Movie Review: The Batman

Even though it weighs in at nearly three-hours in length, the skill with which director Matt Reeves and his crew construct the tale of The Batman allows it to move along swiftly and satisfyingly toward an epic third act that does not disappoint in the slightest. This, along with a strong performance as the title character from Robert Pattinson allows The Batman to become the new high-water mark for comic book/superhero films moving forward. 

In this particular tale, the vigilante known as the Batman has been operating in Gotham City for some time, attempting to bring order to chaos while fighting both the crime and corruption that plagues his city, when a new criminal emerges and begins leaving a series of clues as to his overall endgame. It soon becomes a race against time to thwart the carnage and destruction that Batman’s new adversary has planned as well as threading the needle through all of the other machinations occurring in Gotham to ensure that everyone and everything is safe. 

Director Matt Reeves, working from a script co-written with Peter Craig (The Town [2010]), does a splendid job of pacing the nearly three-hour film so that the adrenaline burst comes at the exact moment it is needed and succeeds in propelling the film to its satisfying conclusion. As he showcased in films like War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), Reeves is adept at directing action and The Batman delivers on that in its third act in abundance. Reeves’ other work, such as Let Me In (2010) and Cloverfield (2008), showcase the skill with which he is able to juggle the action with character and story development. Again, The Batman proves to be the amalgamation of that ability into the director’s magnum opus. 

Robert Pattinson and Zoë Kravitz in “The Batman.” © Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures/ ™ & © DC Comics.

Although the world of The Batman may not be as stylized as the character’s surroundings were in Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) or as realistically depicted as they were in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (2008), the approach to creating the space which the character inhabits in this film ends up being a miraculous and exhilarating combination of both of those previous films.

The production design provided by James Chinlund gives Gotham City a dark, foreboding aura that effectively utilizes Grant Armstrong’s art direction to great effect creating a dystopian, urban, hellscape that somehow feels like you could pass through it on the way home from the theater no matter where you are. Greig Fraser’s cinematography showcases these elements in a noir-like manner that firmly cements the film in a “noir” detective classification. Splendid costumes courtesy of Jacqueline Durran only add to the magnificent look of the film. 

As Bruce Wayne, Pattinson is not afforded an abundance of time to develop the character beyond his superficial exterior (he is instead allowed to focus more on the portrayal of his alter-ego), but he does do a remarkable job with what opportunities he is allotted and succeeds in giving both Wayne and Batman the requisite tortured soul, somehow just on the brink of insanity that is required to make the story of this particular vigilante work. Other marquee players, including Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Jeffrey Wright as Lt. James Gordon, Colin Farrell as The Penguin, Paul Dano as The Riddler, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, and Andy Serkis as Wayne’s ever-present butler Alfred, are afforded ample screen time to sufficiently develop and prove their individual worth to the story. 

Although the character of the Batman has gone through a number of incarnations, historically speaking anyway, the one at play in The Batman appears to be the perfect embodiment of the character for this particular moment in history and the overall success of the film is indicative of that. 

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Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com

An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.

@miketyrkus

Mike Tyrkus

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