The Batman is a 2022 American superhero film based on the DC Comics character Batman and directed by Matt Reeves, who wrote the screenplay with Peter Craig. It stars Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Andy Serkis and Colin Ferrell. The film follows Batman, who has been fighting crime in Gotham City for two years, unveil criminality while going after the Riddler, a seriel killer who goes after Gotham’s high society citizans.
On Halloween, Gotham City mayor Don Mitchell Jr. is murdered by a man who calls himself the Riddler. Hermitlike billionaire Bruce Wayne, who has worked as the sharp-eyed Batman, investigates with the Gotham City Police Department. Lieutenant James Gordon finds a message written for Batman by the Riddler, but Commissioner Pete Savage scolds him for bringing hero to the crime scene and makes Batman leave. The Riddler soon after kills Savage and leaves another message for Batman.
Batman and Gordon find a thumb drive left behind in Mitchell’s car containing pictures of Mitchell with a lady, Annika Koslov, at the Iceberg Lounge – a nightclub operated by the Penguin, mobster Carmine Falcone’s lieutenant. While the Penguins pleads stupidity, Batman notices that Selina Kyle, Annika’s roommate, works as a waitess at the nightclub. Batman follows her home to ask Annika questions, but the roommates disappears, so he sends Selina back to the club to get answers. Selina shuts off comunication with Batman when asks her about her relationship with Falcone.
The Riddler abuducts Colson, straps a timed collar bomb to his necks and forces him to interrupt Mitchell’s funeral. When Batman showas up, the Riddler calls him via Colson’s phone and threatens to denotate the bomb if Colson cannot answer any of the riddlers his is given. Batman helps him answer the first two, but Colson refuses to answer the third one, because the answer maybe the Penguin, who may track him to make a drug deal.
Batman and Gordon follow the Riddler’s track to a runned down orphanage, funded my Bruce’s murdered parents, where they learn that the Riddler holds a grudge against the Wayne family. Selina tells Batman that Falcone is her father, though Falcone doesn’t know. She learns that Falcone strangles Annika because Mitchell told her that Falcone was the witness and decides to kill him. Batman and Gordon arrive at the lounge in time to stop her, but the Riddler kills Falcone as he is arrested. The Riddler is unmasked as forensic accountant Edward Nashton and incarcerated in Arkham State Hospital, where he complains about failing to kill Bruce. He doesn’t realize Bruce is Batman, whom he idolizes when he became a criminal. Batman learns through searching Nashton’s apaprtmant, that he has stationed car bombs around Gotham and had an online following that plans to kill the may-elect.
Being a big fan of Christian Bale’s Batman, I was skeptical about Robert Pattion playing the character, but he does a great job. The film is action packed, violent, disturbing and uses lots of foul langauge. Over half of the movie is filmed at night. The effects are great, the all of the costumes are fantastic, except for Selina’s/Catwoman’s mask, that’s basically just a pointed ski mask that’s been cut up. At least the terrible Halle Berry Catwoman had a sexier costume.
Robert Pattinson is outstanding as Batman, bringing to the character a ruggedness, toughness and sensitiveness. Zoe Kravitz is great as Seline Kyle aka Catwoman, bringing sexiness and resilience to her role. Paul Dano is amazing as the Riddler. Colin Ferrell is fantastic as the Penguin and the costumes and makeup are so well done for his character, that he is completely unrecognizable. Jeffrey Wright does a superb job as James Gordon and John Turturro is terrific as Carmine Falcone. Peter Sargaard does a fine job as Gil Colson and Andy Serkis equally good as Alfred Pennyworth, Batman’s butler.
The film is very well done, but parts are very slow and too much time is spent on the Riddler, so the movie should have been called The Riddler and not The Batman. It is a very long film at nearly three hours and does drag on, making wonder if it’s ever going to end. I found myself at times very bored and some scenes are really hard to watch, especially those involving the Riddler. Many scenes are too long like the scene in which Batman, Gordon and the rest of the investigators are investigating Riddler’s apartment. The Riddler escapes his home and they just stay a bit too much longer inspecting his place, instead of trying to capture and lock him up and then going back to his place. Also the scene where Batman visits Naston in jail and Nashton starts getting angry and upset, is stretched out too far and Batman doesn’t get to say much to him.
Had the film been shorter, less violent and disturbing and had more sunlight, it would’ve been more enjoyable. It wasn’t awful, because the acting, costumes, makeup and cinematography was magnificent, but it wasn’t sensational. Sorry Matt Reeves, but Christopher Nolan’s Batman has you beat. 18+ 3.5/5