As The Riddler says "the day of reckoning is finally upon us."
After all the anticipation, content and time spent waiting for The Batman to release, I
have finally seen the film, and I have to say, it's one of my favourite comic
book films in years.
I didn't think that statement would hold true when I did a video a few months ago talking
about how it has all the potential of being one of the best, but the
film completely blew my expectations away.
I was thrilled by the story, moved by Robert Pattinson's performance, who completely shuts
down the naysayers here and further stunned by
the cinematography, score and integral direction by director Matt Reeves.
I'm not gonna waste any time and get straight into my spoiler free
review, but before I get into the reasons why I loved the film so much, if you want
to see all my videos on The Batman over the next few weeks, then don't forget to support
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But without further a do, lets dive into my spoiler free review for The Batman.
So Batman is about to have huge big screen adaptations this year, whether that be with
Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton donning the cowls in The Flash, or the HBO Max Batgirl
film that is also due for release.
But one thing that has built my excitement for Matt Reeves The Batman over the last few
years, is of course him bringing his vision to it, but that it has
the potential to really leave it's mark outside of a cinematic universe, similar to how Christopher
Nolan built a legacy with The Dark Knight Trilogy.
And boy, Matt Reeves has the opportunity to really build a whole trilogy
of stunning, emotionally driven character films, if we use this one as an example.
The Batman is a fantastic detective noir, showcasing
the best we've seen Gotham on the big screen and possibly one of the best takes on the
caped crusader himself.
In fact, Reeves detective approach is more about evolving the character and world, rather
than taking it to new heights.
And while this may sound like a bad thing, it's actually the
complete opposite.
Comparisons with Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy were always going to be made
and this new Batman film does remind you of the extensive realism and
neo-noirish tone in certain moments.
Not to mention the fantastic set pieces that feel like a motif to that.
But the difference in Matt Reeves film all stems through the backbone that
he has crafted surrounding the story and central character's positioning.
There is no murder of the Wayne's scene and no beat by beat re-telling of his path to
becoming Batman.
Rather, this is a post-origins starting point.
A Batman still in his early years and one dealing with youthful trauma and what his
vigilante identity actually means.
The Batman essentially stands on its own, bringing something we haven't
seen in a Batman movie before.
And not to mention it's heavy Zodiac, Se7en, Chinatown, and even Saw vibes.
It's gripping and superbly filmed giving us a noir take on a character
that is continuously redefined, and yet manages to bring us one of the best versions of Gotham
City I've seen on the big screen.
They've combined american and Gothic cities to form
a connection for the old and modern viewer, and that passion is stylistically true across
many aspects of this film.
Reeves’s Gotham is grim dark, rainy, full of grime and destroyed
opportunities.
It’s a gothic setting where criminals are evolving and it's a perfect bakdrop to the
genre, one that is a horror-noir crime thriller.
It's a complex world with deeply flawed characters and it really shines with Reeves fully embracing
the detective aspect that made the comics so iconic.
Yes, other takes have had elements of that too, but this
was the first to go fully into that angle in an almost Fincher-esque way.
This is a Batman film made as a serial-killer one, and it’s not
just the antagonist who is questioned, because Batman is too.
It has you questioning all sorts of morals and the type of world we live in, one reflected
in the film and one that eerily could take place today.
Really my only flaw with the film is that the final act does move more into a traditional
superhero movie climax, but at the same time, it also feels
completely earned because the rest of the film builds up to the theme of critiquing
the idea of a superhero.
Yes, maybe 15 minutes cut off the final act could have really polished
this up, but I'm not complaining because for the most part a lot of the runtime felt completely
earned and after watching it, I didn't think it was 3 hours long.
The film was perfectly paced and for me personally, runtime is not
a problem if the film is truly great.
But coming to Robert Pattinson's performance as Batman, I must say it's one of the best
takes on the character we've ever seen when it comes to his theatrical history.
In this film, he is playing a much more vulnerable and human
version than we have seen before and the whole playboy aspect is less present than some of
the other versions.
His performance is very subtle but includes a lot of nuance and
he really does a great job of portraying a saddened man who has a lot of unresolved trauma
to deal with.
Everything connects to that and even when he's wearing the cowl, you see
all the little emotions.
We get a lot more Batman than we do Bruce Wayne but that really speaks to someone who
has become lost within his identity.
He almost feels alien when we see him around other characters and the only time it feels
like he is really alive is when he's confronting criminals or beating them to a
pulp.
Batman also seems terrifying, almost like a horror figure in some scenes, further extended
by the look of his costume and batmobile and I also really love a lot of the narration
Bruce gives throughout the film too.
Moving on, Paul Dano is also a prime standout, and one of my favourite performances by a
villain in a comic book movie.
He's not quite Heath Ledger level of good, but damn, he comes
close and his performance is utterly chilling as an unhinged serial killer who always brings
the weight of threat.
Edward Nashton, aka the Riddler, is unearthing the conspiracy among
Gotham’s most powerful, one that traces back to the Waynes, and ultimately falls into
the lap of Bruce who is left to get to the bottom of it before the whole city is affected.
It does go much deeper and the reveals in the first
two acts are ones that really hit hard, especially in their connection to Bruce, and The Riddler
is a really effective character when it comes to making the audience care about the
situation.
He draws Batman in, leaving ciphers and other puzzles at each of his crimes, and it's definitely
something the Zodiac killer would have done, giving us a very gritty and
realistic take we are not used to seeing with this character.
The events that occur based on the Riddler's doing are truly scary ones and
Paul Dano's performance really helps elevate that and a sense of tension.
If you've seen him in the film Prisoners you'll know what he's capable of as an actor and
here he gives another career best performance as the iconic
villain.
Then there's Zoe Kravitz Selina Kyle, another character in this film who has a twisted sense
of justice, but the actress completely brings it, playing by her own rules and moral code.
Her chemistry with Pattinson's caped crusader is electrifying, making Bruce and the audience
wonder if she's connected to this whole mystery.
Like Dano her performance is a standout and she's really connected to everything going
on in a big way.
And when we get her and Pattinson's character onscreen, the film also leans into a sexual
dynamic more than previous ones and it only stimulates the flirtatious
chemistry between them.
And with Catwoman having a lot of connections in this film, I have to mention some of the
other performances that come to mind, like with John Turturro's Carmine
Falcone, who brings a visible menace to role, one that is much bigger then you think.
And then there's even that of an unrecognizable Colin Farrell who brings a certain levity
and charm onscreen while playing Oz.
While he's not in it too much, one of my favourite scenes of the film is that car chase scene
they've been promoting in the trailers and it could
be one of my favourite action scenes in a comic book movie in years.
It's hellish, pounding and Michael Giacchino's score really is a
standout here.
The footage you've seen doesn't do it justice, and It will definitelly be up there with the
truck flip scene in The Dark Knight.
Jeffrey Wright as Commisioner Gordon is also quite solid and we get a lot of him and
Pattinson trying to solve the crimes and then there's Alfred, played by Reeves familiar
Andy Serkis, who is quite emotional and great onscreen too.
My only issue with Alfred is that we didn't get more of him as he's barely in this film,
and it would have been nice to see him more towards the end as they could have
really connected him to what was happening.
Furthermore, there's some of the production elements which stood out, and these are ones
that I couldn't be more happy about.
One thing that makes Batman so timeless and perfect as a
superhero character adapted to the big screen is that he doesn't have any super powers.
He's not a god and he doesn't have any fantastical abilities.
The man behind the cowl bruises just like anybody else, and the shot of Pattinson’s
scarred back really reminds us of this.
Primarily, the realism in the filmmaking is something that can be stressed on, whether
it's behind or in front of the camera and things
can be grounded to make you really relate to this man.
There's always something practical in frame here guiding the added visual effects or
even when there's none at all.
It makes you believe more in the characters and events unfolding onscreen and of course
it appropriately fits for Batman.
And when looking at the other production components, this is definitely
one of the strongest Batman films when it comes to score, cinematography and even editing.
Everything has an emotional complexity or is cut
to give you the main force that you need to know and I love that.
When a superhero movie can make you think about the filmmaking too or the sound that
guides it, that's a good sign that the director has put the effort in to
capture something truly timeless.
And that has been pulled off in the differing departments here.
Rather than leaning on a theme, Michael Giacchino’s score surprises, ranging from
tense drums to Nirvana, giving us a really eerie soundtrack.
It magnifies the power of the scenes, the tension and character mindsets.
And like I mentioned before, his score during
the batmobile chase is quite the memorable one.
And then of course, Greig Fraser once again knocks it out the park with probabaly the
most beautifully shot Batman film, putting him
right up there among the greatest cinematographers, particularly after his recent work on Rogue
One, Dune and The Batman.
The natural lighting and colour palette only elevates what you
are seeing, building on the tone and mood that the filmmaker and his crew strived to
bring us.
And speaking of that filmmaker, this is where everything stemmed from and created the opportunity
to bring us something profoundly unique.
The direction of Matt Reeves and his vision for this new take on the iconic character
works because we are given a Batman who is so close to the brink of allowing the darkness
to consume him.
In being a vigilante, he is exposed to the worst of humanity, which threatens
to diminish Bruce Wayne from Batman.
How Matt Reeves has choosen this narrative, one that forces Bruce to confront this very
ideal is the emotional weight that is needed for
when we eventually reach the end.
And the director also shoots the dark knight's pursuit of his criminals with the same psychotic
and point-of-view driven focus that he films the
Riddler’s.
It's unique in that way becoming a superhero movie that critiques the idea of what a superhero
is and that a lot of time is common with most of the best comic book
movies of all time.
The idea of what makes heroism, a particular debate that has an answer in the final act
and one that doesn't just equal to beating down bad guys to a pulp.
Now like I said before, the plot does leave you feeling that runtime a bit towards the
end and it's something that for me put's this film slightly
under that of say The Dark Knight.
But this still doesn't hurt it.
The film is never boring and the narrative is propelled by the series of events that
unfold in Gotham's underbelly.
Reeves sustains the tension throughout, and a mojority of the elements here are engrossing.
In fact, the director who made Let Me In and the two Planet of the Apes films, ones that
I personally love, has in my opinion, created
a comic book masterpiece in The Batman, one of the best films I've seen in the genre in
many years, and one that can also situate outside
of it very well.
He's built another apocalyptic environment that he can break down and explore over multiple
movies and it perfectly critiques the morals of traditional hero
storylines.
He has given us a Batman that is right for this cinematic time.
But that was my spoiler free review for The Batman.
What really blew me away, was how Reeves could redefine the characters in this world yet
again, after all the iconic films that came before.
Seeing Batman through this detective noir lens is almost a love letter to Batman fans
yet it further finds a way to separate itself from being too comic booky and become
it's own thing entirely.
In a landscape full of similar looking comic book and blockbuster films this really is
a pleasure to see unfold, and honestly, I just can't wait to see where
things go from here.
I think that based on the ending of this film, it could be a wild second entry and after
continuous hits from the filmmaker, I have full faith in him to deliver
come the rest of his potential trilogy.
Pattinson's character can also grow and become even more so, one of the best iterations we've
seen on screen.
There's so much that can expand from this film, yet it becomes it's own story
and one that is worth seeing multiple times and way into the future.
Vengeance has certainly arrived.
I'm giving The Batman a rating of 9 out of 10.
But to those who have already seen the film, what do you think of Matt Reeves The Batman
and do you agree that it's one of the best films comic book films of all time.
I think it's a perfect ode to the character,
who only has room to grow, yet it's a film that displays it's muscular and intense filmmaking
on the highest level.
But again, it's all subjective and I appreciate the range of reactions
and reviews, so let me know down below in the comments section what you personally thought
towards the film alongside things that stood out with your first impressions.
For lots more videos surrounding The Batman during it's release, including my breakdown
and spoiler-filled video essay which are coming in the next few days, then subscribe to the
channel and turn on your notifications.
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But anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed it, I've been Cortex
and as always make some noise.