02 Mar The Batman Review

THE BATMAN

dir. Matt Reeves, starring Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, Colin Farrell, et al

Finally, for the first time in a solo setting in almost a decade, the World’s Greatest Detective is back in action. The Batman, the Matt Reeves helmed vehicle which returns the caped crusader back to his roots as a fledgling hero, hits theaters this weekend in an explosive combination of action, thrills, and suspense. Thanks to the dour mood set by Reeves and his team, The Batman reimagines the character as less an all-out action brawler and more a careful, methodical influencer of events. If The Dark Knight is the Heat of comic book movies, then The Batman is unequivocally its Se7en.

On Halloween night, a serial killer calling himself The Riddler murders the Gotham City Mayor, kickstarting a chain of events that involve himself, the Batman, underground mob bosses, and the Wayne family itself. The Batman, still fresh on the scene, teams up with police officer James Gordon as the city is plunged into seven days of grisly murder, revelations, and an ending that changes the face of Gotham itself.

While not as bleak as Se7en portrays the world, Reeves’ Gotham is still a detestable place filled with unlikeable gangsters, underbosses, goons, stressed out law enforcement, and innocent bystanders. Clocking in at a staggering 176 minutes, four minutes shy of three hours, Reeves manages to establish a world in which the Batman has been operating for two years, Selena Kyle’s backstory, the relationship between Carmine Falcone and Gotham City, Bruce’s relationship with Alfred and Batman’s relationship with Jim Gordon, and the motivations for The Riddler. While all that may seem bloated, each is given its own time to shine, each facet of all the players and their relationships to each other are clearly established and cleverly examined.

The cyclical nature of nerd rage that often traverses the internet is proven true yet again with The Batman: the warbling cries of anguish loosed by fanboys and fangirls online after the announcement of Robert Pattinson’s casting echo that of Ben Affleck’s casting, Heath Ledger’s casting, and Michael Keaton’s casting before that. In a tale old as time, Pattinson manages to dispel every negative rumor and delivers a performance solid enough to silence even the staunchest neckbeard. All the classics are present: Bruce Wayne smolders and Batman broods, and while Pattinson may not unearth any particularly new nuance a character that’s been portrayed on the big screen for 30 years, he still manages to make the material all his own. Bruce’s dynamic with Alfred, played by Andy Serkis with horribly little screen time, is the most contentious it’s ever been, with Bruce constantly sniping at the beleaguered butler. If there’s any downside to Pattinson’s performance, it’s in his action scenes; the actor at times appears stiff, but whether that’s due to his performance or the giant latex suit he’s in is difficult to tell.

Zoe Kravitz’s Selena Kyle, aka Catwoman, is another standout of the film. Possibly Kravitz’s best role to date, her turn as the on-again-off-again foil and romantic partner of Batman is fully realized as her own character with her own motivations completely independent of Batman’s. While missing for chunks of time, Kravitz’s Catwoman commands the screen when she’s there, serving to both inconvenience Carmine Falcone and remind the audience that no matter what, Batman has his rules and will stick to them regardless of the situation.

Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, and Colin Farrell also populate the film as classic characters Jim Gordon, Carmine Falcone, and The Penguin, respectively. Wright shines as Gordon, his relationship with Pattinson’s Batman reminiscent of Mills and Somerset in Seven. Wright and Pattinson’s chemistry allows for great scenes between Gordon and the Bat, some humorous and some deadly serious. As The Batman starts in the second year of Bruce’s foray into heroics, the two have formed a somewhat uneasy bond of trust that’s threatened constantly throughout the film. For his part, Wright continues an already stellar career with a solid rendition of Gotham’s top cop. John Turturro as Carmine Falcone could be considered the weakest link in the film, if there is indeed one. As one of the most powerful criminals in a city that’s lousy with them, Turturro’s Falcone lacks any sort of bite or menace to his performance. In the film sparingly, Falcone’s just as much a boogey man as the Batman himself, more talked about than seen. As for Colin Farrell, the actor appeared to be having the time of his life under all the makeup as The Penguin, one of Batman’s traditional longstanding mob villains. Affecting an over-the-top New York/New Jersey accent, Farrell is captivating as Oswald Cobblepot, gleefully chewing scenery around Pattinson. His shining moments come during the car chase teased throughout the trailers, with outstandingly bombastic, yet still realistic reactions from Penguin. If Reeves and Pattinson do indeed decide to return to this world in future installments, it’s imperative they bring Farrell’s Penguin along for the ride.

Paul Dano also deserves praise in his performance as The Riddler. Leagues removed from the spirit and energy that Jim Carrey brought to the role almost three decades prior, Dano’s Riddler is more Zodiac killer than a colorful member of the Batman rogue’s gallery. Another character sparingly seen (Batman is the main focus while everyone else rotates in and out of his circumference), Dano’s offbeat performance in the role is reminiscent of his time in Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners. While The Riddler’s motivations for his crime spree across the city are questionable, there’s no doubting Dano’s conviction to portraying the crazed puzzle-obsessed villain.

The decision to turn the keys of the Batman franchise over to director Matt Reeves proved to be one of the smartest decisions Warner Bros. could’ve made. Coming off both Dawn and War of the Planet of the Apes, both dour, weighty, character driven movies, Reeves brings these sensibilities to the world of DC Comics as he manages to create a depressingly realistic Gotham City that could easily blend in with our own reality. Reeves’ handling of action scenes, crafted on Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and honed with War, are cleverly staged, brilliantly shot, and guaranteed to get the adrenaline flowing. While director Zack Snyder still holds the title for Best Batman Action Scene, the second act car chase between The Penguin and Batman is one of the key standouts of the film. Thanks to Reeves’ slick direction, cinematographer Greg Fraser’s choice of camera angels and dynamics, and Giacchino’s pulse pounding score, the chase scene is far and away the scene that the audience will leave thinking about. Reeves’ balancing of character work and action scenes, of pacing the movie to feed just enough information to the audience to keep them on the hook, is nothing short of marvelous. Greg Fraser’s camera work throughout the film deserves high praise as well; the Rogue One and Dune cinematographer manages to display his immense talents for knowing the best way to capture the tone of any particular scene.

Overall, when ranked against peers of its genre, The Batman will undoubtedly go down as one of the best comic book movies of all time. Every element of the film works congruent to every other element: the production design of Gotham combined with the actors that populate it are all backed the moodiest, most unsettling score of composer Michael Giacchino’s career to date. Robert Pattinson’s performance continues to shed fresh light on Bruce Wayne, while Kravitz’s Catwoman hews so close to the character of Batman: Year One, it’s like they lifted her off the page. Reeves’ decision to finally create a noir story catered to the monikered World’s Greatest Detective (the one thing the character has been sorely lacking in virtually every large screen adaptation) pays off in spades; the audience is along for the ride as Batman unearths one clue after the next. The end result is a delicious stew of mood, action, and tension that will leave the audience exhausted and mentally drained by the time the closing credits appear on the screen. The Batman is in theaters March 4th.

Review by Darryl Mansel