Harry Situation Reviews: The Batman
Hello everyone! I'm back!
It's been some time since I posted any reviews here. Part of the reason is because there really haven't been any movies what I was interested in reviewing during the months of January and February. Plus, I was recovering from a personal injury. So I took a bit of a hiatus on writing.
But now I got my writer's spirit back and picked arguably the best movie to get back into the habit, the long-awaited The Batman.
The Batman is yet another DC comic book movie featuring the Caped Crusader himself, this time with Twilight's Robert Pattinson donning the bat cowl. In this film is a standalone and in no way connected to the DCEU, Bruce Wayne is in his second year as Batman and he has Gotham's criminals scared of him. However a new threat strikes fear into the heart of Gotham when a serial killer known as the Riddler (played by Paul Dano) starts targeting the city's most elite citizens, leaving riddles as his calling card. Batman must do everything it takes to bring him to justice, but is it worth crossing some lines?
The film also stars Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, Jeffery Wright as Commissioner Jim Gordon, Zoe Kravitz as Selena Kyle/Catwoman, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, and Colin Ferrell as The Penguin.
This film took a while to get made. Originally this was going to be a standalone Batman film in the DCEU, starring and directed by Ben Affleck himself. However due to conflicts Ben Affleck stepped down from directing and director Matt Reeves (best known for directing two amazing Planet of the Apes sequels). Then Batfleck left the project all together so Warner Bros. brought on Robert Pattinson on broad and Matt Reeves started from scratch for an all new Batman movie. A standalone film with no connection to the current DCEU. Think of it as like another Elseworld story, like Joker.
I must confess that I'm bit biased when it comes to anything Batman. I am a huge fan of of the Caped Crusader. Batman is one of my favorite superheroes of all time, if not one of my favorite characters. So whenever there is a Batman project I'm going to hold it to the standards of how the character and world are portrayed from the comics and how I generally know the character. And I'm glad to say that this is does Batman right.
Obviously let's address the emotionless vampire in the room: Robert Pattinson is a damn good Batman. I've stated this before that outside of the Twilight films Robert Pattinson is an outstanding actor. He did a great job as Batman. He's actually in the Batsuit for about 90% of the movie and he delivers a stellar performance. This isn't quite the Batman we all know. It's not yet a professional crimefighter. He's still in his sophomore years.
While I standby and say that as Batman Robert Pattinson has definitely earned the mantle. The issue, however, is with his portrayal Bruce Wayne. The script has him written as this super emo caricature. The thing is when someone is playing Batman they technically are playing three different personas. There's the Bruce Wayne in the eyes of the public, a multibillionaire playboy that's the life of the party. There's the true Bruce Wayne when he's in the Batcave, only showing his true self to those closet to him. And of course there's Batman himself. The issue is that Pattinson doesn't really distinguish any difference between these personas aside from the true Bruce Wayne and Batman. We don't really see him as Bruce Wayne in the eyes of the public. We don't see him put on the mask that hides his tormented and stoic personality. He's just constantly brooding 24/7. Now that's not really Pattinson's fault. I just think the character is written that way. That doesn't mean the script is bad. Hell, far from it. This film has damn good writing. I just don't completely agree of how the character of Bruce Wayne is portrayed.
Hell, he's even rude to Alfred. There were a couple of comments Bruce makes towards his trusted friend that comes off as extremely dickish. Seriously, dude! The man raises you and you come off as a prick to him? I know for a fact that Bruce Wayne would never say such things to Alfred. Alfred is the only family Bruce has left in this cold, dark world.
Also, add Pattinson's Batman to the new list of Batman shouts.
"WHERE WERE THE OTHER DRUGS GOING?!?"
"WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME?!?"
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?"
Now it may sound like I'm dissing the movie for no good reason. I'm not, honestly. The movie is very well written and very well directed. It really gives that dark and gritty feel that Gotham is quite possibly the worst place to live in. With all the corruption in the police force and politicians to the criminal underworld that hides in the shadows. Much of the story is based on The Long Halloween graphic novel and you can tell which elements they borrowed from that story to breathe new life into this movie.
Props to the cinematography as well. Much of the movie takes place at night, which makes sense for a movie about Batman. The lighting and shadows really give off a neo-noir vibe that the film is going for. The scenes where Batman walks out of a shadowed alley are outstanding.
And gotta give props to the rest of the cast as well. Zoe Kravitz was great as Catwoman. I was totally invested in her character, more so than Batman frankly, and I wanted to see more of her. Jeffrey Wright was great as Jim Gordon. He's not the commissioner yet but he is Batman's only ally on the police force. Paul Dano make for a haunting Riddler in his performance. Although there were a couple moments where he's shouting and he's trying sound scary that it comes off as a little over-the-top and I cannot help but laugh. But major kudos to Colin Ferrell as the Penguin. You would never believe that was him the entire time. You hardly recognize him under the make up and fat suit. But he owed the role.
The action is outstanding. Everything was done with stunts and practical effects with little CGI used. Both Pattinson and Kravitz did their own stunts during fight scenes and they looked fantastic. My favorite action scene just happens to be the scene where Batman is chasing down the Penguin in his new Batmobile. I'll admit that I was sceptic that the Batmobile was going to be cool since it looked like a muscle car with a big ass engine, but it definitely grew on me.
I especially love the film's score. It was composed by Michael Giacchino, the same man show composed music for Jurassic World, Rogue One, and the Planet of the Apes reboots. This man delivers a powerful score that fits perfectly with the brooding nature of Batman and the criminal underworld of Gotham. Not gonna lie I was humming the main theme by the time I reached my car. This score might rival Hans Zimmer's music from The Dark Knight Trilogy.
In my opinion I feel this film captures what Batman truly is about. The bat logo on his chest doesn't just symbolize striking fear into the heart of criminals. It is a symbol of hope. Batman is essentially a story about how a man plagued with tragedy can rise above it and do great things. His trauma doesn't cripple him. It motivates him to be and do better. While the character tends to teeter the line between hero and vigilante, and sometimes he does go too far. But that is because he is a man. He's not a god, nor should he be. He is incorruptible. He is the hope that Gotham City can be a better place. And that is why I feel this movie gets Batman right.
If there's one more bit of criticism I had against the movie is that I can't shake the feeling that this movie was intended to have an R-rating. I feel some of Riddler's murders were meant to be more disturbing and graphic but either the studio or executives wanted to cut back so they can profit off a PG-13 rating. I don't mind R-rated superhero movies. I feel some superheroes should definitely have an R-rating while others should not. With what they were going for in this film I feel this should have been R-rated. But if there's a director's unrated cut of this I'd definitely check that out.
Overall, is this the best Batman movie ever made? In my opinion, no. The Dark Knight still holds that title and that is a hard film to top. However, I will say this is film definitely fits in the top ten Batman movies I've seen. I'm willing to say top five even. It is a damn good movie and well worth three hours of your time.
Positives:
-Robert Battinson
-Writing and directing
-Stellar performances
-Cinematography
-Intense action
-Awesome musical score
-That awesome Batmobile chase
Negatives:
-Emo Bruce Wayne
-How Bruce treats Alfred
-Should have gone R-rated
Final Grade: A-
So those are my thoughts on The Batman. Have you seen it? What were your thoughts on it? Is Robert Pattinson your new favorite Batman? If not, who you do believe played the best Batman. Please be kind, leave a like and comment, and check out more reviews here on Prose!
Best Quote:
Bruce Wayne/Batman: "Fear is a tool. When that light hits the sky, it's not just a call. It's a warning."
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