In 2014, Warner Bros. announced a Batman spin-off after Ben Affleck was cast in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Affleck agreed to star, co-write, produce, and direct the film, but he started losing interest in 2017. With Affleck gone, the search began for a new director, Ridley Scott, George Miller, and Denis Villeneuve being potential candidates. Eventually, Matt Reeves, who previously helmed War for the Planet of the Apes, was hired to direct the film. However, Reeves asked to have complete creative control, including rewriting Affleck’s script, and Warner Bros. agreed, believing in his vision. In 2019, the studio announced that Robert Pattinson would be playing the Cape Crusader, which was received poorly by fans. Unfortunately, Reeves put filming on hold due to COVID-19, which took the life of dialect coach Andrew Jack. Despite numerous setbacks and delays, The Batman finally hit theaters in March 2022.
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Synopsis
For two years, Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattison) has been operating in Gotham City as a masked vigilante called The Batman. After the murder of Mayor Don Mitchell Jr. (Rupert Penry-Jones), officer Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) asks for Batman’s help. During his investigation, Batman meets Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz), a waitress working at the Iceberg Lounge for Penguin (Colin Farrell). With her help, he discovers that all the victims are city officials tied to organized crime, including Mitchell. Soon, the killer reveals himself as The Riddler (Paul Dano), who has been targeting officials to expose some corruption. As the body count continues to grow, Batman learns some horrible secrets about the city and his family. He also starts developing a romantic relationship with Selina, further jeopardizing the mission and making him question his motivation. Regardless of how the investigation turns out, the answers will shake the very foundation of Gotham City.
Review
Ever since the initial trailers for The Batman were released, I have been highly anticipating this film’s release. Some doubted whether or not Robert Pattison would succeed, most based on his performances in the Twilight movies. However, anyone who saw The Lighthouse knows that Pattinson can deliver an outstanding performance, and The Batman is no exception. While he’s not the typical suave playboy we’ve come to expect, he brings real humanity and darkness not seen before. When he dons the cape and cowl, he has this presence where you know you’re in trouble. Zoë Kravitz has a very seductive and charming quality to her performance, and she has excellent chemistry with Pattinson. Though he wears a mask for most of his screentime, Paul Dano is believably deranged and psychotic as The Riddler. His performance is almost comparable to Heath Ledger’s Joker from The Dark Knight: over-the-top without being campy.
Matt Reeves’s direction is solid, making great use of darkness and shadows to create dynamic visuals with limited lighting. The fight scenes are well-choreographed, well-shot, and aren’t overly edited to the point where the fights are incomprehensible. In particular, there’s a shootout sequence where the only lights are the muzzles from the guns. Combined with the sound design, it’s an expertly crafted sequence that would’ve looked terrible in a lesser director’s hands. The film also has one of the most exciting car chases I’ve seen in quite a long time. Even at nearly three hours, the pacing never drags, and it goes by fairly quickly without feeling rushed. While it doesn’t reach the same heights as The Dark Knight, it’s still an excellent take on the caped crusader. Overall, The Batman is an exceptional blockbuster that delivers on the action while also delivering a thrilling story.
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