Matt Reeves was inspired by many classic movies in the making of Taxi Driver.
But the film that The Batman has been most commonly compared to is David Fincher’s grisly neo-noir Se7en. Batman and Jim Gordon’s “buddy cop” dynamic evokes Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman’s detective pairing, while the Riddler’s meticulously planned murders have parallels with John Doe’s Biblical crime spree.
Horror Noir
Both Se7en and The Batman can be described as “horror noirs” combining the gory thrills of the horror genre with the hard-boiled crime stories of the film noir. In each case, the detectives are on the trail of a serial killer picking off carefully planned targets one by one.
The grisly crime scenes present plenty of opportunities for both a pulpy investigation and slasher-level gore. Both movies have constant rainfall and deliciously gloomy visuals.
Meticulously Plotted Murders
Both John Doe and the Riddler meticulously plan their murders with a recurring theme (and both keep diaries full of nonsensical ramblings). Doe’s murders are based on the Bible’s “Seven Deadly Sins,” while the Riddler’s murders are built around his signature riddles and ciphers.
The Riddler’s killings in The Batman often serve as gruesome visual metaphors. He attaches the mayor’s severed thumb to a thumb drive containing incriminating images of him at the Iceberg Lounge with his mistress. He straps a bomb around the district attorney’s neck and tells him, “Don’t lose your head!”
A Crime-Infested City
Both Se7en and The Batman take place in a crime-infested city, evoking the classic noir theme of urban decay. There’s a popular fan theory that the unidentified crime-ridden city in which Se7en takes place is a pre-Batman Gotham.
The theory proposes that Mills and Somerset are a pair of G.C.P.D. detectives investigating the first of many branded serial killers that would torment the streets of Gotham. Gotham is the ultimate noir setting: a sprawling metropolis teeming with crime and corruption, with a lone-wolf detective keeping an eye on the seedy underbelly.
“Buddy Cop” Banter
Andrew Kevin Walker’s Se7en script is noted for applying the “buddy cop” framework to the horror genre. The Batman does something similar with Batman and Jim Gordon. Whether they’re inspecting a body down at the morgue or interrogating a tied-up Penguin, Batman and Gordon share a snappy back-and-forth that similarly calls back to classic “buddy cop” movies.
Gordon is usually restricted to expository roles in Batman movies, speaking to the Dark Knight on the roof of the police station before parting ways. But in The Batman, Jeffrey Wright’s delightfully nuanced take on Gordon has a ing role alongside the Caped Crusader. They investigate the Riddler’s murders together, sharing Se7en-style cop banter in the face of grisly evidence.
A Hotshot Young Detective Working On His First Big Case
Brad Pitt gave one of his early star-making turns in Se7en as Detective David Mills. Mills is a young hotshot who’s eager to crack his first major case. He’s partnered with a more experienced crimefighter to track down John Doe, like the Bat’s pairing with the one cop in Gotham who endorses his vigilantism.
At the beginning of The Batman, Bruce Wayne is two years into his vigilante crusade. Like Mills, he’s still naive enough to believe in the possibility of salvaging the city and saving it from crime – but these beliefs are about to be tested by the harrowing work of a serial killer.
A Grizzled Veteran Lawman Who Still Believes In Justice
Morgan Freeman gives a brilliant performance alongside Pitt in Se7en in the role of Detective Lieutenant William Somerset. On the brink of retirement, Somerset recalls what made him want to be a cop in the first place when he’s paired with a hotshot young rookie whose belief in justice hasn’t been tested and eroded by years of witnessing rampant injustice.
Wright’s portrayal of Gordon as the only straight arrow on the G.C.P.D. – the most incorruptible cop in Gotham – evokes Somerset’s profound final line from Se7en: “Ernest Hemingway once wrote, ‘The world is a fine place and worth fighting for.’ I agree with the second part.” Gordon recognizes that Gotham might be beyond saving, but that doesn’t mean he’ll give up on the city.
The Killer Turns Himself In
When the Riddler turns himself in, The Batman borrows Se7en’s middle-act twist to raise the stakes of the investigation. In Se7en, John Doe walks into the police station with his hands up. The Riddler doesn’t give himself up quite as easily, but he draws the cops to his apartment and then calmly waits to be arrested at a nearby diner.
In both cases, this turns out to be a part of their grand scheme. Doe uses the FedEx delivery of a severed head to seal his fate as one of his own victims, while the Riddler allows himself to be taken to Arkham so he can finally meet the Batman face-to-face.
