By this point, we’re all familiar with the tragic origins of Bruce Wayne’s descent to becoming Batman. Gotham is a crime-ridden city where even law-enforcement is susceptible to corrupt temptations and one bad day can turn even the best the city has to offer into a crusading bat-themed knight, or a twisted Clown Prince of Crime. Following in the wake of Snyder’s attempt to create a darker DC Extended Universe to contend with the ever-popular Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Batman separates itself from the convoluted DCEU continuity, telling its own story that holds up all the better for it. But is this truly worthy of being THE Batman movie?
“I’m vengeance”
Batman
After the murder of Gotham City’s Mayor, Matt Reeve’s The Batman has our favourite Dark Knight detective pursue the mysterious serial killer with connections to Gotham’s past, leaving a trail of riddles and bodies in his wake. Showing clear inspiration from comics such as The Long Halloween, Batman Year One, and Ego – maybe even a little No Man’s Land or Earth One – The Batman is in equal parts gritty detective noir and Universal monster horror, with a distinguishably gothic style. This is a showcase of Batman as the great detective he is renowned for, pitting him against Gotham’s most dangerous organised crime factions and street thugs, during a time where villainy in Gotham has just started to turn towards the more macabre and unhinged that have defined his rogues gallery for decades.
At nearly three hours, Reeve’s plot is slow and methodical, setting up red-herrings and twists that push both Batman and Lieutenant Gordon’s detective abilities to the test. Along with his own narrated crime diary akin to The Watchmen’s Rorschach, The Batman unfolds like a detective noir heightening the Tim Sale/ Jeph Loeb The Long Halloween influence. This is a time set before the super criminals we recognise take over, where Gotham is ruled by organised crime under Carmine Falcone – a name recognisable to DC Comics fans – with a force of dirty cops, corrupt officials and sleazy streets, setting up a Gotham so far gone, it’s just ripe for its own Dark Knight to prey on. And as an added bonus, we don’t have to sit through yet another Wayne shooting like every other Batman movie.
“Fear is a tool. When that light hits the sky, it’s not just a call. It’s a warning. For them.”
Batman
Becoming increasingly more “Dracula” with scenes that visually recall Nosferatu as he emerges ominously from the shadows to scare criminals, while standing imposingly and patiently like a heavily armoured Michael Myers, Pattinson’s Batman utilises fear as a weapon as potent as his fists in a way we haven’t seen on-screen before. One of the things that sets this Dark Knight apart from other live action adaptations is how the Batman figure in Gotham has become an eerie entity who stalks the streets like some vile, mythical creature of the night, calling back to the origins of the character. The famous line “Criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot” becomes manifest by the way he terrifies anyone from vandals to violent street gangs, without even being present.
It’s a little detail that establishes Batman as a known fixture in Gotham City’s nightlife, letting us know he’s been around for at least a short time without explicitly telling us, and in that time he has become superstitiously feared as a vengeful spectre. One of the many things Matt Reeve does well is to imply things clearly without being overly explicit and wasting too much time on unnecessary exposition dumps. He succeeds in building a Gotham City that feels lived in, becoming as much a character in its own right as the Batman himself. Accompanying Batman’s haunting presence is a score from Michael Giacchino, adding melancholy to the gritty setting which echoes elements from Burton and Zimmer. When Bruce isn’t brooding to Nirvana, of course.
It’s clear this is a Batman film created by fans of the source material, with Easter eggs, references and story beats recognisable to fans of the comics, with some surprising appearances of comic book Batman relics and names that will no doubt delight die-hard members of the Batfamily. As a stand-alone piece of superhero cinema, it combines multiple genre influences to create a vision that is both unique and refreshing in the face of an arguably oversaturated genre and character, while respecting the material it draws from without being too reference-heavy and obnoxious.
Riddler: You are a part of this too.
Batman: How am I part of this?
Riddler: Oh you’re really not as smart as I thought you were…
Following Batfleck’s departure from the role, Pattinson took up the pointy-eared cowl and cape, enveloping himself in Bruce Wayne’s darker, more sombre personality. A recluse hiding behind the walls of his stately family home, this Bruce Wayne is a lost soul nearly incapable of disassociating himself from his brooding Batman persona long enough to live his own life as the billionaire Playboy we have seen in the past. He’s cold, dispassionate, but angry with a burning need to dispense justice and make sure every criminal and wrong-doer knows they’re being watched, taking the Batman to whole new heights of gothic horror. One scene in particular, where a gang of face-painted youths attempt to assault a man at a train station, introduces Battinson in true horror movie fashion. Heard stomping slowly and inevitably up a pitch-black stairwell, he enters the picture framed like Max Schreck’s Count Orlok with the cold, intimidating stature of Michael Myers or Jason Vorhees. If there are doubts about the casting of Twilight’s sparkling vampire star, Matt Reeve’s gothic aesthetic and Pattinson’s melancholy Edward Scissorhands Bruce Wayne successfully put them to rest.
Joining the Bat (or “Vengeance” as he’s dubbed), we are introduced to Zöe Kravitz’s Catwoman. In desperate need of her own Catwoman movie, Kravitz portrays the femme fatale thief as she clashes against and eventually sides with the brooding Batman, letting her guard down to show an anti-hero morale she tries to hide. Again calling upon The Long Halloween and Batman Year One, this Selina struggles with her relationship with Gotham’s underworld, protecting her friends (and cats) from its cruelty, while sparking an unexpected flirty relationship with fellow animal themed night time wanderer, Batman.
“The Bat and the Cat. It has a nice ring.”
Catwoman
Notably Colin Farrell’s make-up and performance as the Penguin stands out as one of the highlights of The Batman, making him utterly unrecognisable as the wise-cracking “legit businessman” gangster, vying for power under John Turturro’s more grounded Godfather, Carmine Falcone. The performances here are excellent, and with these mobster movie performances clashing against the cape and cowl of Batman, we witness another art to Matt Reeve’s world building craft that looks to narrow in on the shift from a Gotham ruled by underground and organised crime, to a Gotham overrun by freaks and clowns.
Sadly, Andy Serkis doesn’t get nearly enough screen-time as Alfred, even though the scenes we do see show so much potential. He’s sincerer and concerned for the well-being of Bruce Wayne and his obsession with crime and the Batman, but supportive, viewing Bruce as a son, perhaps akin to the dynamic between Michael Cain and Christian Bale in the Nolan Trilogy. Paul Dano’s Riddler, meanwhile, is a mixed bag. Introduced like Saw franchises Jigsaw, we see glimpses of the pompous intellect who views himself as superior to everyone around him, but confusingly undermined by outbursts that clearly try to reflect his criminal insanity by acting as absurdly as possible. These instances don’t always land the way it feels they were supposed to, turning what might have started as Jim Carrey impressions into a series of meme-able outbursts that serve only to make otherwise excellent scenes awkward and uncomfortable. And not in a good way.
“Oh you’re everything they say you are, aren’t ‘cha? We both are.”
Penguin
In a world where superhero cinema dominates to the point of over-saturation and poor Bruce Wayne has seen his parents shot in the same dingy alley ad nauseam, despite prior difficulties with the project, Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson have delivered a truly definitive cinematic adaptation of the gothic knight and his crusade against crime. The Batman has managed to stand tall amongst previous DCEU projects – namely Justice League (2017) and Batman Vs. Superman (2016) – finding success in its more stand-alone form. In this sense, it should be used as an example to future DC cinematic projects that not all films need to be interconnected like the MCU, especially given how the MCU had been a decade in the making at the point of The Batman’s release. This Batman film is absolutely worth two dead Wayne’s out of three…
