You're going to hear a lot of catch phrases related to Matt Reeve's take on The Batman like "dark" or "grounded" or "gritty." I think a lot of that is hyperbole. A lot of impossible things still happen in this film even if there aren't characters with superpowers running around. The film is PG-13 meaning while it does have a slight horror pastiche, the film remains safe for almost all audiences. There is a lot of talk about the "detective" aspect of this film but I'm not sure Batman does much more detective work than we've seen him do in other films. I get that when things are shiny and new we react to them as a new toy. But one of the things that surprised me is how much of a traditional Batman film it was.
In The Batman, Batman works in close contact with the police. Sure some officers are less enthusiastic about his presence than others and some throw around the word "vigilante" (not inaccurate) but no one stops him. He isn't hunted by the cops like in the Burton films or BvS, there isn't an uneasy truce-like relationship between him and Gordon like in the Dark Knight films. He's almost like part of the team, closer to the Batman '66 TV show. This is highlighted by the fact we see the bust of Shakespeare in a scene with Alfred which famously hid the button to the Batcave in that series. Another way it's traditional is how the film focuses on Bruce as hero. There aren't a lot of shades of grey in who he is. The story keeps coming back to his righteousness. Again, that has almost always been Batman. He's not an anti-hero. Even when The Dark Knight was trying to paint him as a criminal in the eyes of the public we as the audience knew he was doing it for the greater good.
What I really liked about The Batman was that it was just a Batman story. It doesn't try to revolutionize the character, it doesn't try to be comic accurate (despite so much being borrowed from The Long Halloween), it doesn't try to give an origin story (it hints at it which is all we need in ongoing future Batman movies), it doesn't try to define him. It just starts telling a Batman story and tells it through to the end. Does it drag on a bit? Yeah... but not much. It tells a gripping tale, develops characters, and entertains. I wonder about rewatchability but that will be bourn out in time. When a character has this many films under their belt, I don't want to see them tread old ground (I almost hope they don't ever follow up on that tease near the end... cause come on...). I just want to get a new story. There are endless possibilities for stories involving Batman so let's watch 'em.
What Reeves has done it told a noir tale, complete with the moral ambiguity (in the world around Batman), the femme fetal, the endless rain, the torchy score. The Batman was one of the best scores I've heard in the long time, with character themes (something I love). Much of The Batman is in how beautiful it is. What isn't in shadow is hauntingly red and it is magnificent. A film like this can work both on the big screen to take advantage of its visual beauty and on a home screen due to the intimate nature of most shots.
My favourite part? Easy. Selina Kyle. I can't remember if she is referred to by "Catwoman" anywhere in the film. She does call herself "The Cat" at one point. Kravitz is amazing and steals all scenes. Her plot is also the most interesting. Also, in the way the film upholds traditional Batman morals, she is there to be a wilder card than him and he has to reign her in. Personally I'm not sure we are to agree with Bruce's assessments of right and wrong here as Selina makes some very good points. I like the film left that ambiguity I referred to, just not in Bruce. Bruce still grounds us in the public morals like movie heroes are designed to do. Characters like Kyle get to push us to question what we think of as right and wrong.
All the cast is great. Besides Kravitz' scene stealing turn, which she plays quite a bit under the surface, Dano gets to go full psychopath in a way that is quite terrifying, Wright is almost the centre of the film just trying to survive through everything going on and do the right thing, Farrell plays his character as a big C "character" but doesn't loose the authenticity in that role, and Serkis pulls at our heart strings even though he's barely in the film. Pattinson holds his own. There isn't a lot for him to do, as with a lot of Batman films, but he works both as Bruce and as Batman, although this film's interpretation doesn't separate them very much which is a different sort of take than we see in other films.
His costume looks great and feels about as real world as a Batman costume can. But Selina's cat burglar outfit is even better. This movie is visually so stunning all the tech people should win awards from costumes to set design to you name it. The Batman is a beautiful film.
I enjoyed The Batman quite a bit. I'm not going to rank it against other Batman films cause that makes little to no sense to me. It is what it is and what it is is a very good movie that works both for the blockbuster crowd, the more discerning "cinema" style crowd, and almost any audience except for maybe really young kids. Some of the film is on the "scary" side. I can add another title to the Batman catalogue that I can enjoy for years to come.
The Batman
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravits, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, Colin Farrell, Andy Serkis, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard
Director: Matt Reeves
Writers: Peter Craig, Matt Reeves
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