REVIEW: 'The Batman' (2022, Matt Reeves)

Director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, War of the Planet of the Apes) brings his pandemic-era version of Batman, with Robert Pattinson as the Dark Knight.

Three hours long, Reeves’ reboot of the Batman film franchise is so serious and bleak, a hundredfold darker than Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy.

Is it worth watching? Yes, but the hype is over the top.

The world-building is terrific. The crime-infested Gotham City is recreated with exquisite aesthetics: Gritty and ultra-gothic, with Edward Hopper diner shots, and channeling Roger Deakins’ melancholic cinematography in Blade Runner 2049.

An emo Bruce Wayne.

Pattinson as the sharp-jawed Batman is sexy and impressive. He towers over petty subway criminals and exudes a very Dark Knight vibe. His Bruce Wayne, however, with his mop of greasy hair and a face stained with black makeup, looks slightly comical, if not resembling a serial killer.

Two years working as a masked vigilante in Gotham, and an asset to Lieutenant James Gordon (the talented Jeffrey Wright), Batman, often referred to as “Vengeance” or “Freak,” is now world-weary and perpetually depressive (he never smiles).

He describes himself as a “nocturnal animal,” hurts the feelings of his butler-father figure Alfred (Andy Serkis) by telling him, “You’re not my father,” and enjoys writing down his existential crises.

Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon; Robert Pattinson as the Batman.

If Pattinson’s portrayal of Edward Cullen in the Twilight series is dark and emo, his Batman is more reclusive and gloomy — sometimes, so much so that it borders on parody, like it takes off from Chris McKay’s The LEGO Batman Movie.

The tale delves into the morally rotten Gotham City. A serial killer is on the loose — targeting top-brass city officials. It’s a lengthy police procedural, punctuated by hushed voices and angsty tracks, with Batman and Gordon as partner crime detectives.

There is sufficient intrigue and mystery, the audience taken to a complex web of secret crime: Mobsters, a drug war, corruption and, to interesting spaces, like a “bar within a bar.”

An underutilized Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz) slinks into the picture, with her own father issues and a connection in the crime mystery. Although Kravitz is a sexy cat in her home-made balaclava mask and leather overalls, her role seems to have been written for fluff, and for a dash of minor sexual tension with the Batman.

Zoë Kravitz as the Catwoman.

Batman is extremely humanized in Reeves’ world, to the point that the Caped Crusader can’t even fly straight without slamming into a bridge. 

What this Batman movie lacks is the thrill and swagger of a superhero movie. Here, Batman is merely a costumed detective with a sensitive soul. Not a hero you can feel proud of.

Playing on themes of white privilege, class, and Qanon-like principles, The Batman is stylish, atmospheric, and ultra-elegant, with Colin Farrell in his most invisible role to date.

But it is in no way better than Nolan’s three succeeding reboots.

A solemn take on Batman is always welcome, but this version is overdone. It’s a joyless, visual feast — never dull, but not exciting either.

3/5 stars

Published in the Daily Tribune