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I love Batman. Not like that – I mean that would be one hell of a dysfunctional relationship. But the stories, characters and world built around him. As a kid I was drawn to the cheesy 60s show reruns. Ironically it was the bright colours that probably attracted me.
I remember watching Batman Returns as a slightly older kid whilst playing with my Batman toys. Yeah, it wasn’t a film for kids, despite all the merchandise, but I sure loved it – even if I wasn’t always sure why a Bat and a Cat found each other attractive whilst a Penguin was obsessed with taking over a city. I loved the character that much that I even loved Batman Forever – remember, I was a fan of the 60s show! But even at a young age I felt there was something iffy about Batman and Robin in 1997, though I did my best to like it. That was possibly because I guilt-tripped my dad in buying the VHS for me before I had seen it. These were simple times.
Anyway, what we got next was amazing. Nolan’s trilogy gave birth to the best Batman movie ever in The Dark Knight. It’s kind of unfair that anything that followed just didn’t stand a chance. By the time we got to Snyder’s Batman movies I felt fatigued. Largely because I didn’t enjoy DC’s shared movie universe. Had they paid more attention to their own product than play catch up to Marvel they could have created something beautiful. That wasn’t the case though.
So, when The Batman was eventually announced I was equal part excited, cautious, and slightly over it all. I was tired of the same Batman arcs and wanted to see something different like Batman Beyond. I thought whatever they released would just live in the shadow of Nolan’s The Dark Knight. However, with Matt Reeves at the helm I was optimistic because I absolutely loved the recent Planet of the Apes movies. I stayed away from watching too much of the trailers, or anything spoiler related – that may have been because I’ve had my head in the SpiderVerse for practically the last year!
OK, I’ve rambled a lot without going into The Batman at all. What did I think?
It. Was. Amazing.
Honestly, I went into this movie not expecting anything different and was happily won over. From the dark, grim visuals, to the score – this movie completely did the job for me.
I must start with the score. Every time Batman appears on screen there’s this tension that builds before he appears, and that’s largely due to the work Michael Giacchino has done with the music. It gave me goosebumps each time. And it was especially powerful when the Batmobile starts up for the first time. Had I not been sitting in the cinema I probably would have gotten up and done a dance. Thankfully, I did not – nobody at the screening would have wanted to see that.
The acting was brilliant, and I’m not even talking about Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman stole the show. The chemistry between her and Pattinson as the Bat and the Cat really worked. And speaking of chemistry, Batman and James Gordon was possibly even better. Jeffrey Wright did a sterling job as Gordon. Andy Serkis didn’t appear as Alfred as much as I thought he would, but the scenes he was in makes for an intriguing variation of the character we’ve been used to seeing over the years. Colin Farrell as Penguin is completely unrecognisable – though there’s nothing new there that we hadn’t already seen in the trailer. And then there’s Paul Dano as the Riddler. He hits all the right notes to make the character both creepy as hell and somewhat sympathetic too. Whatever he does with his eyes in one scene gives me nightmares each night! All actors deserve a round of applause here.
The Batman is a fitting title for the movie. Because the one character that seems to be missing is Bruce Wayne. He appears a little bit, but he is pretty much in “Batman mode” throughout the whole movie. None of the Playboy billionaire here. I didn’t mind this so much, as it shows the frame of mind this version of Wayne is in at this point in his life. This will probably change going forward and the character of Bruce Wayne is fleshed out more. It’s a very grim movie – but it really really works.
Where do I rate this movie compared to other Batman movies? I’d have to say it’s second after The Dark Knight for me. And that’s probably the only thing stopping me from giving it the full 5 stars. Unfair? Probably. But I’m the one who makes the rules here!
At three hours, this isn’t a short movie by any means, but I have to say it didn’t feel that long. Possibly because I ensured I stayed away from drinking anything for a week before seeing it. There are so many characters here that the running time is worth it. I can’t think of a single scene they could have scrapped. Especially as the build-up makes complete use of time for the intensity. To hurry that up would give you a very different movie.
There’s not much more I can go into without putting this review into spoiler territory, so I’ll leave it there.
Verdict
Holy Guacamole, Batman. This movie is pretty darn amazing. More Nolan than Burton but that’s no bad thing. Lots of great stuff but only just falls short of The Dark Knight, otherwise this would have been the perfect Batman movie.