“The Batman” - Film Review
The most daunting aspect of The Batman is the runtime. The question a lot of people (rightfully) had before going in was could they justify the two hours and fifty-six minutes (plus trailers) the filmmakers were asking the audience to spend watching this film. And they do justify it, for the most part. There is a good two-and-a-half hour movie buried within The Batman, but it’s the ending that the filmmakers couldn’t seem to fully decide on.
For the first two-thirds of the movie, The Batman harkens back to the origin of the Caped Crusader. His first comic book appearance was in Issue #27 of Detective Comics, and was partially inspired by Sherlock Holmes. These detective, sleuthing roots have been forgotten in the most recent iterations of Batman, but they’re what ultimately bring fresh life to this film. For most of its runtime, The Batman is much more akin to David Fincher’s Se7en than to any of its superhero siblings. Even Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy fit better in the superhero genre than The Batman. This film’s Gotham is gritty and noir-ish, and it’s perpetually raining. There are one-liners and narration that sound like they were lifted from a Cagney film from the ’30s.
Warner bros
Important, powerful people in the city of Gotham are being murdered as part of The Riddler’s (Paul Dano) grand plan. In his cryptic videos, clues, and messages, he talks about ridding the city of its lies by exposing the corrupt people in positions of power. As he’s investigating the first crime scene caused by The Riddler, Gotham Police Officer James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) discovers a card intended for Batman (Robert Pattinson). Their investigation into The Riddler brings Gordon and Batman (aka Bruce Wayne) into the seedy underbelly of crime in Gotham, where Batman meets Selina Kyle (Zoe Kravtiz), who is looking for her missing roommate.
When the film exists in this detective genre, it’s easy to see how Batman has become such an enduring character. The fight scenes aren’t as otherworldly as those in other superhero movies because no one has any superpowers. The scenes aren’t plagued by over-abundance or quick cuts. Instead, the action is compact and the main focus of the shot. This allows the audience to see the physicality and appreciate the different ways Batman and Selina fight. Where Batman is brute force, Selina moves with the acrobatic grace of a cat. One particularly memorable fight scene takes place in near-total darkness, with the action only visible in the flash of a gun going off. It’s claustrophobic and tense, and every glimpse leaves the audience breathless until the next gun goes off.
Warner bros.
Unfortunately, the film turns into a paint-by-numbers superhero movie for the last thirty minutes. Much like the Wonder Woman and Aries finale fight from Wonder Woman, it feels like a decision that came from studio executives who wanted to play it safe. To give the people the price of admission. What a disservice these few out-of-place scenes do to the spectacle that came before.
As The Riddler, Dano is fascinatingly unnerving. Despite the fact that he’s masked for most of the film, his performance is fantastic and unsettling. Dano relies mainly on his voice to exude the passion and mayhem his character has swirling around inside. The costume design clearly takes inspiration from Fincher’s Zodiac and adds to the foreboding, menacing aura of The Riddler. The Batman suit is a hulking masterpiece, giving Pattinson an impressive presence and taking up a large portion of the screen anytime he wears it. Pattinson’s performance is nuanced, adding a humanity to Wayne that has been missing from recent iterations of Batman. As always, Wright offers the perfect combination of intensity and gentleness. His performance begs for a stand-alone movie that explains how his Officer Gordon becomes Commissioner. The range of Kravitz in this film is yet another reminder that High Fidelity was taken from us too soon. Every performance in the film was top-notch, and while it’s impossible to say that any one actor steals the show, it is a collective triumph.
Even with a runtime of nearly three hours, The Batman leaves the audience wanting more. More of the flirtatious dynamics of Batman and Selina, more about the mysteries of Bruce’s parents, and more from that unnamed cellmate in Arkham with the maniacal laughter. While ultimately fumbling the ending, The Batman’s characters, performances, plot, and visual appearance leave enough behind to warrant a return to this version of Gotham.
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