Movie review: Detective Batman Leaves no Question Marks

The Batman (2022, theatres) - 8.5 (spoilers)

I'm not a fan of Robert Pattison, and as much as I like the Batman character, even I'm a little exhausted by how many iterations I've seen on the big screen. I was actually okay with Ben Affleck's Batman in the DCEU and wanted to see more of his version of the caper crusader, but alas, DC still has proven not to be as smart as Marvel with its contracts and casting decisions.

Needless to say, I went into The Batman with a bit of trepidation and lowered my expectations. But I will tell you this. I liked the movie far more than I thought I would, and that's not just because I had little hope for it, either.

Matt Reeves gets more credit for his directorial chops in this movie than he deserves, but his writing was genius. The story invests the audience from the opening scene, a gruesome murder (well, as gruesome as a PG-13 movie can get) that triggers a chain of discoveries about Gotham's past and the Ridder's diabolical scheme to bring past injustices to light. If you know me and my movie-going habits, you know I like to avoid trailers of major blockbuster movies at all costs, and I must say, I'm really glad I went into this one knowing nothing, because finding out the Riddler was the main villain immediately amped my interest in the movie. I'm a sucker for a good detective story and puzzle-solving mysteries, and the Riddler is the perfect character to utilize when incorporating those types of story mechanics.

Don't worry, though. You won't mistake this Riddler with Jim Carrey's version. Instead of the jovial, humorous version of the character we all know and love from practically every other story in movies or comics featuring him, this Riddler was crazy, sadistic, dark, and vengeful, more akin to Joaquin Phoenix's title character in Joker, which also conveyed a different side of a normally lighter, more comical character (It's probably no coincidence that Riddler ends up in an asylum cell right next to Joker, teasing a possible team-up between villains in the future). Paul Dano does just as great a job portraying Riddler similar to how Phoenix did Joker, though Dano didn't get nearly the same screen time, which is a shame.

While the murder mystery serves as the driving force of the plot, Reeves does a great job of seamlessly melding so many familiar elements and characters of the Batman universe. His take on Carmine Falcone and the mafia side of Gotham was gritty and compelling; the amount of twists and the revelation of the big picture with Riddler's murder brought every story thread together in a cohesive way with plenty of stakes that made the investment well worthwhile. Characters like Catwoman and Penguin were perfectly integrated; I always worry that (re)introducing too many characters could deter momentum of the main story, but that was not the case. The connection between Catwoman and Falcone certainly helped with that.

Speaking of Catwoman, Zoe Kravitz is quickly turning into a top-notch young actress (33 years old) in my book as she is getting higher-profile movies under her belt. She brought just the right amount of playfulness when flirting with Batman, but she also embodied strong independence and dispelled any notions of daddy issues that could've ruined otherwise serious story beats. Though he didn't ruin the movie the way fans initially feared after his initial casting news, Pattinson was clearly outclassed when sharing the screen with the likes of Dano or Kravitz. He didn't match Kravitz's wit or charm in any way during their scenes together. Even Andy Serkis' Alfred and Colin Ferrell's Penguin were scene stealers despite limited on-camera time.

My favorite side character was Jeffrey Wright's James Gordon. He was in the precarious position of defending Batman at a time when the entire police department wanted him locked up. I've always loved the vigilante tension with the Batman character, who seemingly puts himself above the law. Gordon knew better, and I'm glad the story didn't add that mistrust element between him and Batman, though there was one great moment when an exasperated Gordon couldn't help but vent how difficult it was for him to defend Batman when he doesn't even know who's under the mask!

The film's runtime has been a hot topic, and rightfully so. Reeves clearly doesn't know why editors are important, because the film easily could've had half an hour chopped off without changing the complexion of the cinematography whatsoever. I appreciate slow-paced stuff just fine, but dragging it out too much pulled me out of the moment far too consistently. His camerawork in general was mostly average and unimaginative, save for a sparse few shots, such as Batman walking out of the Batmobile upside or a couple of shots during the final scenes when Batman is leading people through the pooled water in the concert hall. Heck, even the fight scenes were so dully shot that it exposed poor choreography (there definitely were a few shots of bad guys literally standing around Batman waiting for their cue to jump into the fracas). The slower-paced action scenes did allow the audience to feel the weight of Batman's suit, so I guess that's a positive outcome.

Speaking of Batman's suit, man was that one of the ugliest suits. His utility belt was way too huge, his plated armor was too bulky, and his wristwear was far too distracting. The cowl, though, was by the far the best one of any Batman we've seen on the big screen, so at least it had that going for it. I know this is a younger rendition of Batman - according to the story, he's only been Batman for two years - but come on.

Overall, The Batman was put together incredibly well, highlighted by the strongest story in a Batman movie this side of The Dark Knight.

#TheBatman #Batman #DC #Riddler #Catwoman