Movie Reviews: “The Batman” (Spoiler Alert!)

A Huge Risk For DC, Did it Pay Off?

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Sam Shoneman, Writer

Overview

The long-anticipated The Batman movie finally hit theaters on March 4th. This dark Batman tale is the thirteenth installment of the world’s greatest detective. Of course, with every new Batman reboot comes a new actor, and this film features Robert Pattinson. The Batman takes a fresher look at a younger and more dark Batman who is vexed about the mysterious, horrific clues that the notorious psychopath, Riddler, gives out. Riddler is not the only recurring villain, as the Penguin and Catwoman make appearances as well. The Batman does keep the same characters but has a new story and tone that comes with it. As far as story and visuals go, this movie was absolutely phenomenal. 

“The Batman” movie poster at Bellingham’s Regal Cinemas. (Picture taken by Sam Shoneman)

Review

This new installment was a risk for DC, but it totally paid off. Many folks talk about the dark tone used, but what I found to be the most different and effective was how real the movie felt. This superhero movie was surprisingly realistic, and I almost could imagine this happening in real life. The casting of Pattinson worried me at first since I always felt that his acting work came off… awkward. This did not affect his Batman portrayal at all, however. He perfectly depicted a classic character that I enjoy watching. Bruce Wayne is another story; every time Pattison was playing Bruce Wayne, I felt some sort of disgust and awkwardness to it. He is not the cocky, rich, flamboyant billionaire who catches the spotlight anytime he is in the room, but just a lonely guy that does not fit in. It seems that Matt Reeves, the director, knew this and, thankfully, only included brief scenes with Bruce Wayne. Like all Batman movies, though, everybody knows that the villain steals the show. The Riddler is a psycho mystery man who taunts cruel riddles at detectives, and his main goal is to expose the corruption of Gotham. I love the evil nature that Gotham encompasses in this film, and I appreciate the perspective that the Riddler brings, but his motives are weak. He does not have any definitive motive for why he wants to see Gotham’s politics crumble, but the movie covers this up with his mental illness, and we do not really know what the Riddler’s reasons are for his actions. Overall,  the film scores nine out of ten stars due to its incredible execution of a great story, emotional effect, realism, and an overall greatly delivered tone to the whole thing. Maybe this film was so great because my expectations were low, but the more I think about it, the more I appreciate the well-performed story that Matt Reeves gifted to all the DC fans.

Don’t worry; I didn’t forget the most important part of watching a movie: the popcorn. (Picture taken by Sam Shoneman)

 

Closure

I honestly had a great time watching this movie and really revisiting the thrill that Batman and DC gave to me thirteen years ago in the Dark Knight– another fantastic Batman film. I can safely say The Batman is the second best Batman film, only because there were some weak aspects of the movie. As for the future of this movie, I can see DC setting up a sequel based on the end-credit scene and the positive feedback it has received, but I might not agree with that. So many franchises go sequel after sequel, but this three-hour movie is good enough for me, and I am almost tired of the same old “heroes and villains” trope. This would be a nice one-hit wonder because I know that a sequel can severely damage the reputation of the former movie, and I would hate to see that happen to this masterpiece. That is all for The Batman; see you at the theater!