“When the Riddler, a sadistic serial killer, begins murdering key political figures in Gotham, Batman is forced to investigate the city’s hidden corruption and question his family’s involvement.” -IMDB
Dark Knight is one of the greatest films of all time and, as should be obvious from this introduction, one of my favorite movies of all time. So when I saw the previews for The Batman, I was very concerned that the tone was entirely too similar to the Christopher Nolan series, but wouldn’t live up to the same brilliance. However, I decided to try to put that thought aside and go in with little to no expectations of this film. And while my concerns were, I would argue, well-founded, the film was still an enjoyable watch (if you have the three FULL hours to devote to it). Let me clarify…
There are plenty of elements that make this film an incredibly fun and riveting watch: Robert Pattinson is a solid Batman (I have heard a few people say that he’s better than Christian Bale, but I think that just comes down to preference/AKA choose your own Batman), and Zoe Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, and an UNRECOGNIZABLE Colin Farrell all add incredible supporting roles. I also appreciate the gritty feel of this film, with Batman being much more DIY and Bruce Wayne being much more emotionally barren. Paul Dano’s Riddler is also an intriguing villain who takes the film into an interesting, True Detective path.
However, the issues that I had with the film were two-fold. First, the film dragged at a number of crucial points in the film. I think it would have ultimately benefited from being edited down to maybe two hours, twenty minutes. Three hours is a lot to ask of any audience and there were times that it felt unnecessarily long. Second, there were some major plot holes. There was a point in the movie where my entire theater’s audience audibly said “what the…” because the sequence of events made little sense. It felt like there were five different storylines fighting to be told within one movie and so the film ultimately felt a bit disjointed. This is where, for me, Christopher Nolan’s movies shine. Because Nolan is a master of the puzzle, while The Batman left some pieces out of the box entirely.
This is definitely a movie that is worth the watch, it is a fun (if incredibly emo) and wild ride that keeps you guessing. However, if you are expecting the best Batman movie of all time, I would temper your expectations. But hey, maybe for you it will be the best! You’ll have to see it to decide! For me, I’m probably going pop on Dark Knight immediately after finishing this review…starting NOW!
Rating: 7 out 10 Claire Bears
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If you like this movie, you should also watch: There’s no lack of Batman or any other superhero movie to tide you over for yeeeears…
Streaming: In Theaters
With: Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano
Directed By: Matt Reeves
Let Me Clarify 