Hanging around in the much darker side of the cave, The Batman (2022), co-written and directed by Matt Reeves, follows in the same playing card suit as the 2019 psychological thriller Joker, further showing off the more dilapidated, delinquent strewn streets of Gotham and its equally as sinister and Machiavellian criminals/political landscape.
Feeling a tad closer to an Indie produced marauding neo-noir than your prototypical comic book movie, this iteration of the Caped Crusader is not your more traditional Bruce Wayne/Batman (Robert Pattinson – Tenet; The Lighthouse), in fact, he is often referred to as the much more menacing ‘Vengeance’ – signaling its darker tone. Feeling more in line with a pitch black David Fincher thriller, the first two titles that came to mind were his 1995 feature Se7en, as well as his follow-up two years later, The Game – there’s definitely an influence here.
Perhaps the former might seem like a more suitable comparison to some of you rather than the latter, but this comes into play thanks to one of the feature’s villains – Edward Nashton. . . better known as The Riddler (Paul Dano – The Fabelmans). As you can imagine, this adds a sick, twisted ‘game’ to the storyline, The Batman, who has been brought in to clean up the corrupt police fold by the straight-laced Lt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright – HBO’s Westworld; Casino Royale), is forever trying to answer these mangled queries as the warped mastermind kills off key political figures in the city. . . our hero only to receive an equally as maniacal and perplexing answer leading to the next planned victim.
Filmizon.com’s Nikolai Adams with Andy Serkis, who plays Alfred in The Batman
At the same time, Batman must deal with a man hiding behind the criminal curtain – Oz. . . an early version of The Penguin (Colin Farrell – The Gentlemen; Seven Psychopaths), best described as a sleazy lieutenant running the underworld for the true crime boss, Carmine Falcone (John Turturro – Miller’s Crossing; Do the Right Thing); one of their observant nightclub waitresses in Selina Kyle – also known as Catwoman (Zöe Kravitz – Mad Max: Fury Road), and his own dark memories from his tortured past. Thankfully he has still got Alfred (Andy Serkis – Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy) by his side, who tries to keep the moody billionaire in check. It’s also worth keeping an eye out for Peter Sarsgaard as the District Attorney and be ready for a very quick cameo from The Banshees of Inisherin Oscar nominee Barry Keoghan as the mysteriously credited Unseen Arkham Prisoner.
Running just shy of three hours, this is not for the faint of heart. Brooding in the dark, this is a far cry from the original Adam West television series, the quirky 90s film versions, and even Christopher Nolan’s trilogy. . . let’s just forget the whole ‘Batfleck’ thing. Like Joker before it, The Batman thrives in its more serious tone, reveling in its goth infused Batman, partly inspired Zodiac Killer Riddler, its crime underworld Penguin, its conflicted Catwoman – who is stuck between a criminal femme fatale and wanting to help those in vulnerable situations, and its Gotham themed battles of class conflict and inequality.
A quality reboot of the DC enterprise, The Batman infuses enough intriguing murky newness into an age old story to make it worthwhile viewing. Though its lengthy runtime will test some viewers, and while its conclusion loses a little bit of steam that was built through the first couple of hours, there is no denying that this has been one of the better comic book movies in a time where they have been struggling a bit due to over-saturation fatigue. Lastly, listen for Michael Giacchino’s most unique score – it really is something special. So, flood in to see this lengthy Gotham epic, it’s most definitely no bomb.