Each week, I will look at a movie that is currently in theaters or available to stream and give some reasons why people should watch it. This isn’t necessarily a film critique, rather, an overview of what I think is enjoyable about the film, and why it’s worth seeing. This week, we’ll be looking at the buzz of the film industry over the last month: The Batman.
After a week hiatus we’re back with a look at the very well received The Batman. After the flailing of Ben Affleck’s bat, the dark knight needed a revival. Christopher Nolan’s trilogy was incredible, but a new, quality take on the legendary character was needed. Enter Robert Pattinson and director Matt Reeves. This movie is simply really good. It takes an angle that we’ve seen Batman from before, but expounds upon it: Batman the detective. This is as much a mystery and thriller as it is a superhero action movie. The story was well planned and methodical. Despite its near three hour run time, the movie is purposeful and every scene matters. There are updates to the bat mobile and bat suit, and while I don’t love the new suit, I enjoyed the person in the suit. Pattison fits this new Batman very well, he’s dark (after all we are talking about the dark knight) and his action sequences as well as detective skills are on point. He does make for a bit of an awkward Bruce Wayne, but I think this was done on purpose by Reeves and could be because this is one of the youngest Bruce Waynes/Batmen we’ve ever seen in terms of age of the character being portrayed. Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman is compelling, John Turturro’s performance is cunning, and Paul Dano’s Riddler takes it to another level. The last time we saw the Riddler, he was played by Jim Carrey in Batman Forever. That was good in its own way, but this Riddler is better. Calculated and creepy in my opinion is the way to go when dealing with Riddler and that is exactly what Dano delivered. The Batman is a return to good Batman content on the big screen. The future of the franchise is promising for the first time since Christian Bale’s Batman flew off into the sunset. Now, who’s ready to hear a joke?
The Batman is now playing in theaters everywhere.
