Finally, one of the most anticipated films of the year was released, The Batman, and it did not disappoint. It took the superhero genre of recent years, and it completely flipped it on its head. It turned the overly CGIed genre filled with massive fights and unearthly beasts into a dark crime thriller. It did not feel the need to completely rehash the origin story of Batman, but instead it cut the viewers into year two of the Batman rife with an excellent cast and tone. This has been the best film of the year so far, and if it sets the trend for the future of superhero movies, that would be exciting. (Spoilers ahead)
Batman finds himself involved in a murder mystery where key Gotham politicians and law enforcers are being targeted by the Riddler. Corruption is rampant in Gotham, and the Riddler feels like the best way to go about ending it, is by killing those involved. Batman is dragged along in this game trying to figure out who the rat is, and how the rat will lead him to the Riddler. Most of the corruption is coming from the Falcone crime family, so this brings in not only Carmine Falcone, but also his right-hand man, Penguin. One of Batman’s ways to get information from the Falcone crime family is through his partner/informant, Catwoman or Selina Kyle. Things really start to get complicated when the Riddler starts to implicate the Wayne family in playing a key role in the corruption of the city through one of their “charitable” endeavors.
The most noticeable aspect to this movie, is the framework in which it is presented, and that framework is dark, rainy, and gritty. There are only a couple of scenes in which the viewer can tell that the sun even exists in Gotham. The majority of the movie takes place at night, and even when they are inside of a place, like the Iceberg Lounge, besides the flashing red lights, it is dark. The story line of following a string of gruesome murders and corruption also adds to this tone. Having a scene where Batman and Commissioner Gordon just stand there and examine a corpse whose head is completely wrapped in duct tape with a bloody message written upon it, is not something typical of a superhero film. Also, just about every scene that takes place outside occurs in the pouring rain, which only adds to the dreary element of the whole film in a magnificent way.
Two of the best scenes in the movie occur back-to-back, partially due to their absurdity, but also due to their expert execution. It starts with Batman waking up in the police precinct after being blown up by a bomb, and Batman is ready to take on a whole police brigade in a small cage. Commissioner Gordon then convinces everyone to give him and Batman a minute in which he explains how the Batman will escape. When Batman starts to run, the police force chase after him like a mindless mob just sprinting and yelling and firing their guns recklessly. This scene is capped with Batman jumping off the roof in a wingsuit and poorly executing his landing where any other human would have died. Also, the bus he slammed onto did not even seem to notice that a massive object had just hit its roof, and the Batman limps off, but should definitely of died.
This scene is followed up by the introduction to the Batmobile. Batman and Gordon are going to spy on Penguin, and then Catwoman shows up. She is there to rob the Falcone family, but Batman is there to investigate, but they get spotted, and Penguin tries to escape, but he is pursued by Batman in his new vehicle. The new Batmobile is a blend between the armored version and something that would be the showcase in a Fast and the Furious movie. It is a sight to behold with an engine that revs loud enough to make the theater shake. So a chase ensues that ends with the batmobile doing an insane jump and landing then crashing into the Penguin’s car. His car flips, and with a backdrop of fire and rain, the Batman slowly walks up to a trembling Penguin and takes him captive. It is truly an incredible sight. The only question I have is why did they let the Penguin go when they clearly could have arrested him?
One of the best parts of this movie was Zoe Kravitz playing Catwoman. I did enjoy Anne Hathaway as Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises, but this version of Catwoman was incredible. The chemistry she and Robert Pattinson had was palpable. Earlier in the year, when I went and saw The 355, an all women action movie, I was disappointed, and knew that the women’s action genre could do much better, and I was right, they just needed some one as kick ass as Zoe Kravitz to star in it. Her action sequences were top notch, it could be her fighting the Batman, or her fighting someone a part of the crime boss family, she killed it.
To compare Robert Pattinson to other Batmen is not easy. Personally, I would rank him second behind Christian Bale. There is a large amount of bias coming from the fact that Christian Bale was the Batman that I grew up with, and that I do not have enough experience with the others to accurately rank them, but I hold to my opinion. I thoroughly enjoyed how dark and brooding this Batman was. He was a recluse that lived up in the Wayne tower that no one ever saw, which is a stark contrast to the Bale version who fully embraced the playboy millionaire vibe. Pattinson looked like a 90s punk rock star when he took the suit off and had the dark eye makeup smudging down his face. He was not over the top, and the vibe he created fit the movie perfectly.
There were a few aspects of the movie that did not quite hit the mark. One of these was the high amount of drawn-out dialogue. There were multiple times where a scene would last minutes upon minutes and contain a high amount of exposition, and it was easy to check out, none more so than the scene of Alfred in the hospital when he woke up, and they discussed Maroni and Falcone, and it was a ton to follow, and the first time I watched it, I did not get it all, so the second time I watched it, I made a point to pay more attention, and I still zoned out from all the dialogue. The other downside is that there was never a point in the movie where I really felt the stakes. They were there, but I never felt them the same way I would in a high-quality Marvel movie or a movie in the Dark Knight Trilogy. That is really picking knits though.
So I did see the movie twice, once in IMAX in a special Tuesday premiere, where I missed the first ten minutes of the movie, because there were no previews, and the second time on Friday in an RPX theater with my family. The first experience in the IMAX was slightly better, the screen was bigger, and the speakers were much louder to the point where my whole body felt like it was shaking at times, and it made the movie much more intense. So I would highly recommend getting blown away by the IMAX sound system and screen. Also it was crazy being in the second row of the IMAX and having the screen be so big that if something was occurring on the right or left side of the screen, having to literally turn your head in that direction to see what was supposed to be the focus.
The acting in this movie was great, from the Bat and the Cat to the crime lords, to the Riddler. The Riddler gave a very disturbing performance, he was clearly deranged, and there were moments in the theater, when he was doing his thing and there were a few uncomfortable laughs, and this is when the movie was at its peak. To think of a person being that deranged and being able to go on to the dark depths of the internet and recruit some strangers to massacre innocent people is a wild thought, and sadly it is something that is so plausible now.
This movie was great from start to finish, a little dialogue heavy and long, but well worth the time. I was incredibly excited for this movie to come out, and it did not disappoint. Hopefully this is the first of many dark crime superhero movies, and it brings D.C back to what it stands for, Detective Comics. I think if D.C takes up this lane, and Marvel stays in its lane, everyone will be better for it. Clearly Batman is dominating the box office, and it probably will for the next month if not month and a half, there is another lull in movies coming out over the next few weeks, but this movie will stay with me long enough to endure till the next good movie drop. 4 Stars, go see it, but definitely see it in IMAX!
Other Movies This Week:
The King’s Man started out so slow, that by the time they finally got to the cool action scenes I was so far out on it, that there was no redemption.
Batman Mask of the Phantasm: I watched this because people said that this was the close to the new Batman movie, and that as far as animated Batman goes, that it is the gold standard. I watched it while writing this, so I was not completely invested, but from what I saw, it was good.
New Rankings:
The Batman: 4 Stars
The King’s Man: 1.5 Stars
Batman Mask of the Phantasm: 3 Stars
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