Another gritty take on the Dark Knight

The Batman - Matt Reeves - 2022

★★★★★-Yet another, darker take on Batman. If it didn’t have Pattinson and Paul Dano, I wouldn’t be watching this. I am way over superhero shit. Three hours. Jesus. How many of these can I possibly watch in my lifetime? One more, apparently. 

So, how was it? Easily my favorite Batman movie. I think it edges out Watchmen as my favorite superhero movie. Wow. WTF. Was not expecting that. Takes elements from everything I care about and all my favorite movies and turns it into a Batman flick. I mean, good god. 

Gist of it is the masked vigilante, early in his crime fighting career, pursues the Riddler, a serial killer targeting the city's corrupt elite, while digging up a conspiracy of deep-rooted corruption between the city's officials and the crime underworld. Seems to be following “Batman: Year One” and “The Long Halloween” arcs. Obviously heavily David Fincher inspired. Riddler is basically John Doe from Se7en with some Jigsaw from Saw shit in there as well. Batman has a Rorschach quality to him with the voiceover stuff. 

Directed by Matt Reeves, who also made Cloverfield, Let Me In, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and War for the Planet of the Apes. He co-wrote the screenplay with one Peter Craig. Movie stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle, Paul Dano as The Riddler, Jeffrey Wright as Gordon, John Turturro as Falcone, Peter Sarsgaard as the Gotham DA, Andy Serkis as Alfred, and Colin Farrell as The Penguin. Pattinson is great. Real professional, this guy. Zoë Kravitz, whom I generally don’t care for, as Catwoman. She's pretty great in this one, though. Colin Farrell is doing De Niro basically. Score is great. The Batman's song is powerful, as is Nirvana's “Something in the Way”. Grossed just under $771 million worldwide against a roughly $200 million budget, making it the seventh grossing film of 2022.

This is a VERY different Batman. First, this is the only Batman movie that really touches on Batman's detective aspects. Not that he is that great. All the murder weapons mean something, as well as the victims. I'd make a great detective if this were really what it was like. 

Then there is the look, which is completely different from what we've seen before. All the Bat-toys are less military, and more DIY, which is super cool and a different take. Reeves wanted the look of the Batsuit and Batmobile to feel as if Batman used spare parts to create it on his own. Used Vietnam era tactical gear for inspiration. 

But the biggest thing the film does is question the ethics and material wealth of the iconic character. Unlike the other Batman films, this one delves into the social inequalities within Gotham. Veers hard left from Christopher Nolan's libertarian version. Unlike earlier adaptations that leaned towards right-wing themes, the film explores the idea that Batman's wealth doesn't alleviate his suffering and raises questions about his responsibility to be more philanthropic. 

The three primary characters—Batman, the Riddler, and Catwoman (Kyle) are all orphans in different classes that had very different childhoods that all led them to where they are. Wayne represents privilege, Riddler basically lived through Hell, and Kyle was kind of middle of the road, having love, but experiencing hardship. The Riddler, of course, turns to crime out of desperation. The system is set against him, he has no chance in a system this corrupt. He wants to burn it down, eat the rich, give him and his kind some power by bringing chaos to the order, thereby bringing everyone down to his level. Batman's worldview is completely black and white, solely working toward justice. Kyle represents the feminist perspective. Her father is wealthy but doesn't support her, even after her mother, who raised her, dies. Like Batman, she is motivated by her desire of justice, but she also understands the systemic inequalities plaguing Gotham like the Riddler. Not the token love interest for Batman, she is a character with depth and nuance. While they come from different backgrounds, they remain connected in more ways than one, and are ultimately on the same page when it comes to the main problem plaguing Gotham. It takes the Riddler and Kyle's influence for Batman to turn his attentions toward poverty and social injustice. Though, Batman is worried about looting, like a “Boomer”. Whatever. 

Just a couple of little complaints. The way he flies with his little sugar-glider outfit and then wipes out hurt to watch. Don't think he'd be walking away from that. Batman and Gordon are sort of dumb. “Rat with wings” immediately sounds like a bat to me, too. 

Biggest thing is the movie sort of loses itself in the second hour with all these sins of the father being visited on the son stuff. Then the Falcone storyline wraps up, but there is still a whole lot of movie left, and it doesn't seem that anyone is anywhere near putting the Riddler in cuffs. Oh, it's nice to have a Batman movie without a Joker teaser at the end... Sigh. 

Going to be a part of a new shared Batman universe. Again, here we go. Supposedly there are going to be two sequels, the first, The Batman II, set for an October 2025, and three spin-off television series, one focused on The Penguin, one on Arkham Asylum, and one on the Gotham City Police Department. 

Overall, while not perfect, it's truly great. Grim and dark, the film features incredible, authentic performances, especially Pattinson and Kravitz, with believable action. Rich with both noir and horror elements, this is more crime thriller than superhero. It's grounded in realism in ways that even the Nolan films aren't. I adored this film.