Review: The Batman

We saw The Batman yesterday, the new Robert Pattinson Batman, and I have to say I really liked it. It's got a bit of the same vibe to me that last year's Suicide Squad did, though, in the sense that this movie very accurately captured the elements of the current Batman comics in a way which will be very exciting for DC/Batman fans, but for which I have no idea if general audiences will care. If your image of Batman is rooted in 1989, this version might or might not work for you. It has some funny moments, a couple anyway, but its really more of  serious crime drama in which one of the detectives dresses up like a bat before kicking the crap out of thugs who, of course, are really asking for it.

Also, the movie was PG-13, mainly for the violence, and as a result there was nothing in this film my kid was going to have to hide his eyes from or result in awkward family conversations. It was nice to see a DC movie that didn't go gratuitously over the top with R rated content.   

If I have to summarize this movie in a nutshell, it boils down to this:

--Pattinson made a great Batman, a young take on the character which draws heavily on the Batman Year Zero and Year One storylines to craft a surprisingly faithful vision of Gotham

--The actor who played the Riddler gave me some initial strong "Batman meets the movie Seven" vibes but by the end of the movie this was very much the modern comic iteration of the Riddler in cinematic form, and in my opinion a much better take on the character than the older campy version from Batman Forever.

--Catwoman was also surprisingly well done though it would have been nice to see her engaging in a heist or two to earn the rep more; as it stands her integration in to the story was intriguing, and without spoiling anything I sincerely hope she makes a return if this movie turns in to a series.

--The Penguin not only more closely resembled the character from the comics (and is almost spot on how the Penguin appears in the comics recently) but the actor (Colin Farrell!) was amazing. 

--Jeffrey Wright as Detective Jim Gordon (remember, this is a Year Zero/Year One timeline in the movie) was spot on, and the fact that the film had no problem leaning in to a close look at how he and Batman work together was nothing short of amazing; he's very much the #2 character in this film, even ahead of Catwoman.

The film is a gritty crime procedural, and it has lots of "slow" spots that a comic book audience won't be used to, but which fans of crime dramas will be quite comfortable with. This film's dedication to reflecting the "Detective" element of Batman as much as his more heroic aspects was laudable and I think they pulled it off. Solid A+ for me, and I plan to see it again. I suspect it will be a bit of a hit and a miss for some film goers who have a reverence for prior versions of the Batman (nostalgia for 1989's "serious but still campy" version of Batman will likely have mixed feelings about this movie) but if you're very much in to Batman both from the comics, graphic novels and films this is a version you will very much likely enjoy.