The Batman

The Batman

Working with artists and craftspeople operating at the top of their game, Reeves has made a movie that manages to be ethereal yet weighty at the same time, substantial yet impressionistic. Cinematographer Greig Fraser pulls off the same sort of stunning magic trick he did with his Oscar-nominated work in Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune”: Through pouring rain and neon lights, there’s both a gauziness and a heft to his imagery. His use of shadow and silhouette is masterful, and does so much to convey a sense of foreboding and tension. I could write an entire, separate essay on the film’s many uses of the color red to suggest energy, danger, even hope. And the costume design from the great Jacqueline Durran—with Dave Crossman and Glyn Dillon designing Pattinson’s rough-and-tumble Batsuit—put just the right finishing touch on the film’s cool, edgy vibe.

This is the most beautiful Batman movie you’ve ever seen—even if it’s not really a Batman movie at all. Read full review…

‘The Batman’ Review: The Darkest Dark Knight is a Horror Epic on HBO Max Now

There’s a lot to unpack in The Batman’s psychological and political leanings, not least the film’s treatment of women. There aren’t many, despite the sprawling cast. The plot hinges on the grisly-sounding murder of a woman, which is replayed more than once. A fairly major twist introduces a horrific backstory for a significant woman in Bruce Wayne’s life. And Selina Kyle is a driven badass, but she’s still introduced with a lingering pan up her stiletto boots to her tight skirt, before the camera (and Batman) voyeuristically watch her undress.

Batman is clearly linked to the Riddler’s voyeurism and violence, questioning the caped crusader’s methods more than previous films. The level of moral ambivalence is much closer to the darkly ironic Joker film. When Batman first appears, for example, a mugging victim sees little distinction between his attackers and this demonic figure who savagely beats them. It’s also the first Batman film to engage with the revisionist take that Bruce Wayne is a wealthy man whose hobby is hospitalizing poor people. Like the Joker movie, The Batman explores the radicalizing effect of inequality on a repressed populace. But Joker focused on a villain, and so the ironic conclusion required you to be in on the joke. The Batman, meanwhile, focuses on a hero — a conflicted, dubious hero, but still — and so there’s opportunity for a more hopeful moral underpinning buried under the crushing gloom.

It’s long, it’s frequently slow and it’s crushingly bleak. But The Batman deserves that definitive article. It’s “The” Batman because it evokes many previous incarnations of the Caped Crusader while still bringing something distinctive. This darkest Dark Knight may not be for everyone (and certainly not for kids), but it’s a gripping and nerve-shredding Bat-thriller. Read full review…

The Batman review – Robert Pattinson’s brooding caped crusader has a lot on his mind

Not to worry – there’s no shortage of brooding in Matt Reeves’s bloated three-hour take on the DC Comics superhero. Batman movies are usually goofy or dour; this film is in the latter camp, styled as a neo-noir revolving around rats, moles and the mob. In the run-up to the mayoral elections, the incumbent is brutally murdered by an empowered incel type who broadcasts his crimes on social media. When this killer leaves a perplexing note for the Batman, police lieutenant James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) enlists the help of the city’s unofficial guardian angel to help solve the riddle. As a standalone police procedural, it works quite well, but as a franchise reboot it’s not enough of a reset.

Zoë Kravitz is a highlight as cocktail waitress turned cat burglar Selina Kyle. Feline with a feral edge, she stomps around in thigh-high PVC boots, bonding with the Batman over their shared daddy issues and penchant for fetishwear. As her character puts it, Gotham’s “white privileged assholes” keep turning up dead. Bruce Wayne, the man behind the Batman’s mask, could be described this way too. R-Patz plays him with an appealing vulnerability, a well-meaning philanthropist buckling under the weight of white guilt. Read full review…