The Batman finally came out, and of course I went to see it. I was actually silently mourning not being able to watch this movie as I thought it wasn’t going to be released in English in the city I live in (Florence, Italy). But, a trusty local theater is doing a short two week release for this in original sound, and to summarize, I will be going back for another round.
I didn’t care what anyone said when it was announced that Robert Pattinson was going to be playing Batman, The Lighthouse hadn’t come out yet, but that would only solidify my opinion that he was the right man for the job. People were in distaste as well when Ben Affleck was casted as the caped crusader (valid), but this time around with Pattinson was the first instance in which I actually had conversations with people who were in denial about the casting of the character.
Here’s how some of them went.
Me: “OMG did you guys see that Robert Pattinson got casted as Batman?”
Them: “The guy from twilight? What lol that sounds dumb.”
Me: “What no! he’s like massively talented, haven't you seen The Lighthouse or Good Time?”
Them: “What?”
Me: “I’m so excited to see the new Batman!”
Them #2: “No dude he looks stupid in that suit, and he’s too skinny!” He’s just not Batman.”
Me: “Have you read the comics?”
Them #2: “No.”
Me: “Then how about you shut up.”
Me: “Batman coming out, looks good.”
Them #3: “Looks bad.”
Why have I spent the last like two-and-a-half years defending this movie’s honor like it’s my beloved betrothed (because it is!) Maybe it’s because I pride myself on knowing when a movie is going to be bad or not, rarely does a new release escape my correct judgement.
So when it comes to this film, was I right again? Why yes, of course! Was I also right about the fact that Robert Pattinson was going to eat as Batman?
Why yes, of course! Again!
I want to say something controversial: Oh no I’m scared.
Wait, no one is reading this anyway so it doesn’t matter.
Okay here goes: THIS IS THE BEST LIVE ACTION INTERPRETATION OF WHAT THE CHARACTER IS SUPPOSED TO BE.
I can hear the pitchforks and the mobs swarming as we speak!
When Batman looked upon that newly traumatized boy with such grief, sadness, and that slight tinge of anger as Commissioner Gordon told him it was time to go, and he kept looking as “Something in the Way” came in at the exact moment it was supposed to; I can’t tell you just how personal that was for me. I grew up with a Batman that was a symbol, for sure, but a man? No. Batman wasn’t a human in live-action until he looked upon that kid. Jesus Christ, that’s what Batman is supposed to be, and frankly it’s what Nolan’s interpretation never was.
BUT LET’S NOT COMPARE: I love the TDK trilogy in it’s own way, don’t get it twisted.
I’ve heard complaints from different people about the lack of development for the character of Bruce Wayne throughout the runtime of this movie, but I think there’s a lot to unpack under the surface. To me it seems that, for the majority of this movie, Batman is only concerned with himself and his own well-being. The preservation of his secret identity, and the preservation of this “vice grip of fear” he feels he holds over the city are the most important things to him; but, by the end, it’s all different. When the goon near the end of the movie is asked, who are you? To which he replies, I’m Vengeance, Batman looks upon him in shame. Striking fear into Gotham as a symbol is not enough to make a change, but becoming a beacon of hope near the end, that’s what’s going to save the city.
The writing combined with Pattinson’s exceptional performance really make this Batman the best for me. If you really pay attention, Pattinson doesn’t speak for a pretty sizable amount of his screen time, while still exuding a severe screen presence both in and out of the suit. His use of body language, and the silences he creates are just so masterfully done. AH! I need to see this again.
This is without a doubt the best looking batman too, and not just because robert pattinson is under that suit (Mm mm MMM) The suit itself looks gorgeous, and it’s insane to me that people initially thought it looked ridiculous. It’s definitely reminiscent of the Arkham Knight suit, and it just looks soooo sleek. This is also the scariest Batman we’ve gotten by a long shot, the opening scene with him is probably my favorite in the entire movie. Criminals are out and about committing their silly little crimes on Halloween, but when it’s time to take cover under the shadows, they look into the sky and see the symbol. They look back towards the darkness in fear, and decide their better off in the comfort of the city lights. An absolute powerhouse of a prologue.
Also I’m sorry but can we take a second to preemptively assume that this is going to be the new sigma anthem in terms of depressed-emo-loner-sad boy characters? Just wait.
Imagine this for a second, there’s a person out there whose favorite movie is Se7en and who is also obsessed with Batman. When that person sees this movie they are quite literally going to piss their pants, in a good way, ya know? The fact that that person definitely exists out there puts a smile on my face, I hope they’re thriving right now.
Paul Dano is pretty terrifying as The Riddler for primarily existing through a phone screen for the majority of this movie. If I remember correctly there’s only like one or two scenes where we see him in person, which is bizarre to think about, but also it sort of works? He feels slightly underdeveloped in my opinion and I wish he was a little bit more of a well-rounded character, and I think maybe if we got to see more of him in the flesh he would be? But on the other hand, that’s what makes him so elusive and mysterious? I don’t know! Overall I really enjoyed this villain and definitely enjoyed a more grounded take on the character.
Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle was exceptional, even though (I’m sorry) if she was on screen with Pattinson you know who I was paying attention to. MY BAD. I thought her arc was very important and played well into the story. My one gripe is that I KNOW she can handle herself and does not need to be saved by anyone in any scenario, and it’s even worse because she literally says “I can handle myself” in the movie, twice. Somehow, though, they managed to pin her down not once, but twice and have her be saved by Batman. I can let it slide on account that she also saved Batman in one scene, but still. I know she could kick the shit out of anyone in those 6 inch heels she’s wearing, so they should have let her go off.
Colin Farrell and Andy Serkis as The Penguin and Alfred Pennyworth respectively are both amazing. Farrell is insane in this movie and I honestly don’t know how that’s actually him. He disappears into his role and he really goes over the top in the best way possible.
I’m gonna go ahead and bite the bullet on this one: I was not a fan of when Serkis was cast as Alfred. But, of course, he’s great in this and he really fits into the role well beyond what I initially expected. However, his character is left hanging quite abruptly and that left a bad taste in my mouth because they never resolve it? Unless I’m blanking on a scene where the loose end is tied up (cut me some slack, this movie is 3 hours long).
So yeah, this movie is like as long as one of the Lord of the Rings movies, which is still insane to me. Unfortunately, I was feeling the length a little towards the end; maybe that’s just because I had to piss like a racehorse, will reinvestigate on round two. There were definitely moments that benefited from the additional length, but also a scene or two that didn’t really need to be as long as it was, or included in the movie at all.
The action is really something to behold in this movie, even though I felt as if some of the hand-to-hand combat scenes were elusive and short-lived. The car chase scene is entertaining but it does this weird thing where it’s static for like a solid minute where nothing is really happening. I get that it was all set-up for the eventual conclusion of the scene, but something about it dragged and became distracting. The final action scene was very tense and high-strung (literally) but I felt that it was very short and choppy, maybe it all just happened too fast for my brain-fog ridden mind to comprehend, but it seemed like it all was over in a very abrupt way.
I, of course being the smooth-brained want to see batman punch people in the face fanboy that I am, longed to see the former statement play out a little more than it actually did in the movie; but, I recognize that this movie is first a film-noir detective story and an action movie second, so it all works out in the end.
Speaking of the end, that one scene with the mystery character or whatever, I absolutely despised it. I don’t want to even think about it, maybe next time I’ll just shut my eyes and plug my ears when it comes on and pretend like it doesn’t exist. Sounds like a plan.
Matt Reeves was the perfect man for the job, and quite frankly everyone here snapped. Pattinson was amazing alongside Kravitz, Dano, and Farrell, and the overall atmosphere created by every choice made in this movie made it so tonally balanced. Marvel needs to take notes on this movie from a tonality standpoint, because it’s a prime example of a story executed in an articulate way that doesn’t need to rely on kiddie jokes and hollow callbacks to mean something. I had a great time with this, flaws and all, I will be revisiting this very, very soon.
8/10
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