The Batman (2022) Movie Review
The Batman (2022) is yet another iteration of the world-famous caped crusader for the big screen this time with Matt Reeves holding the reigns, a director whose filmography I’ve thoroughly enjoyed so far, and Robert Pattinson donning the cape, an actor who I’ve grown to appreciate considerably more over the years. Since Batman is one of my favourite superheroes, naturally, I was excited and cautiously optimistic. While the movie has its issues, it executes enough elements strongly and distinctly to be a worthwhile outing for the hero.
The movie wisely does away with retelling the origin story and instead thrusts you into the world of Gotham taking place 2 years into the crime-fighting vigilante career of Bruce Wayne where a new opponent has sprung up killing top officials, leaving clues behind, and playing a mysterious game with the authorities and the Bat going by the name The Riddler. The premise allows this version of Batman to be focused on his detective and crime-solving side of things more so than any other Live-Action iteration I’ve seen and I appreciated that immensely. It’s first and foremost, a noir detective story heavily grounding the Batman world and inspired, it seems, by films such as Se7en and Zodiac which, hey, if you’re gonna get inspired by something, David Fincher’s best are a way to go.
The inspiration doesn’t stop there as it lends its hands to the strongest element of the movie i.e the production quality. Matt Reeves and the team meticulously crafted a Gotham that has its own character; a gritty, dark, crime-ridden, rainy metropolis oozing with a sense of dread and filth. Some areas are developed while many others are decrepit and dystopian complementing the story and the tone perfectly. The action sequences are well-shot and choreographed with fewer cuts and a Batman who loves to Tank hits creating unique thrilling scenes, although, requiring a higher suspension of disbelief where individual scenes mileage may vary. All of it is shown to you with sublime cinematography touching the Every Frame a Painting territory making it probably the best looking Batman movie to date. A visual treat.
Michael Giacchino’s score is another strong element where he crafted a theme that’s simple yet powerful, blasting in your ears and preparing you for vengeance. It can be argued that it was reused a bit too much but since I loved it, I didn’t mind that or any of its variations and you can bet that once the movie is over, you’re gonna be humming the theme for a while. It is based on Nirvana’s Something in the Way, which is also used perfectly in the movie twice. The sound design, sound editing and other OST tracks were solid too.
Now, as is usually the case whenever an actor is cast for an iconic role, there is a lot of pushback and Robert Pattinson was no exception to this. I, however, was not worried since I’ve seen enough of his films after The Twilight Saga to know that he has the acting chops and he did not disappoint. This is a recluse Bruce Wayne succumbed with vengeance and Pattinson felt right at home with a subdued take on the character. There are many scenes where he shows a lot of subtlety and I loved it. Performances were solid all-around from the major actors: Zoe Kravitz as Selena Kyle was sexy, badass and a surprisingly good Catwoman; John Turturo as Carmine Falcone also surprised me as an initial jovial dude who can also intimidate and show his true sleazy mob boss colours on the dime; Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, while no Gary Oldman, was a solid companion to Batman; Colin Farrel, who you can’t even recognize under all the makeup, as the Penguin was hilarious and awesome; Andy Serkis as Alfred, was a nice iteration of the character, although, I wish he had more screentime as his scene with Bruce had the highest emotional value in the film and could have been even stronger; Paul Danno as The Riddler, for the most part, walked the fine line between intimidating and cringe properly for the realistic take they were going for; I didn’t find him amazing but he was good enough.
Where the movie faltered and faltered hard enough to keep it from being great was the mixed bag plot writing. On one hand, The Batman is trying to be the most grounded out of any Live-Action outings and I appreciated that but at the same time, there are contrivances that prop up every now and then and progressively get worse, particularly in the final act, that contradicts the tone and can take you out for a moment whether it is Riddler’s plan or Batman’s plot armour, the former of which when thought about does become even messier. A lack of consequences is also noticeable after some events that make the world-building a bit iffy. The final act, as a whole, was the weakest part of the movie and it always sucks when a film starts strongly but fumbles at the end instead of fumbling at the start but finishing strongly (as was the case with No Way Home). It’s a shame too because the writing isn’t poor through and through; there is a strong thematic throughline and has a decent chunk of setups and payoffs that is executed well and I’m sure I’ll pick up on more details on a rewatch. Another contention I had, although a small one, was the pacing. It is a 3-hour movie and you feel the length even though it is not boring.
Overall, while being held down a bit by its flaws, it is still a solid iteration of the classic superhero and one that stands on its own feet and has a distinct vision to separate it from the other ones. I respect it for being what it is as a Big-Budget superhero film in the current pop-culture landscape. I loved the fact that there is a lot more Batman than Bruce Wayne (which fits with the story too). I hope we get another outing of this Batman as there is strong potential here after the conclusion of this arc with this cast and crew at the helm. With the last few movies, DC has upped its game tremendously and I hope they keep on this track. A definite recommendation. It is a standalone story so you don’t need to have any prior knowledge of previous movies. And if I were to rate it, I’d give it a 7.8/10.
P.S I haven’t revisited any of the previous Batman Live-Action films in a while now but if I were to rank the ones I’ve watched and remember, this is how it will look and can probably change upon rewatching them:
The Dark Knight (2008)
Batman Begins (2005)
The Batman (2022)
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Batman v Superman (2016)
Batman Returns (1992)
Batman (1989)
Batman and Robin (1997)
