‘The Batman’, starring Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, and Jeffrey Wright, has been out for a week now, and looks well on its way to being a verifiable hit at the box office. It passed expectations domestically at the box office during its opening weekend, bringing in over 120 million and just over 100 million internationally. When I first heard that this movie was going to be made, and Robert Pattinson was going to play the Batman, I was not impressed. Not because I didn’t think Robert Pattinson was a capable actor, but because I didn’t think he fit the part. When the initial photos and teaser trailers came out, I thought Robert Pattinson’s Batman looked like a cross between emo Tobey Maguire from Spider-Man 3, and Brandon Lee’s The Crow. He didn’t have the build of a Batman, and looked wholly out of place. Well, now having seen the movie, I was wrong about The Batman. Wrong in the sense that ‘The Batman’ focused more on Batman than the Bruce Wayne character, and I actually think Pattinson, not quite fitting the role of a typical Bruce Wayne, worked for the story that we saw. There are things I absolutely loved about this Batman movie, and things I absolutely hated, but overall, as you’ll see, I thoroughly enjoyed what Matt Reeves brought to the table, and would probably see it again.
More Batman Less Bruce Wayne
‘The Batman’ literally was a black and white movie with no grey areas, in my opinion. There were things that the movie nailed, and there were things that just weren’t called for in a Batman movie, that kind of brought down what would have made ‘The Batman’ a top three Batman movie of all time. My initial reaction when I left the theater, was that this Batman movie felt like it jumped right out of the pages of a comic book. You could tell that Matt Reeves has a love for this character and in a lot of instances, he got it right. It was the dark version of Batman we’ve all been wanting to see on the big screen for a long time. It was also the first Batman movie that focused almost entirely on Batman rather than Bruce Wayne. ‘The Batman’ was a true detective story, that previous iterations might have touched on, but were lacking. Some other reviews have suggested that ‘The Batman’ can be compared to such movies as ‘Zodiac’ and ‘Seven’. It definitely had elements of those movies in a very film noir landscape kind of way.
Dark, Gritty, and Brutal
‘The Batman’ pretty much set the tone, at the beginning of the movie, of where it wanted to take the characters of Bruce Wayne and Batman. It gave us a Bruce Wayne that was a secondary, almost insignificant character, compared to the Batman, who is on screen a majority of the time. From a comic book perspective, that’s the way a Batman movie should be written. Bruce Wayne has always been addicted to being the Batman, like it was his drug of choice. Batman is Bruce Wayne’s escape from his own emotional torment. At one point in the movie, Bruce Wayne actually refers to being Batman, as more important than what Bruce Wayne has to offer. This iteration of Batman is brutal and shows no remorse as he tries to cleanse Gotham City of the evil that permeates it. It was refreshing to see this version of Batman compared to the whiny, acquiescing version we’ve been subjected to in the comic books over the last few years.
Bruce Wayne is Batman’s Mask
Robert Pattinson’s version of Batman the detective and Bruce Wayne, were played as close to a year two Batman in the comic books as you would expect from a live action interpretation. Batman the detective didn’t say a lot or mince words, and Bruce Wayne was an anemic shell. Pattinson’s presence as the Batman was tangible, and could be felt throughout the theater when he walked into a scene. There are two scenes in particular that show you the weight Batman’s presence has on screen. The first is when Batman is coming out of the shadows to confront thugs getting ready to beat on an innocent man. You can literally feel every step the Batman takes as he gets closer to the reveal. Those footsteps felt like each one weighed 300 lbs., and showed you the overwhelming authority that the Batman had. The other scene, is when Batman enters the first crime scene of the movie, and the police officers are just clearing the way for Batman, in reverence to that power and capability. Bruce Wayne on the other hand is played by Pattinson in a very uncomfortable way. Bruce Wayne is physically uncomfortable with playing the part of Bruce Wayne and it shows. Overall, I think Pattinson did a surprisingly good take on the two characters. He showed us that Bruce Wayne really is Batman’s mask that he occasionally has to don, and Batman is the real flesh and blood character.
The Supporting Cast was a Hit or Miss
The supporting cast in this movie was a mixed bag for me. I thought Jeffrey Wright’s Lt. Jim Gordon was really really good. Still not as good as Gary Oldman’s depiction, but still really good. The partnership he has with Batman plays really well, and comes off as genuine and had me invested the entire movie. Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman was ok, and honestly I got a little bored with her character. I think that’s because of the way she was written. Selina Kyle’s character was rewritten as the orphaned daughter of Carmine Falcone(ridiculous, and a story for another day), and just didn’t make sense. If Matt Reeves just stuck with The Long Halloween graphic novel version of Catwoman, that would have been a much better representation of the character. There were times that I thought we could have told that side of the story without Selina Kyles’ character, but I get why she was in there(more on that later). Colin Farrell as the Penguin was spot on, and I really enjoyed the moments he was on screen. It literally was the best on screen iteration of that character to date, and it added a great layer to the movie. It’s completely understandable why the Penguin is getting his own HBOMax mini series. Paul Dano’s Riddler was an interpretation of the character, that finally made me feel like we got the Riddler from the comic books. The Riddler has always been a great intellectual adversary to Batman, and has been severely underused in any movie adaptation until now. Andy Serkis as Alfred pennyworth was good for what he had to do, but only made me yearn for the wisdom of Michael Caine’s version. Finally, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone was like Carmine Falcone playing John Turturro. It was good, but he didn’t feel as menacing as he should have. Tom Wilkinson, in my opinion, did a much better job in ‘Batman Begins’. The unsung hero of supporting characters, however, was how physical an entity Gotham City was in ‘The Batman’. It was a defined character with its gloomy, rain soaked, noir like landscape, that made you feel like you were experiencing the grunginess of Gotham all around you. Gotham City felt like it was literally ripped from the pages of a Batman comic book, and Matt Reeves nailed it.
Related: Chuck Dixon and Politics in Comics
Robert Pattinson Was a Great Batman and an OK Bruce Wayne
I went into ‘The Batman’, with beyond low expectations. I had no faith in Robert Pattinson pulling off a Batman character, and was primed and ready for the woke onslaught that we’ve been inundated with in our superhero entertainment. I was right and wrong on both counts. Robert Pattinson pulled off a very convincing Batman, and in some respects, the best Batman we’ve ever seen on screen. Pattinson’s version of Bruce Wayne, however, is open for interpretation and dissecting. Bruce Wayne in ‘The Batman’ wasn’t anything like what we’ve seen in the comic books, but at the same time, it might make sense as to why he was depicted the way he was in ‘The Batman’. Bruce Wayne was always the fake rich playboy in the comic books and movies, but in ‘The Batman’, he’s portrayed as anemic and a shell of a man. Now, this could be Matt Reeves’ interpretation to try and accentuate the stark differences between Batman the man and Bruce Wayne the costume. If that was the true intent, then I’m all for it, and it was a brilliant idea, because it would fully explain the ending of the movie, which could be interpreted as being woke…which I will admit, I’m on the fence about. Maybe it was because Robert Pattinson couldn’t pull off the physique of a Bruce Wayne, and those glaring differences made Batman more menacing. It could be, but I tend to go with the former rather than the latter.
Matt Reeves is a J.J. Abrams Bad Robot Alum
Was the movie full of identity politics, diversity, and inclusion? Yes and no. On the surface, ‘The Batman’ is as close to a perfect depiction of the Batman from the comic books as we’ve ever seen. But about two thirds through the movie, we got a line from Catwoman that made no sense, and was completely irrelevant to the plot of the movie. There’s a scene where Catwoman tells Batman that “these white privileged a**holes” deserved what they got. You could have just said privileged a**holes, and the sentiment would have been the same. Some say it’s just a throw away line to forget and didn’t mean anything, and others say that it gift wraps the woke subtext throughout the whole movie. I will admit that I wanted to scream at the screen when I heard it, because I just wanted this one to be free of any sort of identity politics. I did forget about it about 30 seconds after I heard it, but was that the purpose or was it thrown in there to appease the crazies on the left for a few seconds. Given that Matt Reeves is a J.J Abrams Bad Robot alum, I tend to think that Matt Reeves placed it there on purpose. J.J. Abrams and his company Bad Robot have made it their mission to end white supremacy in the workplace, and make people aware of white privilege and systemic racism. So I find it hard to believe that it wasn’t deliberate. Could I overlook it…of course, and I did. But that doesn’t mean it was necessary. The woke was so subtle in this movie, that the average fan will probably miss it. That could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. If Matt Reeves did place the woke subtext there on purpose, then it’s dishonest and subversive, and tells us that Matt Reeves has an agenda. Or, it could be a complete coincidence, and we’re looking way too deep into this and should see ‘The Batman’ for what it was…a great Batman movie the first two thirds, and a pretty crappy Batman movie the last third. I hate to think that Matt Reeves has an ulterior motive, because I know he’s a true Batman fan. Let’s cross our fingers and see what the sequel gives us.
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‘The Batman’ Could Have Been a Perfect Batman Movie
What did ‘The Batman’ get wrong? If had to complain about anything, other than the possible subtle woke subtext, it would be the ending of ‘The Batman’. The movie felt like it ended once, and then ended again. Carmine Falcone was found guilty of murder, arrested, and then subsequently killed, and the Riddler was arrested and thrown into Arkham Asylum. Everything ended the serial killer detective story quite nicely, and then for some reason, we weren’t done yet. It really felt like Warner Bros., in predictable “we don’t know what the fans want” fashion, ordered a mandatory grand finale with fighting, explosions, Gotham City drowning, and Batman saving the day…again. It felt forced and out of place. Did it take me out of the movie? No, I just felt like it was bad writing and Warner Bros. sticking their noses in another DC movie where it doesn’t belong. It could be that Matt Reeves put it in there to support the woke subtext…who knows. What I do know, is that the ending took away from what could have been a perfect Batman movie.
Is ‘The Batman’ a Good Batman Movie?
So, is this the best Batman movie? No. ‘The Dark Knight’, hands down, is the best Batman movie…ever. But, ‘The Batman’ is a really good Batman movie that hit the mark white often, giving us elements of Batman that fans have been craving to see on screen. ‘The Batman’ far exceeded what it got right vs what it got wrong. It was visceral and dark, and Robert Pattinson didn’t disappoint as the Batman. Michael Giacchino’s score to ‘The Batman’ is absolutely amazing, giving ‘The Batman’ an even further layer of depth that you feel all around you. I’m hoping that Matt Reeves does what ‘The Dark Knight’ did after ‘Batman Begins’, and the sequel proves to be a better chapter than its predecessor.
