As someone who has been growing tired of the superhero formula recently, my expectations for The Batman were rather tempered, even if the idea of a noir-inspired murder mystery was very intriguing. My interest in the beloved caped crusader has never been particularly high anyway, and even The Dark Knight – which became something of a cultural phenomenon – never managed to excite me the way it does for so many others. I still think the second film in Nolan’s trilogy was more or less carried by Heath Ledger’s Joker – the action is terrible (largely thanks to that horrible, clunky suit), Bale is a fine Bruce Wayne but a boring Batman (his forced husky voice gives me a sore throat just thinking about it), Harvey Dent’s evolution into Two-Face is badly rushed, and the film as a whole is far too bloated at two-and-a-half hours.
Imagine my surprise, then, when a three-hour Batman film comes along and manages to feel like ninety minutes. The pacing in this film is practically flawless: I never once found myself wondering how long was left, and by the time the credits rolled I was sort of surprised it was over. It was a satisfying conclusion to the story, don’t get me wrong, and I knew it was coming, but at the same time… there’s no way that was three hours. It’s absolutely deserving of its long runtime, and it uses it very wisely, with each of the many characters getting more or less the perfect amount of screentime.
It starts brilliantly, with a creepy introduction to Paul Dano’s Riddler, followed by a wonderful bit of filmmaking in which the Bat-Signal is shown striking fear into the hearts of Gotham’s criminals. Batman doesn’t even need to be there to terrify wrongdoers – the mere possibility that he is lurking in the shadows is enough. For one unlucky group of violent gang members, though, he really is lurking in the shadows. That is the first time we see him: stepping out of the darkness to prevent an innocent man from being jumped, set to Michael Giacchino’s brilliant theme. (And it really is a great soundtrack. I challenge anyone to leave the cinema without humming the Batman theme for several hours afterwards. It’s impossible.) The rest of the film largely consists of a cat-and-mouse chase between Batman and the Riddler, the latter of whom has the upper hand throughout most of the film. The plot itself is reminiscent of Fincher’s Se7en and Zodiac, while some of the filmmaking is heavily inspired by noir, including an opening and closing voiceover sequence from our titular hero, played by Robert Pattinson.
Pattinson is a brilliant Batman, a young and brooding version of the character who’s still figuring things out, and the chemistry he has with Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman is palpable and makes their relationship feel very believable. The dynamic between the two is probably my favourite thing about this film, and it feels all the more meaningful because of their inexperience – they’re still figuring things out, and we get to watch them do it together, making their character development a lot more satisfying. The rest of the cast are equally faultless: John Turturro and Colin Farrell are excellent as crime bosses, Jeffrey Wright and Andy Serkis are perfect as Commissioner Gordon and Alfred, and Paul Dano plays an unhinged nutjob just as well as he did in There Will Be Blood.
My biggest problems with The Batman are relatively minor in the grand scheme of things. One of the more frustrating decisions was to make it a PG-13 instead of an R-rated film. (It is a 15 in the UK, and should really have been an 18.) If you’re going to make a grounded and gritty version of Batman that’s inspired by noir films and David Fincher, it would feel far more natural to have slightly more realistic depictions of violence and profanity. Again, it’s a relatively minor issue, but hearing a violent mob boss use the word “freakin” instead of swearing comes across as a little silly. Having a few characters react with shock and disgust to someone having their face pummelled doesn’t really work either when there isn’t even a drop of blood anywhere.
It’s understandable, considering a chunk of the audience would be prevented from seeing it in a cinema, but it did take me out of the film once or twice. The final riddle – involving a “rat with wings” – that Batman has to solve kind of left me wanting as well, and felt a little bit forced. There’s also a scene that’s intended as a celebratory “not every cop is corrupt!” moment, but it ends up being a little cringeworthy, as though it’s portraying the police as saviours. Most of the film tries to be progressive with regards to the politics, and is more than passable for a blockbuster movie, but that moment seemed a little odd to me in an era where ACAB and defunding the police are major talking points. Again though, these are all fairly nitpicky, and as a whole there is an awful lot more to love about this film than there is to dislike.
It even manages to set up sequels but in a way that feels natural and earned, with scenes that wouldn’t be out of place if this was a standalone film. (As opposed to having, for example, a post-credits scene in which a new villain and hero are announced, which feels like a media conglomerate is winking at you and saying “Yes! We own this IP too!”)
All in all, The Batman manages to feel remarkably fresh despite the current cinematic landscape in which countless superhero films are pumped out every single year. Matt Reeves is apparently a longtime Batman fan, and it truly shows in the amount of care and thought put into everything. Everyone from the director to the cast to the composer brought their A-game for The Batman, proving that it is in fact possible to release comic book adaptations that aren’t merely the same boring formula rehashed for someone in a different coloured cape. There are real stakes, good character development, and an entertaining story, and as a whole it is simply the best comic book movie that has come out in a good while – in fact, it feels a little insulting to only compare it to other comic book movies. When December comes around, I will not be surprised if it is one of the best films of the year full stop.
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