The Batman is Worth your Time

Even if Batman has been adapted to the screen an annoying number of times, The Batman (2022) is absolutely worth your time. I have a lot of thoughts about it, and since I’m a blogger, I’m making it the internet’s problem! Spoilers are marked, so feel free to browse and skip over those sections if you still haven’t seen it.

Robert Pattinson’s Performance is Spectacular…

I’m vocal about Ben Affleck being my favorite Bruce Wayne/Batman, but Robert Pattinson might have earned second place. While I’m partial to Batman being a bulky, brawny figure, Pattinson’s fit slimness still works thanks to the strong vertical framing, costume design, and brutal fighting style. While the last two actors only ever had a pair of horror/jumpscare-esque scenes each to establish the intimidation factor of Batman, Matt Reeves doubled down. Almost every time Pattinson enters a scene as Batman, the score, camera angles, and lighting emphasize Batman’s use of fear against his enemies. It’s brilliant.

That being said, Pattinson is not the most convincing Bruce Wayne. He isn’t bad by any means, but you can tell he put more energy into his portrayal while wearing cape and cowl. He does look a lot like Gerard Way when he still has eyeshadow on (after taking off the cowl), and that might be laughable to some, but it’s not bad. This version of Bruce Wayne is more reclusive, which does make him seem more eccentric than the show-off types portrayed by Affleck and Bale.

…But the Best Performances came from the Supporting Cast

Andy Serkis as Alfred

We can debate for years about the best Batman actors and the best Bruce Wayne actors, but there has never been a bad Alfred. There hasn’t even been a mediocre Alfred. Every Alfred from every version of Batman has been incredible, and Andy Serkis somehow feels like one of the best. He has displayed his acting range long before The Batman, but if you want another example of why Serkis deserves praise, look to his Alfred.

Colin Farrell as The Penguin

I can’t help but think that if James Gandolfini was still alive, he would have been given this role. But still, Colin Farrell nails it. Skating the razor-thin line between a Penguin villain fit for a true-crime style movie and a campy comic-accurate portrayal, Colin Farrell maintains a better balance than some Olympic figure skaters. The costume and makeup deserve some credit for helping him get there. They even manage to have him waddle in a scene and it makes sense because of the circumstances. It’s not cheesy, it just works.

John Turturro as Carmine Falcone

Without a doubt, my favorite part of the movie was Turturro’s crime boss. I was absolutely floored. His voice was mixed in the audio so well, every word he said rippled through the theater. His dark glasses and light accent helped him become something so much more incredible than Michael Bay ever thought of him (apparently). Although the character looks a bit frail, he constantly has an aura of power and danger. Hats off to you, John.

The Batman Soundtrack

This movie would not be the same without its soundtrack. It’s as vital as John Williams’ score is to Star Wars. That’s a bold claim, but Michael Giacchino is at his best in this movie. You will hear a theme very similar to a slowed Imperial March, and the track titled “The Batman” feels like it borrows a lot from Gregson-Williams’ Wonder Woman soundtrack. Believe it or not, but Ave Maria plays a huge part in the movie, both in the movie’s own events, and in the soundtrack. Look for an instrumental version of it showing up a few times.

The score brings the horror aspect of Batman bursting out of the shadows to life. While most other comic book movies have struggled to trust in the strength of iconic, bold orchestral pieces lately, The Batman goes all-in on its soundtrack. It may never get to be as well known as Danny Elfman’s Batman theme, but that’s a nearly impossible hurdle to clear anyway.

Cinematography

The older I get, the more I pay attention to cinematography. There’s a lot to be appreciated in the way sets are designed, lighted, and filmed. Matt Reeves flexes his muscles with this one, creating a visual language that proves this wasn’t another Batman movie being churned out by the Warner Bros. movie production machine.

Pay close attention to color. Looking back at The Dark Knight, nearly everything, even the marketing and packaging for the movie was black and blue. Almost the entire thing is dark blue, with scenes dyed as deep as navy. Being a “dark” movie thematically lends itself well to a deep blue shadows and grim lighting, but The Batman flips the script. This movie uses red-on-black for its marketing and many but not all scenes.

There are two general color schemes throughout the film, red-and-black, and blue-and-black. They are used artistically to convey the power struggle happening on-screen. Drab, grey, reduced-color scenes and environments are usually transitional and brief, but as the lighting and colors change to red, it means Batman is either about to appear, or is the one in power. Blue and black take over when Batman is either not present, or the situation becomes dire for the hero.

In a brilliant moment, late in the film, there are a few shots where red and blue flash back and forth on the screen. True to the movie’s visual language, this is one of the most perilous times for Batman. His survival is brought into question, and the stakes are at their highest. The lights don’t flash blue and red for no reason either, there’s a very good explanation for why it’s happening. Bravo, Matt Reeves, bravo.

The Riddler [Spoilers]

This Riddler is far from comic accurate, but he is frighteningly more real than I would have expected. No green suit, hat and cane here. Paul Dano plays an awkward, disturbed, fragile man, once unmasked. This Riddler is whiny and impotent, until he puts his brain to full use. He is intelligent, sure, but he has no sense of morality. They even pull some of his lines (post-unmasking) from Mark David Chapman’s response to why he shot John Lennon. Riddler gains radical, violent followers through an internet messaging board and leverages them for his final ploy against “the powers that be.” The very real danger of such fringe types and their mentality is the half-hidden moral lesson of the movie. I can only hope that message succeeds in helping troubled people find help, instead of inspiring them to imitate the Riddler. It’s a hard topic to avoid, especially after the tragedy that happened when The Dark Knight Rises premiered. People who feel like they related to the Joker or the Riddler will hopefully feel the wool of their own self-obsession pull off their eyes.

[End Spoilers]

How Does The Batman Rate?

I feel like I need to see the movie again to be sure, but I want to say The Batman fits into place as my third-favorite Batman movie. The Dark Knight and Batman Begins are nearly flawless movies, and as close as this one gets, it feels like it is lacking some of the philosophical depth and gut-curdling realism of Nolan’s first two Batman movies. If you recoil at any hint of “wokeness” and community politics you will probably rate The Batman lower, but I think it deserves a vivacious and enthusiastic 9 out of 10.

For reference, I give both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight 10 out of 10. I know I’m a freak for liking Batman v Superman, but I think it’s still a great movie at an 8 out of 10, provided you are watching the ultimate edition. Keaton’s Batman has never been a favorite of mine, and the campiness of its sequels has made me progressively more unhappy with each movie. I know a lot of people that LOVE Val Kilmer’s Batman, but I want to take Batman movies seriously, and you just can’t do that with anything after Batman. That’s just my opinion though.

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