Matt Reeves’ vision for The Batman isn't a carbon copy of prior efforts simply with a new star in the cape and cowl. It steers away from material we’ve seen endlessly (fear not: we do not actually see Thomas and Martha Wayne get murdered in this one), and there is an emphasis on the Sherlockian title of “World’s Greatest Detective,” with Paul Dano’s The Riddler challenging Gotham’s protector with gruesome crime scenes and twisted puzzles. It is, however, all still built on a familiar foundation – noir overtones and a grounded reality – that prevents it from ever feeling unique.
Skipping over the Batman Begins of it all and assuming that the audience is fully aware of the classic origin story, Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) is portrayed as in the second year of his campaign against crime, and he is a man obsessed. He extensively journals each of his nightly outings stalking and investigating the criminal element that runs rampant on the streets – cinematically treated as voice over dialogue that evokes the yellow boxes on the comic book page – and he has become a feared and controversial figure in his city.
In many ways, The Batman is the film I’ve been waiting for as long as I’ve been a DC Comics fan. It doesn’t treat movie-goers as though it has to teach them who the main character is, and instead drops us into a Bat-centric story without all the needless exposition. The key figures enter the picture organically from the narrative in a way that tells you everything you need to know about them, and it all flows without excess or stiltedness.
That’s a vital factor when you consider the blockbuster’s near three-hour runtime, but Matt Reeves makes every minute count in terms of storytelling and immersion. Far from the Jim Carrey version of the Riddler in the aforementioned Batman Forever, Paul Dano’s villain successfully keeps the stakes dangerously high at all times, and each new piece of his puzzle only further enhances the audience’s curiosity about the big answers to the mystery and the methodology of the hero. There’s an effective escalation in the reveals, and eye-widening action to balance the shadowy drama.
Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne finds a certain middle ground between Michael Keaton’s and Christian Bale’s, portrayed as a public figure but also a solemn introvert, and it’s effective because this young version of the orphaned billionaire really only lives by night. He’s only whole when he puts on the suit – and it’s a surprising transformation, as you no longer see the actor when he is wearing the mask. You don’t recognize Pattinson when he is slowly emerging from the shadows, his body language and speech changed, and it’s effective in both creating the realism of the secret identity and captivating the audience.
Of course, it can be said that his transformation doesn’t hold a candle to what is going on in The Batman with Colin Farrell… working on the assumption that the production isn’t pulling some kind of insane ruse and that’s really him playing The Penguin in the film. When it comes to prosthetics and special effects makeup, cinema history is filled with genius work, but typically you can look into a character’s eyes and recognize the actor underneath (Danny DeVito’s Oswald Cobblepot in Batman Returns is actually a perfect example). That’s just not the case here, and I don’t know how to fully explain it. It’s a spectacular iteration of the noxious, unscrupulous villain from the comics (minus a weaponized umbrella), and the most genuine example of “disappearing into a role” that I have ever witnessed.
Colin Farrell and Robert Pattinson are the standouts, but Matt Reeves does right by all of the recognizable friends and foes of Batman and the high caliber actors who portray them. Zoë Kravitz has the slinky, sly energy that is a must for every incarnation of Selina Kyle, and passionate new motivation that very much works for the character – not to mention sparking chemistry with the male lead. John Turturro has Carmine Falcone’s presence dominate every room he enters with quiet but powerful confidence, and Jeffrey Wright instills the relationship between Gordon and the Caped Crusader with a quiet history and well-applied moments of humor.
So-called heightened realism is a terrific approach to the source material, but it also makes the new film feel like an extension rather than a full reinvention, and that will have an impact on the way audience receives it. That being said, there are also key ways in which the main character evolves over the course of the story that look to put the hero on a new and exciting path that could ultimately set this canon apart from any other we’ve seen on the big screen. Precisely what the future holds is unclear, but I’m certainly not ready to stop living in this world after just three hours.
9/10