Reviews from the Dark Side
The Batman
Released 3/4/22
The first big superhero movie of 2022 is here. And what do know? It's the 87th iteration of DC Comics' Dark Knight Detective. I'm joking. I love Batman. But you have to admit there's been a lot of them. And a lot of different Batmen, too. West, Keaton, Kilmer, Clooney, Bale, Affleck, and now, Pattinson. Where will Edward the vampire rank among the pantheon of Caped Crusaders? Well, let's just hope it's better than Clooney.
Let me first say that director Matt Reeves has crafted a Batman tale we haven't seen on the big screen before. This is the first time a Batman film has made the effort to focus less on the superheroics and more on one of the greatest aspects of the Dark Knight of being the world's greatest detective. This Batman uses his mind as much as his muscles. The Batman is an intricate murder mystery that has its share of shock and awe, but also has several layers of story unfolding in its almost three-hour run.
The Batman picks up two years into Bruce Wayne's run as the dark vigilante. Capable, but not the polished crimefighter we know him to be. He's struck a deal with James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) of the Gotham City Police to operate somewhat unhindered in the city. Someone is killing the Gotham elite. In doing so, the killer is leaving mysterious...riddles. And they're specifically left for Batman. As the Dark Knight begins to slowly unravel the mystery, he may not like where the path he's on leads as it calls into question truths he holds dear in his own life.
The good. You have no idea how much I appreciated this not being another Batman origin movie. At this point, who doesn't know how Batman came to be? Although the death of Bruce Wayne's parents is referred to (and actually made part of the greater plot), there is no flashback sequence showing his angst in full blown detail. This movie is all of the mental anguish without unnecessary exposition.
For me, Gotham City in this film just seemed to pop. Oh, it was dark and foreboding. But it looked like a large American city for the most part. I think other Batman films concentrated too hard sometimes in making the city a character in and of itself as if it were a living, breathing thing. And while Gotham is its own thing, you also don't want to give it too much of a sense of "Who the Hell would ever live there?" I think The Batman struck a nice balance between Gotham being dark, but also being a thriving metropolis.
Now no review of a Batman movie would be complete without an evaluation of Batman himself. Particularly if a new actor has stepped into the cape and cowl. Robert Pattinson, Mr. Sparkly Emo Vampire, does deliver as a very psychologically damaged vigilante who barely seems to be keeping it together at times. Pattinson, more than any other Batman before him in my opinion, makes the Dark Knight a true creature of the night. Reeves shoots a few scenes like a pseudo-horror movie. Two in particularly stood out for me. One, where Batman emerges from the shadows in the subway. That whole scene is expertly set up through the hero's narration of his mission while the criminal element around the city panic when the Bat signal lights the night sky. The other scene involves two shooters firing into blackness lighting up Batman's encroachment on them. With every burst of fire, the hero gets closer until he's on top of them. And you know there's a world of hurt coming to them.
There's one thing I have to make note of in this discussion. I am so glad Pattinson didn't go the gravelly Christian Bale route with the laryngitis-speak. I know a lot of people loved Bale and his rendition of Batman, but the voice was over the top for me. All that's needed for the fear-inducing effect is a lower register whisper. Michael Keaton did this well. Pattinson does as well.
Ironically the strength of Pattinson's performance as Batman on one end is a weakness as Bruce Wayne on the other. I'm not saying the Wayne aspect of the character was badly acted because it definitely wasn't. It's just that part of the hook of the character is the unique duality of the alter egos. In many respects it feels like Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy philanthropist, is the mask Batman wears. In this film it feels like there is no space between the alters. The performance is incredibly one note. You have brooding, stoic Batman and brooding goth Bruce. It was a strange decision to play these characters so similarly. I'm not sure if this was a decision made by Pattinson, Reeves, or a combination of the two, but I missed the "act" Bruce puts on as his public face, his closeness with Alfred, etc.
As for the rest of the cast, Zoe Kravitz hit the correct tone as Selina Kyle. Sultry, dangerous, vulnerable, sometimes all of the above. You never knew what you would get when she was onscreen. This was an excellent way to bring her character to life without any type of camp.
Let's go rapid fire on other cast notables. Paul Dano gives a...different performance as the Riddler, or, at least a dark facsimile of Riddler. He's not really the polished hyper intelligent criminal most of us know him to be here. Intelligent, yes. But, also, a downright psychopath as well. It's an interesting rendition. Colin Farrell is completely unrecognizable as this film's Penguin. You honestly wouldn't know the actor if not for the credits. In both appearance and voice, he's transformed into a completely different human being. And I'm not sure how I feel about how the character was presented here. He's presented as a street thugish minor mafia lieutenant rather than a high-level boss most fans know him to be. I didn't hate it, but again I came off a bit odd. Andy Serkis as Alfred was one of the more interesting characters for me although he didn't have a huge amount of screentime. There's an underlying darkness to this character that I haven't seen before. It feels like he has tons of secrets he's holding onto. Hopefully, in which there are sure to be subsequent sequels, he'll get more time to shine. John Turturro as Carmine Falcone is a cunningly dangerous mafia Don who should have had a little more time in front of the camera. Then we finally come to James Gordon.
No insult to Jeffrey Wright who is a wonderful actor, but I wasn't really feeling Gordon in this one. I felt he was little more than a junior deputy always deferring to the Bat rather than functioning as a partner. I didn't believe he was more than a random detective Batman developed an alliance with. Maybe in the inevitable sequel(s) his role will become richer, but I didn't feel this was standout character development.
This may be a little strange coming from me considering I recently reviewed Zack Snyder's Justice League and said I viewed it twice without feeling bored. JL was almost four hours. So tell me why I was more than ready for The Batman clocking in at just under three hours to end. There are a few scenes that feel slightly dragged out. The film could have benefitted from some tighter editing to trim 15-20 minutes from the runtime.
That brings us to the final point. Related to the runtime and the general narrative, the movie is not necessarily accessible to all audiences. Now this isn't a complaint I'm making, but an observation. Personally, I enjoy that the film is more adult oriented. It's a narrative that focuses more on the murder mystery than the superheroics. It's an intricate plot that I don't believe will hold someone's attention under a certain age. It's Batman. Children are going to want to see this. But I can't see it holding their attention. There is action, but there are extended lulls between the face smashing and explosions where things are happening/said you have to be alert for. Children (and some adults) aren't going to have the attention span.
Don't mistake my last few points as an indication I didn't like this movie. I did like it. There are some things I enjoyed immensely. I hope it gets sequels. Even though I want to see the previous Snyder-verse continue through the DCEU which this fairly clearly isn't a part of, I want to see this story and its characters have time to evolve. The Batman is a very good start for Reeves and company. It just needs a few tweeks to be truly excellent.
The Dark Lord of the Sith says:
**** stars
0*= Don't waste your time. Pure dreck! Dreck is too good for this! Blind me please!
1 *= Fuggedaboutit!
2 *= Average, Mediocre, Nothing Special
3 *= Worth a look. Better than a poke in the eye.
4 *= Great. I'm doing my happy dance!
5 *= Pure eye candy. I have seen the top of the mountain, and it is good
