Here’s our review of The Batman, Matt Reeves’ Batman movie starring Robert Pattinson
TITLE: The Batman. GENUS: noir, action. COUNTRY: USA. DIRECTOR: Matt Reeves. CAST: Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Colin Farrel, Jeffrey Wright, Andy Serkis, John Turturro, Barry Keoghan. time: 176 minutes. PRODUCTION: Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Entertainment. ITALIAN DISTRIBUTION: Warner Bros. EXIT: March 3, 2022.
The long awaited moment has finally arrived. After years of waiting, The Batman has hit theaters around the world. The conception of the film dates back to 2017 and it should have been Ben Affleck, then interpreter of the character, to produce, direct, write and act. Subsequently, the figure of Matt Reeves, who, however, had other plans for the masked superhero. This led to Affleck’s abandonment of the project and the birth of The Batman we know. In between, a production marked by the pandemic and filming that lasted a total of one year, with an release postponed for months, until March 4, 2022 for the United States, and March 3 for us Italians. Now that we’ve seen it, it’s fair to ask: Was it worth the wait so long? The answer is: Yes. Because? Let’s dive into The Batman review and find out!
The plot | The Batman review
In a Gotham City sombre and corrupt by crime, Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) has been secretly playing Batman for two years now. His only allies in this world are Lt. Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) and his assistant / butler Alfred (Andy Serkis). The latter is also the only one who knows the true identity of the man-bat. The situation in the city worsened when, during the election campaign, Mayor Mitchell (Rupert Penry-Jones) is murdered by the Riddler (Paul Dano), a serial killer with a passion for riddles. The latter leaves a direct message to Batman, inviting him to continue investigating him, while the latter continues to claim illustrious victims in Gotham. During this manhunt, the protagonist will clash with the underworld of the city, led by Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) and the Penguin (Colin Farrell). Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz) who, as Catwoman, seeks revenge for the murder of a friend.
Dark and spectacular | The Batman review
Do you ever get the feeling, when you watch a trailer, that they are showing you the best parts of a movie and that when you first watch it you will be a little disappointed, because it won’t be as cool as you imagined? It happens to me, especially with blockbusters, and I was afraid it would happen in this case too. I’m here to reassure you. The film is more beautiful than you imagine. The Batman keeps glued to the screen, despite his own 3 ore of duration. The pace is crazy, with the right alternation of spectacular action and long dialogues. To top it all we have a direction of an exceptional levelwhether we’re talking about cinecomics or movies in general, and one creepy soundtrack. A very dark theme runs throughout the film, just as Hans Zimmer’s did in the Nolan trilogy. This The Batman scares, excites, hits the hearts and eyes of the spectators, giving us epic and unforgettable images, right from the presentation scene of the Dark Knight.
“Who are you, below?” | The Batman review
So Catwoman asks Batman at one point in the film. The question seems trivial, as one of Batman’s characteristics is that of not revealing one’s identity. But the question is fundamental in this film as in no other dedicated to the DC superhero. In The Batman we see in fact one unprecedented nuance of the character, different from both Ben Affleck’s staid in the DC Extended Universe films and Christian Bale’s more reflective one in Nolan’s trilogy. Robert Pattinson, both as Batman and as Bruce Wayne, is convincing because it shows a badness never seen before, an anger and resentment towards the people and the city that destroyed his family. This film is about both the man and the superhero, giving space to both but leaving many unresolved issues for the inevitable sequel.
No longer Marvel vs DC | The Batman review
One of the big guys DC problems of recent years has been to want replicate the Marvel model. The latter, in 2008, inaugurated with Iron Man the Marvel Cinematic Universe and from that moment it would never stop. To date, the latter has 27 films and is starting its expansion also in TV series. DC, meanwhile, has concluded the Nolan trilogy and tried to clumsily replicate this model, failing miserably after very few movies. The comeback came with Joker, a violent, authorial film that earned more than a billion dollars worldwide and was candidate for 11 Oscars. Since that time, DC has started playing a sport other than Marvel. The road taken is that of single filmsmade by directors with a interesting story to tell. This happened with the Joker and this happened with The Batman. Matt Reeves has realized the Batman movie that comic and character fans have been waiting for for years. One can only hope that DC maintains this direction, which seems to be the winning one.
Conclusions
In a world where cinecomics have become a genre in their own right, Batman movies are themselves a sub-genre. If in recent years we had convinced ourselves that no one would ever touch the level of the Christopher Nolan trilogy again, Matt Reeves made us think again. His The Batman, in my opinion, is the best movie ever made about the dark knighteven more so than 2008’s The Dark Knight. The raw realism, the violence, the narrative depth and the iconic interpretations of the cast make this film one of the best cinecomics ever made and one of the best action and noir films released lately. As in the case of Joker, it does not seem to be in front of a superhero movie, but rather in front of a authorial filmwith attention to every detail. Direction, photography and soundtrack elevates The Batman to a level that most recent cinecomics can only dream of reaching. The only flaw is the complexity in certain parts of the plotwhich recalls a lot of films like Seven and Zodiac, both by David Fincher.
And you, what do you think of our review of The Batman? Have you seen the movie? Let us know yours in the comments!
PS: for those who have seen the film and haven’t had enough of the Riddler’s riddles, I recommend going to this site. Let’s just say that Matt Reeves is trying to replicate what he did with Cloverfield.
The best Batman ever
Points in favor
- Robert Pattinson is the best Batman and the best Bruce Wayne ever
- Direction and photography, dark and spectacular
- The soundtrack of Michael Giacchino
Points against
- The plot is a bit complicated at times
Are you looking for new movies and new TV series to watch? Discover the new subscription to Disney +, the streaming home of Disney, Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, National Geographic and now Star too. Subscribe now to only 8.99 euros per month on this page.