes, and the film ultimately affirms the Waynes as heroic and noble.

The same goes for the film’s assessment of the corrupt system in Gotham City. It’s less propagandistic than The Dark Knight Rises, but despite the criticisms of police and politicians, it reaffirms that the system works and we should believe in it. Riddler comes across as an online Bernie Bro sometimes.

While I admire The Batman’s ambition in this area (certainly questions things more than other adaptations), it doesn’t feel like a complete examination and is ultimately unsatisfying. The film is three hours, and the fact these themes kind of get shoved in at the end feels significantly shortchanged. There’s franchise-building that feels a little out of place as well. I wish the film kept to the small scale scope much like Joker (2019), which had more valid criticisms of the Waynes.

Still, ultimately the film satisfies. I admired the look and the filmmaking skill. Reeves’s vision of Gotham doesn’t just draw from Frank Miller but brings the gothic look of 90s Batman films (including the animated series) back into the fold. There’s also inspiration from the Arkham series of video games. It doesn’t feel as bland as the Nolan Batman films in terms of the look. I’ll be interested to see what direction the series goes in from here.