Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Batman.
After months of delays, The Batman has finally hit theaters – and, thankfully, the movie doesn’t disappoint. Robert Pattinson has a riveting take on Bruce Wayne, director Matt Reeves delivers some truly spectacular action sequences, and the script offers a complex, sharply focused character study in lieu of the standard rehashed origin story.
Almost everything in The Batman works beautifully – the gloomy neo-noir visuals, the grounded storytelling, the cast’s impeccable performances, the list goes on – but it’s not quite perfect. Despite all of its merits, the movie also has a couple of drawbacks (namely the three-hour runtime).
A Great Batman Movie
Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne Is Fresh And Delightfully Nuanced
Much like his predecessors Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck, Robert Pattinson was met with a lot of backlash from fans when he was cast as Batman. The complaints about the Heath Ledger’s casting as the Joker.
Though not to quite the same extent as Ledger’s Oscar-winning Joker, Pattinson has certainly proven the naysayers wrong with a fresh, nuanced take on the brooding billionaire.
It Explores The Meaning Of Batman’s “No Killing” Rule
Easily the most controversial aspect of Zack Snyder’s adaptation of the Batman character in his DCEU movies was his disregard for the Bat’s staunch “no guns, no killing” rule. Snyder depicted Batman using a shotgun to fight Doomsday and brutally murdering henchmen at will.
Not only does Reeves reinstate this core belief in The Batman; he explores the meaning behind it. When Catwoman is determined to kill Carmine Falcone to avenge her mother (and also her roommate), Batman convinces her that eye-for-an-eye punishment is a pointless way to deal with problems – and it would make her just as bad as him.
The Action Sequences Are Stunning
From the breathtaking IMAX-filmed stunts of the brutal hand-to-hand combat of the DCEU, Batman movies are a great opportunity for filmmakers to show off their action directing skills. Reeves has helmed some of the Bat’s most stunning on-screen action to date for The Batman.
There’s a Batmobile chase the wrong way down a highway, a showdown illuminated by gunfire in a dark hallway, and an intense fight with an army of Riddler goons atop a sports arena.
Zoë Kravitz Humanizes Catwoman
Reeves’ take on Selina Kyle seems heavily inspired by Jane Fonda’s Oscar-winning role in the neo-noir classic Klute. Much like Fonda’s Bree Daniels, Zoë Kravitz’s Catwoman is a femme fatale who s the hero’s investigation and ends up becoming his love interest.
Julie Newmar and Michelle Pfeiffer gave iconic turns as Catwoman in the context of a hammed-up comic book villain, but Kravitz plays her as a human being with real emotions. She’s a fierce, efficient badass, but she’s not immune to all the tragedy in her life.
The Slick Neo-Noir Visuals Bring Gotham City To Life
Reeves’ distinctively gloomy visual style in The Batman was influenced by Taxi Driver. The director’s take on Batman is a ‘70s-style vigilante thriller.
These slick, high-contrast visuals bring Gotham City to life. It’s closer to the stylized Gotham of the Tim Burton movies than the grounded Gotham of the Christopher Nolan movies.
It’s A Detective Story Worthy Of “The World’s Greatest Detective”
One of Batman’s defining characteristics is his detective skills. But detective work isn’t the most exciting thing to visualize – especially when the detective in question has an arsenal of high-tech gadgets at their disposal – so filmmakers tend to ignore it. In The Batman, Reeves uses a hard-boiled noir storyline to emphasize the Bat’s skills as a detective for the first time in a movie.
With a serial killer wrapped up in political corruption and mafia dealings, The Batman is a detective story worthy of a character who is often dubbed the “World’s Greatest Detective.”
Paul Dano And Colin Farrell Both Have Unforgettable Takes On Iconic Villains
There’s no superhero with a more iconic rogues’ gallery than Batman, and The Batman has not one, but two unforgettable takes on great villains. Paul Dano plays the Riddler as a terrifyingly realistic Zodiac-style serial killer, while Colin Farrell plays the Penguin as a tough-as-nails mob enforcer.
Both Dano and Farrell bring a sinister edge to their characters, but in completely different ways. The Riddler is a murderous psychopath and the Penguin is an eccentric quipster.
It Charts How The Bat Became A Symbol Of Hope
While The Batman mercifully forgoes a traditional origin story, Bruce Wayne’s arc in the movie charts a different kind of origin. In the early days of his career, this Batman establishes himself as a symbol of vengeance. He believes his purpose is to strike fear into criminals, not provide hope for scared citizens.
But after leading the survivors out of the flood and taking the hand of an innocent civilian whose life he saved, Batman realizes he’s a symbol of hope and embraces it.
Drawbacks
Three-Hour Runtime
Overlong runtimes have always been an issue in the DCEU. The Batman v Superman was criticized for its length. The biggest problem with The Batman is its bloated runtime.
Clocking in at around 176 minutes, The Batman is the longest Batman movie (and third-longest superhero movie) to date. If it was a minute longer, it would have the same runtime as The Godfather. There are a couple of superfluous subplots that could’ve been cut, like Bruce learning a dark secret about his father and then having that dark secret immediately debunked by Alfred.
Overstuffed Finale
One of the rigid tropes holding back the comic book genre is the incessant need for a big, extravagant, everything-and-the-kitchen-sink battle sequence in the third act. These clunky, overstuffed sequences often favor spectacle over storytelling, so the audience is robbed of real emotional closure. The Batman avoids a lot of the trappings of conventional comic book movies, but not this one.
In the final act of The Batman – after two-and-a-half hours of analyzing ciphers, riding motorcycles, and waxing poetic about vigilantism – an army of Riddler soldiers suddenly emerges and the entirety of Gotham is flooded in a matter of minutes. It’s an unnecessarily large-scale finale that takes the focus away from the characters’ personal journeys.
