While browsing YouTube one night I came across a video essay from the IMO underrated “Sage’s Rain” channel, which had an interesting essay about Batman talking about his compassion and empathy. It’s a trait that defines a lot of the Caped Crusader’s best stories, so the buildup to Cloverfield and Planet of the Apes director Matt Reeves’s new feature The Batman at first gave me some pause as far as what this was going to be. Admittedly drawing influence from the Zodiac Killer in his Ridder, played by Paul Dano as a crazed serial killer attacking prominent figures in Gotham City, as well as the dark atmosphere of a William Friedkin crime drama, the trailers looked badass and cool but they didn’t exactly get my hopes up for the sweeter side of Bruce Wayne.
No doubt, this is a grim and muscular Batmovie that pushes the PG-13 rating to its absolute breaking point, it’s even less kid-friendly than Christopher Nolan’s 2008 Dark Knight (which actually did have some children’s books based on it, I kid you not). Still, Robert Pattinson’s black-clad detective has a good deal of nuance to it that keeps things interesting as he tracks down the Riddler, who’s leaving clues specifically for our brooding billionaire to track.
He’s backed up by Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, a local thief looking to help her roommate and aids Batman in infiltrating the Icebox, a sleazy nightclub run by Oswald “The Penguin” Cobblepot (portrayed by an unrecognizable Colin Farrell, who’s clearly enjoying himself). They’re weeding out people who have no business partying at this kind of club, revealing a ring of corruption spreading through Gotham that ties into Riddler’s chosen targets. Bruce also works with Jeffrey Wright as Jim Gordon, perhaps the one GCPD officer who doesn’t see Batman as a disturbed vigilante. Bruce’s reclusiveness outside of the Batsuit doesn’t help his reputation much, still wearing the black eye-makeup after removing his mask and tirelessly pouring over the evidence (while Nirvana’s “Something In The Way” blares in the background).
Topping Gary Oldman’s magnificent performance as Jim Gordon in the Nolan trilogy would have been near impossible to surpass, so going into this new one I was crossing my fingers and saying “okay Reeves, don’t you dare make my Gordon some kind of punk”, as I was expecting Jeffrey Wright to attempt something different. No worries, Wright’s Gordon is basically a pitbull here, determined to help Batman unravel the mystery and speaking in more of a Christian Bale-like snarl than Pattinson’s caped crusader, whose voice is more of a soft whisper with a bit of bass behind it.
Bruce is a bit standoffish toward Andy Serkis’s Alfred Pennyworth, but over the course of the story there’s some genuine heart displayed between the two. In fact, without spoiling much, this is ultimately a story about Batman learning that he needs different approaches to help the people of Gotham aside from just scaring the crooks (and Reeves depicts this element in a pretty striking way, as muggers and taggers scamper in fear of the Bat-Signal, making Batman feel more like an almost mythological figure in the story.
But as intimidating as Batman is here, Dano’s Riddler is pretty memorable with plenty of Son-Of-Sam vibes to go around. And as much as I adore the Dark Knight (Ledger’s Joker is still totally thugged out), as unique as Reeves’s Batman feels, I consider myself part of the growing outcry for some more whimsical Batman elements to eventually be introduced like maybe Killer Croc or Robin sometime down the road. At the least, this Riddler even behind his mask has a neat theatricality to his crimes, and I got a chuckle from one of his plans being live-streamed on social media (for a split second, one anonymous creep types in “We Love U Riddler”. It’s sad and still believable that he would attract some disturbed followers who think he’s actually writing Gotham’s wrongs.)
You’d think people would be tired of seeing Michael Giacchino’s name pop up in so many film credits, but his furious score helps add to the title hero’s aura and also of the city he protects. John Tuturro’s also here, sneaking in a fun and creepy performance as prominent Gotham mobster Carmine Falcone. His connection to Thomas Wayne may play a key role in Batman unraveling the mystery- and though this is a totally separate universe from Todd Phillips’s Joker film, it is funny how both of these hit DC movies are so focused on the personal failings of Bruce’s father.
So overall, even though this film doesn’t surpass Dark Knight 08 for me, Matt Reeves has made a pretty intense amd memorable Bat-film in his own right, so as long as you’re not a small kid I can recommend it. It’ll satisfy the craving for those who were looking for Batman to do some real detective work in a story, allows him to evolve a bit as a character, and it sets itself up well to try some interesting things in future installments (of which there’ll certainly be more of, considering how well it’s performing at the box office. If you’d had the chance to see it, let us know your feelings on it at FAN’s social media spots!