SpaceNet's All New Review: The Batman

Batman has been a pop culture icon for as long as I can remember. Television, film, animation, comic books, toys. As I write this I realize I can’t think of a time that Batman wasn’t in my life. Over the last decade or so I’ve watched the love people have for our caped crusader crack it’s glass ceiling and continue to grow following the release of Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight’ trilogy. The film industry seemed to realize something. Realism in the superhero genre sells. Nolan’s grounded approach to telling a story that had been taken over the top too many times before due to an assumed necessity, revolutionized how superhero movies would be handled moving forward. With that came the frequent question, “Can there be other Batman films that surpass these?”. Me being something of a pessimist as well as an avid lover of film didn’t think such a thing would be possible. It seemed to me that after Nolan’s trifecta, DC just couldn’t get anything right due to their need to want to compete with Marvel’s cinematic universe without actually putting in the groundwork Marvel had been doing for years. Two versions of ‘The Justice League’ movies (the better one not even being canon), mediocre solo superhero films, and very obvious/public creative differences between actors, directors, as well as the studios. As a fan of the darker tone that DC tended to use in their comics and animated films, things like this pissed me off. I found myself constantly wishing that DC would just replicate their animated films into live action. It’d be better than most of the content they were putting out at that point. When the news about a new Batman hit the internet I wasn’t even remotely excited. But after a certain name became attached to the project I started allowing myself to have faith despite the increased doubt coming from most of the world. Films like ‘Good Time’ & ‘Tenet’ gave me the ability to believe in Robert Pattinson from very early on. ‘Twilight’ or no ‘Twilight’, dudes got range. A $250 million opening weekend at the box office proved to all the non-believers that he is more than capable of being ‘The Batman’.

This has been the toughest review for me to write. Ironically enough because there is so much to talk about but let’s be honest, no one wants to read a 20 page dissertation on ‘The Batman’. Allow me to distill my thoughts. Matt Reeves wasn’t a name I was too familiar with prior to viewing his new film but I can now say it’s a name I won’t be forgetting anytime soon. The first 10 minutes of the film felt like they were pulled straight from a graphic novel and spliced together with classic noir films of the 1950’s. You can tell almost instantly that this film was made by people that truly care about and know Batman. The score by Michael Giachhino combined with Reeves’ vision makes for one of the most immersive viewing experiences I’ve ever had.

We see the character of “James Gordon”, played by Jeffery Wright, in a way we never have before. Batman doesn’t just show up to do Gotham PD’s job when his signal hits the sky like we’ve seen in the past. For the first time we got to see the greatest detective in the world and the most honest cop in Gotham interact as partners, something that was extremely interesting to watch play out. In past films Gordon has usually been portrayed as a fairly incompetent cop who can’t really solve much of anything without Batman. I don’t know whether that was done advertently or not but it’s something I’m glad wasn’t brought into this new franchise. Zoe Kravitz is the “Catwoman” we’ve always needed. Her rendition of “Selina Kyle” was not only fresh but had a level of depth and warmth we haven’t seen from any live action “Catwoman” that left most of us hoping we’ll get to see her again sometime soon. In the case of our main antagonist we get to see Reeves sprinkle elements of horror throughout the film. Batman has a rogues gallery of truly terrifying enemies yet most directors don’t take that approach when portraying these villains. Reeves leans all the way into this with zero hesitation. The way that Paul Dano plays “The Riddler” is masterfully frightening. With an extra monologue or two, I’d dare say he’s on the level of Heath Ledger’s legendary performance as the Joker. The only character that was more intimidating than “The Riddler” was Batman.

After experiencing this film one thing in particular stood out to me above all else. I’ve always found Batman/Bruce Wayne to be undoubtedly cool but Robert Pattinson made me realize I’ve never been afraid of Batman or intimidated by him. Not until now. Pattinson’s performance is truly something to marvel at (no pun intended). He plays Batman & Bruce Wayne in ways we’ve never seen on the silver screen before. The suave, billionaire, playboy that we’ve all come to know all too well is not what we get. A reclusive, nocturnal, introverted shell of un-dealt with trauma is what we were exposed to. I loved every part of Pattinson’s interpretation of Bruce Wayne. I’ve heard mixed opinions but to me it made perfect sense. Why wouldn’t a man who lost both of his parents as a child be anti-social? Yes, he is a rich orphan but people seem to only consider the rich part. All the money in the world can’t buy back his parents. This is a young Bruce Wayne in his second year of being Batman. Not the grown man who goes god mode when he dawns the batsuit and can separate who he is outside of being Batman. The Bruce Wayne we’ve been given sees no use in being Bruce Wayne . Up until the end of the film he firmly believes that the only way he can truly make a difference in Gotham is by scaring it into submission. You have to appreciate the fact that he’s rough around the edges. Mistakes are inevitable. It’s also worth mentioning that this is the first time we’ve gotten more Batman on screen than Bruce. This decision by Reeves was brilliant. It really shows us how obsessive Bruce Wayne is about being Batman. Seeing him in the batsuit so often helps you grasp just how much time he dumps into the uphill battle that is trying to protect Gotham. You can almost feel how pointless his cause is at certain points in the film, something even “Selina Kyle” states before her own departure from the god forsaken city. Horror wasn’t an element saved only for Dano. Pattinson’s Batman walked down on his foes as if he were Jason Voorhees. In the batsuit he had such an on screen presence about him that it’s been very difficult to watch other Batmen play the part in other ways. The way he communicated so many emotions without saying a word is something that should be studied in acting classes.

I’ve had ADHD my entire life and never have I been one to fake interest in anything. I’m literally incapable of doing such a thing. At almost 3 hours long there was never a single moment that my attention wavered from this film. Do yourself a favor and go watch this in theaters. Waiting for it to drop on streaming so you can view it from home is honestly only cheating yourself out of a very special moment in history. Honora

ble mention to Colin Farrel as “The Penguin”. A show about “The Penguin” was just greenlit by HBOMax so we’ll definitely be seeing more of him. Another honorable mention to John Turturro as “Carmine Falcone”. In my humble opinion, Turturro sits in the realm of men like Steve Buscemi. Extremely talented & severely underrated. I rate this film 5 out of 5 stars.