The Batman: a darker form of justice ★★★★          

By Aryan Aggarwal

Few superheroes have had as many renditions on the silver screen as the caped crusader. Hence director Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson, who stepped into the role of Batman, were fighting an uphill battle to provide a fresh and interesting take on this superhero while paying homage to the legacy of the comics and what the superhero represents. Despite many challenges, Matt Reeves successfully pulls off a gripping, dark, detective film noir. 

The film takes a darker tone than previous versions of Batman, aligning itself closer to the cinematic style of Joker (2019) than Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy (2005-2012). We are introduced to a young, angry, and vengeful Batman played by Robert Pattinson, who believes in invoking fear in the bandits of Gotham City. The tone is accomplished by the use of brilliant cinematography in a rain-soaked, poorly lit Gotham with some of the best shots in Batman’s cinematic history. Greig Fraser’s cinematography depicts most scenes with a blend of black and red using high levels of saturation. The result is probably the most visually appealing Batman film to date, with several mesmerising shots. Micheal Giacchino’s music score complements the stunning shots with their sweeping and dense sounds to completely transport the viewer into the cinematic Gotham. 

The plot effectively skips the origin story as we see an amateur Batman still attempting to understand how to save Gotham. This superhero feels surprisingly real compared to various others, with a greater focus on hand-to-hand combat and a Batman who gets punched as much as he punches back. The city is filled with various iconic antagonists from Zoë Kravitz as the Catwoman, Paul Dano as the Riddler, Colin Farrell as the Penguin, and John Turturro as Carmine Falcone. Zoë Kravitz arguably provides the best Catwoman to date: a deeply traumatised and strong burglar with her own agenda and ambitions. The chemistry between Catwoman and Batman slowly builds throughout the film, showing how Selina Kyle eventually falls for Bruce. Colin Farrell, who is unrecognisable under the layers of prosthetics, plays a vital yet underwhelming cameo, with the film setting him up for later sequels. John Turturro depicts a notorious underworld drug lord doing justice to this crucial character who has often been under-represented in previous Batman films. However, it is Paul Dano who steals the show in the star cast. A performance that feels inspired by David Fincher’s array of serial killers (in films such as Zodiac and Se7en), we see how far an individual can go in order to impose their own definition of justice onto a city. The Riddler, while being physically weak, remains a haunting presence throughout the film and continues to push Batman to his weakest. 

Overall, the film – despite a runtime of nearly three hours – does not feel like a drag, with a balanced blend of exposition, plot development, and action set-pieces. However, Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy continues to loom large over Reeves’ production. Reeves’ film fails to properly develop the character of Bruce Wayne. While The Batman skips the origin story, it does not replace it with a more engaging personal story of Bruce Wayne. Instead, the runtime is spent trying to keep up with the various antagonists and side-plots such that we never get to mellow in Bruce’s misery and understand the depth of his pathos. We’re unable to make the emotional connection to Bruce. As a result, things seem rushed. Furthermore, while director Matt Reeves successfully re-invents the Batman series artistically, he fails to re-invent the superhero and the broader themes of the series enough to justify a reboot. Themes pertaining to Batman being a symbol of hope and Gotham having the ability to save itself are rehashed with a lack of creativity. 

The film serves the purpose of a series reboot and to provide a better version of Batman compared to Ben Affleck’s Batman. However, it fails to be the most memorable Batman film yet. 

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