The Batman was recently released and I had the opportunity to see it so here is my review. The Batman is unlike any Batman movie we’ve seen before. It focuses on the detective side of Batman– after all, he is the world’s greatest detective. Although this was touched upon in the Christopher Nolan films it was never a focus. 

The movie follows a Batman in his second year of crime fighting. He has not adopted the Bruce Wayne persona we are used to. Whenever he appears as Bruce, he feels empty, like a ghost in his own body. Robert Pattinson does a great job relaying Batman’s emotions to us. Even though Batman himself doesn’t speak much, I never felt like I didn’t understand how he was feeling, mostly thanks to Pattinson’s body and eye language. This movie is a perfect example of how to “show not tell.” 

Paul Dano does an equally excellent job portraying the introverted psycho, the Riddler. The Riddler’s main goal in this movie is to uncover the injustice and corruption in Gotham city by killing its most corrupt members. He uses some brutal elements to do so, and this movie ends up having some horror elements thanks to that. I would commend Colin Farrell for his excellent portrayal of the Penguin, however I feel that I should be thanking the makeup department. With the makeup, along with the accent, Farrell throws on, Farrell himself is unrecognizable in this film.

Matt Reeves’s Gotham feels lived in and worn out. It may seem depressing to some but I think that it is important for the city to be like that in order for the audience to believe that it is truly “drowning” as Bruce tells us in his narration. This Gotham is a city that has been hollowed out by the wealthy for years. 

Although this film is almost three hours long, I don’t think it had any major pacing issues, every scene felt important. The overall plot was cohesive, and unlike some of the other Batman movies, actually gives Batman a character arc. This movie focuses completely on Batman. He is on screen 95% of the time, and along with Commissioner Gordon, he drives the plot completely. Commissioner Gordon, Zoe Kravitz’s Catwoman, and Andy Serkis’ Alfred all end up being ways for us to discover Bruce’s motivations and beliefs. Zoe Kravitz offers a satisfactory performance as Catwoman, same goes for John Tuturo as Falcone. 

One last thing before we can get into the spoilers: this movie is an audio-visual work of art. The score is amazing, and is always used at the perfect times. Every shot is screensaver worthy, and if anything viewers should go see this movie just because of how artistically unique and good looking it is. 

THE REST OF THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE BATMAN

The first 2 acts of this movie are perfect. Bruce’s narration at the start of the movie offers an in depth sight into his psyche and is important because it allows us to see Batman’s growth, from being a symbol of vengeance to becoming one of hope by the end of the film. The moment at the end when the woman holds onto Batman perfectly shows how Batman is meant to be viewed but Gotham’s citizens. That Batman is a leader and example of good for the city, not vengeance, as he is called all film. This is the first movie to perfectly exemplify the fear that Batman puts in criminals and the opening scene shows that perfectly. The Riddler’s murder of the mayor along with the subway fight serve as an amazing opening to the film, letting the audience know exactly what thay are getting into.

The theme of a broken Bruce is carried throughout the movie, with Bruce’s interactions with others, to the revelation that his parents were not as perfect as he thought them to be. Falcone along with Riddler’s videos play into this, convincing Bruce that his parents were bad people and that Alfred has been lying to him. This is later debunked by Alfred himself, but it still allows Bruce to see the imperfections in his parents and the Wayne family name.

This entire movie leads up to the Riddler blowing up Gotham’s dams and flooding the entire city, forcing everyone to go to some arena of sorts, where Riddler’s followers are there, waiting to kill the powerful people in the stadium. It was also pretty interesting to see the Riddler’s soft side while talking to his followers. I would have liked to see Batman track down one or two of the Riddler’s bombs, but as a plot point, the explosions still serve their purpose.

The use of the Batmobile in this film was amazing, with the scene of the car being fired up being one of the highlights of the entire film. Along with the scene of Batman slowly walking to Penguins car, it has definitely made its case as one of the best Batmobiles.

To be honest I am not a big fan of Joker’s cameo at the end. I would have liked to see some different villains for this Batman, but I’m sure that Barry Keoghan will do an amazing job as Joker, and I’m excited to see how he appears in future projects, especially if he will be teaming up with other Batman villains.

Do not walk into the movie expecting a generic superhero blockbuster, it is much different than what we are used to. Overall, I would say that if you are at all interested in Batman, or the mystery genre, this movie is a must-see.

FINAL VERDICT: 10/10 (better than The Dark Knight btw)