The Batman is back
Matt Reeves' The Batman gave me hope again for Batman reaching the heights of the Nolan trilogy once again
After the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy, I truly never thought there would never be another Batman film that would even get close to those heights.
That thought was confirmed heavily with the DCEU version of a hulking, old, washed up Batman that supposedly was meant to be Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns Batman, but if that is the case, it was a major insult to how incredible that graphic novel’s Batman is.
The Nolan Batman seemed like it was going to be completely untouched for many years to come. I mean even after hearing about Matt Reeves’ The Batman and seeing its initial trailer, I was cautiously excited, but not overly optimistic at it topping the Nolan trilogy.
This past weekend, I went and saw The Batman and could not believe that three hours had passed when I walked out.
Matt Reeves’ The Batman was a unique Batman experience that encapsulated the graphic novel-esque Batman universe almost perfectly from the feel of Gotham City to the Batman, himself, in his second year of fighting crime.
The Gotham City shown in The Batman really feels like the grimy cesspit that it is supposed to be. It has its own character and feels like a real place.
The Gotham Cities that we have seen previously in film have always felt a bit like just any other city that could be in the United States. For example, Nolan’s Gotham City is just Chicago with small tweaks to add flair.
Reeves’ Gotham feels lived in, scary and full of the type of crazy people that requires a masked vigilante to try and gain control. The way it embodies what has been previously shown in comics and brings it to life completely is an astounding feat.
There is that noir side of Batman all over this movie with the phosphorescent lights and dangerous streets.
Not only aesthetically does it feel like a real Gotham either, the police force and city officials are all completely corrupt and fit perfectly into this world. It also plays heavily into the story and ties all the characters together from heroes to villains.
The performances from the main cast were all absolutely incredible. Robert Pattison played the depressed, vengeance-filled early Batman: Year One Batman perfectly. This Batman still has a lot of room for growth and finding his footing as a real hero.
He can be a bit overly melancholy at times and maybe a bit angsty, but for the early in the career Batman they were going for, it was an overall success. This was also the first time we really got to see Batman be a detective on the big screen which played perfectly into a Riddler story.
Jeffery Wright’s Jim Gordon played right into this early career Batman as well. He is still trying to convince GCPD that this man in a bat suit can do a lot of good, and their dynamic works very well.
Paul Dano played an amazing Riddler. He embodied the wackiness of the character all while giving a chilling performance that can really only be classified as kind of creepy.
The motivation for the Riddler is well thought out and Dano does a good job of keeping you on the edge of your seat whenever he is on screen.
Some of the riddles were a bit weird and didn’t work perfectly, but in the end, it all came together in a neat and believable way.
In my opinion, the overall best performance was Zoë Kravitz as Cat Woman. Her story arc and the emotional depth she brought to the character were incredible. The Batman told a great Cat Woman story that didn’t just shoehorn her into the love interest for Batman.
She was awesome in all of the action sequences and had some great chemistry in the romantic scenes as well, but she really shined when she was in her own story.
As usual, the score for this movie lived up to former Batman films with a high-energy, suspenseful slapper. It was used often, but in incredibly interesting ways that never got stale.
The Riddler theme was also very good and fit well with the character. My only gripe with the music was the Nirvana song that sort of made it feel even more angsty at times, but still worked in the end.
Lastly, I gotta say how fucking cool Batman and the new Batmobile are. Batman’s suit in The Batman might be my favorite of any Batman film. It feels realistic and grounded to an early Batman while also still having some crazy tech built-in.
The Batmobile in this movie is absolutely terrifying. It is a brutalist take on the Batmobile that is so nerve-wrackingly loud. There is a chase scene in this movie that absolutely engulfs you in sound and is wildly entertaining to watch.
All alone I’d say The Batman is my second or third favorite Batman movie, but I don’t think it lives up to the best of the Nolan trilogy on its first attempt, but there is a lot of good there to build on that may by the end put it right up there with the best Batman trilogy of all time.
Overall, it is the best adaptation of a comic book Batman we have seen to date, and if they can keep that up, it all can only get better.
(I know this is a video game newsletter but I haven’t played many games recently and this movie needed to be talked about)