So the Caped Crusader is finally back in a standalone film, with an all new cast and vision, coming from Matt Reeves and starring Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano and Colin Farrell (yes it really is him as the Penguin). The Batman is just 2 years into fighting crime at the start of this one, and when sadistic serial killer the Riddler starts murdering key political figures in Gotham, aiming to expose just how deep corruption in the city runs, Batman must fight to stop him.
Probably my biggest compliment of this film is Gotham City itself. It is comfortably for me the best depiction of Gotham City ever put on screen, feeling truly grimy and gritty, with its corrupt criminal underbelly. The dark shadows and corners felt , especially when Batman isn’t even hiding in them, like they were to be feared by all, making Gotham for the first time on film feel like a living, breathing character of its own to me. Even the Gotham in the pretty untouchable Nolan trilogy just felt like any bog standard American city, when there’s the potential to do a lot more with it, and that’s exactly what Reeves achieved. Tying into this, I loved the bold decision Reeves made that no other Batman director ever has, to not portray Bruce’s parents, particularly Thomas Wayne, as gleaming white knights. While not saying he was a bad man, it was clear he wasn’t perfect either and did make mistakes, causing Batman to question everything that he is doing and adding a great layer to his motivations.
Cast wise, everything was near perfect. Pattinson and Reeves together brilliantly depict a young Batman, who’s still figuring out how to fight crime and is a bit rough around the edges. He’s like a nocturnal animal, intent on striking fear into all Gotham’s criminals, and the “World’s greatest detective” nickname has never been more applicable on film, capturing perfectly how Batman is always the smartest one in the room. Also, how is this the first Batman film to give him eye make up? A brilliant idea. Zoe Kravitz gives probably the best performance as Catwoman and Selina Kyle we’ve seen since Michelle Pfieffer’s classic in 1992’s Batman Returns. The connection her and Batman have is done so well, relating to each other while also ultimately knowing they are both on different paths. Paul Dano, as expected given how well he did in Prisoners, was quite terrifying as the Riddler. While I’ll always have a soft spot for Jim Carrey’s cheesy over the top portrayal, there’s no doubt that Dano’s Riddler is more sinister, creepy and a better foe for the Dark Knight. His motivations made perfect sense, and his desire to uproot the true scale of corruption on Gotham made the whole tone of the film feel even more murky. But most of all, shout out to Colin Farrell, who admittedly I was a bit sceptical of knowing he’s not using his natural accent, which wasn’t unfounded. His American accent was all over the place in Widows (I love you Colin but come on, it was mate.) However, he was absolutely superb, the big Irish dreamboat, had a great blend of humour and threat, and just nailed being the greasy mobster that Penguin is. I love when Collin Farrell is great, but now he’s been great in a Batman film, life feels just that bit more complete.
I’ve seen some other reviews saying its too dark and moody, which I can’t really understand as a criticism for two reasons. One: obviously its dark and moody? He’s Batman! His whole story is about a man who is still deeply scarred by the loss of his parents, who wants to fight for his city and his family’s legacy, while also not going too far by just trying to get revenge. And two: this Batman movie *might* end on the most hopeful note of any in history? Bruce realises that scaring criminals and being desperate for vengeance isn’t enough, he needs to be a symbol of hope for the people of Gotham, captured beautifully when Batman leads survivors out of the water with a red flare, and when an injured person is being airlifted to safety and doesn’t want to let go of Batman. This ultimately is the arc that Reeves gets so right, The Batman inspires fear in the bad but hope in the good.
All this being said, I didn’t think it was perfection. Firstly, I definitely think it was around 20/25 mins too long. Since the plot and motivations are so interwoven together, its hard for me to say which specific parts I feel should have been cut, but I just feel it could have been tighter. Once the Riddler is captured it feels like the film has hit a crescendo, and then it just kind of goes on for a bit longer, slightly ponderously so, before the very ending. Also, got to say I wasn’t a fan of the Joker cameo scene. It felt a little bit like a TV outro to me and didn’t really feel like it needed to be there. Obviously the Joker is Batman’s most iconic villain, but if we were going to have a cameo I’d rather it have been a different villain, one that we haven’t seen as much or at all.
Despite this, Reeves got the character, the tone and the message of the Batman, and the other characters, so spot on, and this is a Batman world I can’t wait to see more of.
CinemaStance 