Sunday, March 6, 2022

The Batman - Movie Review - Another Batman, but unlike any we've seen before

When it comes to Batman in film, I'm rather unfamiliar. I've only seen the Nolan Dark Knight films, all of which are excellent, and The Lego Batman Movie, which is also great but for completely different reasons. I've never seen the original from 1966, the Tim Burton films, the Schumacher films, or the recent DCEU ones with Ben Affleck. Despite this, I love Batman nonetheless; he's definitely one of my favourite fictional characters of all time, even if I'm not especially adversed in the many adaptations of him. So, of course I was keen to see the next iteration of the character with Robert Pattinson. 

Even though I was keen to see this film, I had some concerns. From what I saw in the trailers, I couldn't help but get the sense that this film was going to just retread familiar ground in terms of themes and tone when it comes to Batman. There have been so many versions of this character and I was struggling to think of how they could possibly keep any new version fresh. But, it still looked absolutely spectacular, so I was hopeful it'd at least be a great film.

I frankly couldn't have been more wrong. The Batman is a thoroughly distinct take on the character in almost every way. Tonally, it's what people tend to refer to as 'dark and gritty'. This is also a term that defines the Nolan Batman movies, but I think the use of it in reference to those is somewhat misjudged. To me, those films are simply Batman films that take place in the real world; they're very grounded in reality in many areas. Here, while this also feels as if it takes place in reality, it is the epitome of the phrase 'dark and gritty' - it has extremely violent and brutal elements, and is visually almost always bleak. As a result, from a tonal standpoint, it doesn't feel repetitive compared to previous Batman films. 

The same can be said for many other aspects of the film. The genre doesn't really feel like a superhero film or even an action film, it's a mystery thriller, in the same vein as something like Se7en or Zodiac. It's basically a detective movie that just happens to feature Batman and some of his iconic foes and associates. Aesthetically, as already mentioned, it's very dreary, with an abundance of rain and minimal lighting, creating an excellent atmosphere for this type of story. The direction from Matt Reeves is also very distinct and extremely graceful. So much of the imagery in the film is so memorable. I can't discuss some of the specifics of these without getting into spoilers, but there are many images that perfectly scream hopefulness as well as terror, and they were just beautiful. Additionally, there's a car chase in the middle of the film that's admittedly fairly commonplace for the most part but reaches a catharsis that had me transfixed. I can safely say I won't be forgetting it any time soon. Most blatantly, the music is unlike any Batman score we've heard in the past. It's chilling yet exciting and nerve-racking, and also utterly memorable. It's amazing that, despite Batman being associated with so many iconic themes by a variety of artists, this new one manages to feel as definitive as it does.

The only area where I did feel like the film wasn't going anywhere especially new was in its themes. A lot of the thematic elements of the film touch upon similar ideas to the Dark Knight trilogy in terms of fear, corruption, and hope. They were all very well explored and given enough variation, but I did notice the familiarity here more so than with any other parts of the film.

As you will probably expect, the performances are terrific. Robert Pattinson was brilliant in the lead; much like every other aspect of the film, his version of Bruce Wayne is very unique. He's not the charming, suave, likeable billionaire we've seen before, he's solemn and almost sociopathic based on his mannerisms and interactions with other characters, which was refreshing to see. His version of Batman wasn't anything especially new but did certainly strike me as more intimidating than any previous verison. The opening scenes of him alone cemented this. Jeffrey Wright gives a solid performance as James Gordon (he's always great), and Andy Serkis was wonderful as Alfred, surprisingly so, but he was very underused unfortunately, though there is only so much you can do with that character I suppose. As for the villains, Paul Dano is genuinely terrifying as the Riddler, continuing to prove what a talented performer he is, and Colin Farrell gives an energetic and completely unrecognisable performance as Penguin. 

There aren't many major issues with the film, but the runtime certainly was one of them. I definitely felt I was sat watching the film for three hours, unlike many others who have claimed the film went by swiftly. While it didn't necessarily drag, it did occur to me that the plot seemed to be going on and on and that it might have benefitted from being truncated in some places. I like the nature of the film as a slow burn, so I don't think a faster pace would've been better, I just think chunks of the story where it somewhat goes in circles could've been omitted to create a tighter, more succinct film. Additionally, parts of the film were unfortunately just plainly dull, but there was always enough going on that was interesting to keep me engaged and keen to see what'd happen next. Regardless of this, the film manages to come to a perfect conclusion that leaves you both satisfied with what you have while also being desperate for more, just like the Nolan movies were each able to, and that was awesome. 

All things considered, The Batman was pretty damn great. I don't think I like it as much as the Nolan movies but its existence is undoubtedly justified through the masterfully distinct ways it reinterprets the caped crusader. I have a suspicion it'll improve the more I watch it as it does offer a lot and I don't think the single viewing I've had has allowed me to sufficiently comprehend each and every aspect. Just time spent reflecting on the film after watching it and writing this review has already elevated it in my head, so further viewings will likely do the same. If there is one more thing left to be said, it's that modern DC have cracked the code on making great movies - putting 'the' in the title. They did it with The Suicide Squad, and now with The Batman. Here's to more definite articles in DC movie titles.

I'm going to give The Batman an 8.0/10

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