The Batman has finally come out in theatres and is already getting rave reviews from the fans
and critics. Produced on a large budget of nearly $200 million
and shot mostly in the UK, making use of Liverpool, London,
and even Scotland and Chicago being used as a exteriors back drops for Gotham City.
Directed by Matt Reeves, best known for his work on the Planet of the Apes films,
this original started out as a project for Ben Affleck was going to direct it, but things
didn’t work out with Ben who became reluctant to continue with the character so Warner’s
shifted focus to have a new take on the Dark Knight with Robert Pattinson in the lead role.
The film opens with BATMAN already operating in Gotham
cleaning up the city of crime for 2 years. The city is dominated by corruption, and murder
and a new threat is in town. Batman has been called to a murder scene by Lieutenant Gordon,
where a letter has been left for the Dark Knight which contains a riddle.
Batman along with Alfred try to solve it, as they do they start to unravel the puzzle
more murders occur with more letters left for Batman and he is running out time to find the
culprit. Along the way Batman encounters Catwoman who he manages to persuade to help him but she has
her own methods of fighting crime which go against his but she is the only one who can help him.
I was very excited to see The Batman, the trailers were impressive and just the visual
style got me intrigued to see how director Matt Reeves would take this new direction
for the Dark Knight and of course I’m a big fan of Batman, so I was going to see it anyway. I
thought the idea of casting Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne aka Batman was a smart move,
he certainly has the jawline to make the bat cowl work a treat but as an actor he
has impressed me with his recent work especially The Lighthouse and Tenet. The nearly 3 hour run
time was slightly concerning, but the story did manage to warrant its length, but you could’ve
trimmed some sections down to make it a bit tighter in areas but that is a minor nick pick.
Having 30mins of ads and trailers at beginning doesn’t help when being fair on its length.
If you watched it at home when it eventually comes to Bluray it shouldn’t feel as long.
My initial thoughts after viewing it was that it was the probably the most effective Batman film
to capture him from the comics, what I mean by that it’s like they have taken a great graphic
novel and translation it onto the big screen. The Riddler narrative has elements of the Zodiac which
works wonderfully to update the character but also keep him in the background to keep the mystery,
and the puzzle solving is not played out for dummies, the script doesn’t treat the audience
like idiots. You do have to keep focused on Batman investigations or you will feel a bit lost. You do
get a sense if David Fincher made a Batman movie, it would look and play out a lot like this film.
Chris Nolan had shown a side of Batman doing some detective work but this takes
it the next level. It also doesn’t waste time with another origin story, Batman is already
operating in Gotham City and is on good terms with Lieutenant Gordon but not many of the other
officers are in favour of this vigilante getting involved. This was nice approach,
it does somewhat mirror Tim Burton’s film that kicks off with Batman already fighting crime.
The visual style does borrow a lot from Batman Begins, with a similar colour palette for the
night time sequences, the run down side of Gotham mirrors the narrows in batman begins,
but Matt Reeves decides to drench the film in constant rain, the interiors are very damp and
run down. Some designs and choices made make it appear very Victorian, it’s a city that has
two contrasting styles, the big city shots of Gotham City again makes use of Chicago
like The Dark Knight Trilogy. I love that they made use of large parts of Liverpool as a back
drop to give this city a lot of history and helps create this retro fitted world.
At first I thought Bruce was operating form his family mansion but instead he is operating from
Wayne tower, which looks familiar with its exterior but inside, its totally bonkers
looking with this dark gothic cathedral hall which seems to be his dining room or something,
we only see small parts of it with the Batcave looking unfinished but of course full of bats.
The casting is pretty much spot on, superb performances from the main cast with Jeffrey
Wright as Gordon, Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle, Paul Dano as the Riddler and Andy Serkis as
Alfred. What really surprised me was Colin Farrell as the Penguin, if you didn’t know going into
The Batman that he was in the film, you would be gobsmacked to find out he is the famous villain.
Bind blowing performance and the make-up is incredible. To be honest im surprised
they didn’t just cast a heavy set actor to play the part. Andry Serkis does a
fine job at playing Alfred, but doesn’t much screen time which disappointed me.
Robert Pattinson is out of course the stand out performance and the one actor who has the weight
of the movie on his shoulders. We have Bruce Wayne at a young age and is not the playboy billionaire
we are most familiar with, this version is very much a recluse, he is very depressed and
not getting much sleep as he spends his nights fighting crime. He is not a rookie, he has all
the gear to take on the thugs but he is not at the height of being this legendary figure of the
night. His bat-mobile is in its early stages and doesn’t have all the gadgets you come to expect.
This is the first time we see Bruce with his panda eyes when he removes the cowl,
which works really well, with the constant rain throughout the city, the make up just
drips down his face and perfectly fits the mood he is in. Batman is often a man of few words,
especially with Michael Keaton’s approach and even Christian Bale in some cases. The script
makes batman a lot more talkative, he makes his point in a small amount of words in conversation
but he doesn’t just stand there posing throughout saying very little, of course he does do that to
stare people down especially the police, but he does get involved with discussing the Riddles and
teaming up with Catwoman to solve these murders. He is not quick to disappear as well thankfully.
With it being given a 15 certificate in the UK which does alienate a lot of the younger
Batman fans, something I experienced as a kid as I wait to for the VHS release of Batman and Returns
as I was too young at the time to see them at the cinema, so it’s quite daring for Warner’s to risk
having such a popular character be aimed at an older audience but The Joker proved such a huge
success I think it gave way for Warner’s to trust director Matt Reeves to continue with its darker
and more mature approach. To be honest I think kids would find the story a bit heavy handed,
they will certainly enjoy the action but may find the story a bit boring or say confusing.
I had listened to samples of Michael Giacchino’s score to The Batman before seeing the film
and the main theme didn’t really do much for me, again like the score to BVS,
Michael goes with the heavy repetitive percussion for the character,
it lacked the driving memorable march of Danny Elfman’s work to Tim Burton’s films but what I
really loved about Michael score is the atmosphere and creepiness he creates for Gotham City,
its definitely the most unique of all the scores produced for the Batman films,
there are lighter moments especially for Batman’s interactions with Catwoman which is honestly my
favourite piece of music for the film. So yeah the main theme didn’t do for me personally
but the rest of the music works wonderful to match the tone and visual style of the film.
The action sequences are very impressive, we get to see Batman take on the bad guys in clear wide
angle shots, no choppy editing, the car chase is very intense as well but very claustrophobic,
as its shot with a lot of closes ups at night and in the rain. Most of the sequences are with the
camera locked onto the car to give you sense of speed as Batman chases after the Penguin,
but it does make it difficult to understand the geography of the chase. The final act
falls into the disaster movie genre mould so it was a refreshing take for a comic
book movie, instead of Batman fighting it out in the streets and having a beam of lighting at
the centre of it all. Despite its incredible photography and direction, there was only a
couple of times that gave me this WOW moment, don’t get me wrong,
the action is to a high level and the set pieces as well but nothing really blew me away.
Would I say this is the best Batman movie to date and does Robert Pattinson give us the closest
interpretation of the famous detective? I could argue strongly to support that, but its too early
to say, I think I would have to watch it a few more times to confidently say, yes it is the best
Batman film or perhaps doesn’t quite have the edge over Batman Begins. Its strange now with
the Flash movie coming out this year featuring Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton as Batman due its multi
verse story, I think we have too many people playing Batman at the moment! I think Warner’s
need to make a decision soon who will be moving forward for the next few years as the Dark Knight.
Chris Nolan gave us a batman film that focused solely on him as a character
and so does Matt Reeves who goes one step forward and gives Batman a lot of screen time,
we get to see him investigating as it puts him on this emotional roller-coaster to the final act.
It really pushes to make Batman a threat, the use of the Bat signal is nicely highlighted
to put fear into the criminals who are paranoid Batman is hiding in the shadows.
Having that level of threat gives the impression that he is everywhere and is watching you.
It is a superb film with a fantastic high level of filmmaking,
you can tell everyone involved is passionate about the story and its direction.
Matt Reeves has created a real credible world for Batman to operate in and I have high hopes
to see where they take this new series. If you’re a Batman fan you’ve probably already
seen it or intend to see it soon but for those unsure go see it you won’t be disappointed.