The Batman (2022)

By: Mike Ward on Monday, March 07

PG-13 Running Time: 176 mins

SHOULD I SEE IT?

YES

  • The Batman is the movie of the moment and chances are it is going to make staggering money as consumers begin to return to movie theaters.

  • Robert Pattinson is a solid choice to don the Batsuit, Zoë Kravitz is a wonderful companion as Catwoman and Paul Dano is menacing as The Riddler.

  • Technically, The Batman is near flawless filmmaking below-the-line. Stellar cinematography and production design stand out, fantastic visual effects and a strong score from composer Michael Giacchino likewise resonates.

NO

  • Did y’all want Emo Batman? ‘Cause here he is in all his glory.

  • At 176 minutes, The Batman is a long sit for a film that is sparse on action and heavy on detective work and essentially plays out like a superhero police procedural.

  • Literally one of the darkest movies I have ever seen. Light is the enemy in virtually every scene, which makes the film rather joyless in totality.


OUR REVIEW

Brooding, emotive, and full of inner turmoil and consternation, The Batman is far, far different than anything you would ever see Marvel rollout as part of their Marvel Cinematic Universe. We have clearly reached a major difference in how the two superhero brands (i.e. DC and Marvel) are going to present their characters. Marvel shines brighter, offers vivid colors and vibrant stories, galvanizing audiences young and old to follow the movies, the series and Marvel-themed spin-offs you can find on Disney+.

DC is in a different place. They have embraced the R-rating - some films aim for humor and extreme violence (Birds of Prey…, The Suicide Squad), while others double down into more traditional comic book fare (Wonder Woman, Aquaman). And don’t get me wrong, the differences are appreciated. As DC learned very early on, copying Marvel’s formula was not going to get them anywhere. So they pivoted and there’s clearly room for all presentations of superheroes, be they comical, energetic, melancholy, downtrodden, or somewhere in between.

For Pattinson’s Batman, he opts to stay tightly closed off, smear black makeup across his eyes, listen to a somber inner monologue and brandish a searing, leering, pain and anguish that would best fit with a 1990’s emo, alt-rock aesthetic. Even Nirvana’s yearning, powerful ballad “Something in the Way” bookends the film’s opening and closing sequences.

Now for those keeping score at home on what fits where, and all the timelines and chronology and such, The Batman complicates matters a bit.

The Batman is not actually part of the DC Extended Universe. Instead it belongs to a new shared Batman Universe, which will lead to spin-offs and series and bolster DC’s presence through their partnership with HBO Max. So, to be clear - Batman is part of the DC Extended Universe. However, this Batman - The Batman - is not, it is a separate standalone property which exists essentially alongside everything else we have seen involving Batman so far.

My goodness.

Co-written by Matt Reeves and Peter Craig, and directed by Reeves (Cloverfield, Dawn of/War of the Planet of the Apes), Pattinson’s slide into the Batsuit is a solid casting choice; the actor not really given credit for how much range and depth he brings to the characters he plays. Together, they create a dark, murky presence that seethes in anxiety and wraps himself in stress. This version of Batman, or Bruce Wayne, is compelled to save the world but also appears to hate every minute of it. Pattinson’s Wayne never truly smiles once that I can recall in the film’s  176-minute running time and somehow develops mutual feelings with Selina Kyle, a/k/a Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz).

Kyle is reeling from her own personal tragedies, and sees Batman as someone who feels forced into fighting the evil which permeates Gotham City. This isn’t Catwoman as antagonist. Rather, she becomes a confidant, eventual companion, and ready and willing to fight with Batman to save her city.

Those moments of inspiration are fleeting at best in this presentation. And with so much dark enveloping each frame of Reeves’ film, there is seldom any room for light to shine in. Reeves doubles (triples? quadruples??) down on the darkness, which is amazingly not a barrier for Grieg Fraser’s incredible cinematography. Both metaphorical and literal darkness is a character existing within every frame and Fraser almost weaponizes light against Bruce Wayne. The slivers, stabs, and instances of sunshine or daylight which shine through seem to almost intrude on Wayne’s life and comfort in being fairly miserable.

Though there are some thrilling action scenes, including one extended sequence with the redesigned Batmobile that will dazzle pretty much everyone in the audience, this is actually more of a cerebral drama. The Batman is closer to David Fincher’s Zodiac or Se7en, as opposed to Justice League or Wonder Woman. 

Much of this reboot-slash-reimagining of the Batman saga is a detective story, a police procedural, where an antagonistic villain is leaving clues and victims and Batman and others are trying to put all the pieces together.

Though the iconic Batman signal illuminates these night skies, as commonplace in previous films, this Batman is doing investigative work alongside Commissioner Gordon (Jeffrey Wright). The two share this rhythmic, almost staccato dialogue, which calls to mind classic black-and-white film noir tales of the past. When a politician’s murder lands on Gordon’s desk, they are forced to solve a riddle left at the scene of the crime. Naturally, Batman solves it immediately. This introduces The Riddler into the fray. And this iteration of the classic Batman foe, portrayed menacingly by Paul Dano, is about as far removed from Jim Carrey’s larger-than-life take on the character in the 1990s as you are ever going to get.

In this version of Gotham City, we have mob bosses, corrupt district attorneys, and idealistic mayoral candidates swirling around. Outside of an unrecognizable Colin Farrell, as the man who will come to be known as The Penguin, the film isolates itself from action on a broader scale. There’s intensity burning within Pattinson. In every scene you can almost see the embers smoldering.

But how much can you take of this? Bruce Wayne is in a constantly morose demeanor, laying up next to his deadeye staring and stunted dialogue. The Batman brings a whole different feel to the experience of watching this superhero work through the challenges and expectations he, and others, have placed upon him.

Two years into a pandemic, with America as divided as ever, and the potential of World War III looming with the recent events between Russia and Ukraine, The Batman feels heavy and a burden to try and take on for three hours. By the time the story intensifies and brings pretty much everyone together for a brilliantly designed sequence inside Gotham Square Garden, it feels both satisfying in the moment and somehow simply not enough.

Pattinson is more than able to deliver in this role. Yet the darkness which engulfs his character also renders much of the film joyless and fitfully frustrating. The Batman is, without a doubt, exceptionally well made in almost every technical way. However, sometimes a little light can do wonders; it can shine on things we never knew were with us all along. And perhaps, just perhaps, a little more light might temper some of the desolate emptiness that permeates so much of the shadowy world this Batman seems to find comfort in.

CAST & CREW

Starring: Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, Paul Dano, Colin Farrell, John Turturro, Andy Serkis, Peter Sarsgaard, Jayme Lawson, Gil Perez-Abraham, Hana Hrzic, Luke Roberts, Barry Keoghan

Director: Matt Reeves
Written by: Matt Reeves, Peter Craig
Based on the DC Comics character “Batman,” created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane
Release Date: March 4, 2022
Warner Bros.