“The Batman”, directed by Matt Reeves (“Cloverfield”), takes a grim look at the dark knight and the crumbling world around him.
The film was released on Mar. 4 in theaters and has a lengthy runtime of 2 hours and 55 minutes.
The plot takes place two years into Bruce Wayne becoming Batman when a sadistic serial killer named the Riddler begins to murder political figures in the city of Gotham.
Robert Pattinson (“Twilight”’) stars as Batman, aka Bruce Wayne, and does a great job as he captures the pain Bruce carried growing up as an orphan and brings the brutality against criminals as Batman.
Despite Pattinson’s incredible performance, the film does not offer much depth into the man behind the bat mask for most of the film.
Paul Dano (“There Will Be Blood”) shines as the Riddler, bringing a mysterious and menacing presence.
It always feels as if the Riddler is one step ahead of everyone else, which makes him feel dangerous as a viewer. While it’s fun and games to him, it’s life or death to the rest of the cast.
Zoë Kravitz (“Mad Max: Fury Road”) plays the sleek Catwoman, aka Selina Kyle, and does an excellent job at creating chemistry between her and Pattinson.
The romantic relationship between Catwoman and Batman doesn’t feel completely developed in the film, considering they only share a few moments together before they kiss, ultimately making the entire relationship feel rushed.
Overall, Reeves does a good job with the main plot and other subplots which he develops with good pacing throughout the film.
Reeves redefines what a superhero movie can be by making “The Batman” more of a detective movie.
The film has striking similarities with David Fincher’s “Se7en” with a cat and mouse chase between Batman and the Riddler.
Gotham is both told and shown to be a city filled with corruption and crime. Reeves does an excellent job portraying the dark and gritty city with environmental storytelling.
The city of Gotham breaks Batman down to a point where he doesn’t even know if Gotham can be saved.
Composer Michael Giacchino did a fantastic job with the score for the film, especially with the Batman as he captures the brute force of him while building up the anticipation to see him.
Overall there are a few minor flaws, but the good outweighs the bad by a lot.
“The Batman” is definitely worth buying a ticket to go watch and it is in my top three Batman movies of all time.
The film has something for everyone with superb action, an interesting story and intriguing characters.