directed by Matt Reeves
written by Reeves and Peter Craig
Batman is arguably one of the best-known comic book characters in the world, and as such has been adapted into multiple media, including film, so many times that it's hard to imagine any iteration of him feeling particularly fresh, but director Matt Reeves, who not too long ago revitalized the Planet of the Apes franchise and his excellent team of collaborators like actor Andy Serkis and composer Michael Giacchino (to name a few) gives it the old college try.
This iteration of the Caped Crusader is played by British actor Robert Pattinson whose Bruce Wayne is just as brooding as his Batman, and he's bringing with him a whole new cast including Jeffrey Wright as Police Lieutenant (and future Commissioner) Jim Gordon, Serkis as faithful Wayne butler Alfred Pennyworth, Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle a.k.a. Catwoman, Colin Farell as Oswald Cobblepot, a.k.a. the Penguin, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, and Paul Dano as Edward Nashton, a.k.a. the Riddler.
In this version (not to be confused with the DC Extended Universe in which Ben Affleck played Batman), Batman is a relatively new crimefighter in Gotham City, dealing violently with the criminal element and aiming to strike fear into the hearts of criminals, calling himself "vengeance." He already has an informal alliance with Police Lieutenant James Gordon, but both of them are caught completely off-guard when the mysterious killer the Riddler starts killing high-profile city officials of Gotham City, leaving riddles for the Batman to solve and releasing videos declaring his victims to be symptoms of corruption that must be purged from Gotham. Batman needs to find the Riddler before he claims his next victim. To get to the truth, he must investigate the victims' connection to the criminal underworld, including the shady Carmine Falcone, owner of Gotham's sleaziest gentlemen's club, and his henchman, the Penguin. In the course of his investigation, he crosses paths with the mysterious Selina Kyle, who has her own agenda, but it's not clear if she'll be able or even inclined to help him as he races against time to stop the Riddler.
The first thing I'd like to say about this movie is that I really appreciated a lot of the little touches. For example, I hugely appreciated that this was the first Batman reboot that did not feature the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne, which has literally been done on screen four previous times, including in a movie that didn't even feature the Batman (it was the 2019 film Joker, for anyone wondering). The film talks about it, to be sure, but doesn't beat that particular dead horse anymore.
Pattinson and the rest of the cast acquit themselves quite well; Reeves made the conscious decision not to have Bruce put on the suave bachelor facade as a contrast to his brooding Batman; early in his career, Bruce, still wallowing in his Kurt-Cobain-esque angst, wouldn't have yet appreciated the value of putting up a veneer to keep people from asking too many questions. One assumes that iteration of Bruce will come later in the series. Kravitz makes a compelling Catwoman, and Wright does a creditable Jim Gordon as well. Paul Dano, who spends majority of his screentime behind a mask and with a muffled voice, plays a pretty effective psychopath, it must be said.
Unfortunately, a significant downside of the casting is Colin Farrell buried in latex doing what feels like a Vegas-style impersonation of Robert DeNiro. It's understandable that Matt Reeves wanted the Penguin to veer away from his cartoony, comic-book origins, but unfortunately in veering away from one form of camp he has steered too hard into another. Well, at least the Penguin featured in pretty memorable car chase.
Speaking of which, I quite appreciated Reeves highly kinetic camerawork, and his visible efforts to create a more immersive experience for the viewer, like the moment in which Batman glides from a building top, with what looks like a Go Pro riding him on the way down. It also helped spruce up the car chase sequences, which featured a cool take on the Batmobile that felt part muscle car, part supercar. The sound mixing of these sequences was pretty keen, as well.
This brings me to composer Michael Giacchino, who is now the third composer, after Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer, to compose music for both Batman and Spider-Man movies, though he's the first one to have composed for Spider-Man first. His music is memorable and intriguing, given that Batman's current theme sounds distinctly like notes from John Williams' iconic Imperial March. I'm not sure what impelled that but in the context of the story it works, though for me the definitive Batman theme is still Danny Elfman's.
It's not a perfect film, but it has to be said that this iteration of the Batman is off to a pretty strong start.
8.5/10
