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A little over 5 years ago, former Batman actor and Academy award winner Ben Affleck stepped down from directing and starring in a solo Batman film and handed the reigns to filmmaker Matt Reeves (War for the Planet of the Apes, Cloverfield) to reboot the comic-book icon in a new iteration that is more brutal then ever. After years of development, Matt Reeves delivers a sensational psychological detective-thriller that will leave audiences terrified and begging for more.
The Batman stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman, who during his second year of fighting crime, is taunted by the mysterious serial killer known as "The Riddler" who is targeting elite Gotham City citizens. During his investigation he uncovers corruption that connects to his own family, and is forced to make new allies to catch the Riddler and bring the corrupt to justice.
Director & writer Matt Reeves delivers a film that is refreshingly original for the comic-book genre. Reeves crafts a noir driven film that is deep, dark and best of all incredible. Reeves drapes in red & black the best looking Gotham City we have ever seen. The city is one that resembles a more gothic style and the dark backdrop is beautiful. There are plenty of action sequences in the film and they are all brutal. This is by far the darkest Batman film to date. Reeves writing is top notch and he has written a film full of ciphers and riddles that will you keep you in suspense until the very end.
Robert Pattinson really embraces the character of Batman well but where he shines is as a struggling Bruce Wayne. He does a fantastic job at showing the tormented figure that Bruce Wayne is, not solely because of the death of his parents but for his longing to save the city he loves while trying to not cross the line. Reeves makes the smart choice of not showing the death of his parents but instead shows us the grief he lives with. The Riddler targets him specifically and abuses his mental instability that forces the Batman to confront his own belief system and those closest to him.
The Batman has no poorly written characters but no one sticks out more then Paul Dano's jaw-dropping performance as the mysterious Zodiac inspired killer "The Riddler". There were moments in this movie that the Riddler reminded me of Michael Myers. The way he silently watched people from afar and stalked his prey was incredibly menacing. He is extremely cunning and his master plan is terrifying. Collin Farrell is truly unrecognizable as Penguin and he inhabits the true meaning of "gangster."
If there's one disappointment in an otherwise excellent movie that is gripping until the very end, it's the messy third-act finale sequence that comes off unneeded and drifts away from the grounded detective story. While most comic-book movies have a grand spectacle in the third-act, this film didn't need one in my opinion and shouldn't have. The mystery is gripping and more then enough compelling.
With that said, The Batman was a masterfully dark and cerebral thriller that reinvents the comic book genre going forward as it dives deep into the unexplored detective side of Batman as he searches for the mysterious killer, while dealing with the psychological torment that engulfs Bruce Wayne. Matt Reeves stylistic direction and immaculate writing has delivered the best character study of Batman/Bruce Wayne we have seen so far and I cannot wait to see what the next one has in store.
Grade: A
The Batman premieres in theaters March 4th, 2022. Directed by: Matt Reeves Written by: Matt Reeves & Peter Craig.
Produced by: Dylan Clark & Matt Reeves
Cast: Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard with Andy Serkis & Colin Farrell