"The Batman" Review
Legends and myths, what are they? and why is humanity obsessed with them? these are the question I ask myself. For millennia we as a species have followed stories of gods and heroes, we have seen the tales of Herakles and the tragedies of Icarus.
These are stories of the past; our society has grown and media with it. We have found new heroes who traded in the loincloth for spandex and full-on suits of armor. It would be easy to say that the face of this era's hero is Batman.
"The Batman" is a DC film directed by Matt Reeves, who is known for films like "Cloverfield" and the modern reboot of the Planet of the Apes movies. DC Entertainment chose the right director for the story, weaving a tale like no other.
We Follow Batman in his early years taking down a new villain he has not faced before named Riddler who is trying to show Gotham a new truth about a corrupt society.
The Batman was jam-packed with phenomenal performances. The leading star is Robert Pattinson who plays Bruce Wayne aka Batman. Pattinson steals the show with the amount of ferocity and vengeance he has against the criminals of Gotham this iteration of Batman feels like the darkest and most brutal version to date. However, his Bruce Wayne sadly lacked a lot of the charisma shown by previous actors filling this role instead doing a deeper focus on just being the Batman.
Other top-notch performances are Zoe Kravitz who plays Catwoman. She had the femme fatale charm that Catwoman is known for and worked off Pattinson's performance showing good chemistry between the two. In a pleasant surprise, Collin Farrell played the Penguin pretty seriously, and even though it's still early on in Batman's life you can tell that this is going to be a leading criminal of Gotham one to fear and be in awe.
Lastly, every great hero needs a villain that pushes and challenges the very core fundamentals and beliefs he has. Riddler is a villain that has never really struck me as Batman's greatest enemy and the comics have tried to depict him in many different ways but it has never sparked a connection.
That has changed, Paul Dano plays a much creepier yet realistic take on a man who wants to change society itself by cutting out what ails Gotham in his eyes. Online chatter has said this film gives off a Seven vibe, a Zodiak Killer in the mist, this Riddler in many ways does depict a psychopath but also shows that Gotham itself is on the verge of collapse if one man can cause society to fall then it is up to another to make it rise.
Another massive talent on The Batman has to be the music composer Michael Giacchino, the music is very gothic, matching the tone of the film in one moment you will hear a choir playing hmms in the next you will see Batman walking down a dimly lit room hearing this creepy yet melancholy soundtrack if one thing sets the tone of the movie far beyond just the writing it's the music.
The set and design are some of the best seen in the industry, taking place in multiple locations with fancy lounges, a police department, an abandoned orphanage, and much more. All of the costuming is on point Batman has the iconic suit modified to fit modern-day fashion. Also, the batmobile is such a beautiful piece of machinery that for one moment specifically it instilled the fear and actual vengeance batman holds in his heart.
Finally, let's talk about what's wrong with the story, several subplots are going on throughout that you will think maybe some of them don't land. For example, the subplot for Catwoman, who is looking for a kidnapped friend almost feels emotionless due to how they handle it and what the result ended up being. Another problem is it feels slow at the start of the movie due to how the combat scenes and dialogue are placed in the film.
Despite some of the problems, The Batman is such a fresh piece of mythos to the character and it shows that it's okay to be a stand-alone movie like the Joker or like the superhero films of old. I would recommend going out to the theaters and just for a brief three hours let yourself be transported to the grim and dirty city that Gotham has become watch it fall and watch it rise.
Rating: 9/10
