The Batman

I remember when The Batman was first announced, I was a naive 13 year old, my immediate reaction was “The Guy From Twilight Won’t Be A Good Batman” & “Paul Dano doesn’t have the look to pull of a good villain” I stayed heavy on this stance until covid, I watched The Lighthouse and fell in love with Robert Pattinson so much that he’s one of my favourite actors today, and I watched Prisoners and it’s there I knew I was wrong, my hype started to grow, even more so when the Suit Reveal & The First Trailer dropped, i remember being in a PlayStation party with my mate and we both went frame by frame analysing the little details, through all the delays I only grew more and more impatient, I would leave class early just to ring my parents who probably didn’t care and give them every little update, then after nearly a year delay on March 4th 2022 I begged my mum to drive me to the midnight release (which she did so thanks mum) and instantly I was drawn into the world and hooked, I walked out and said “That Could Be Better Than Spider-Man 2), I still have that debate to this day, and while maybe I lean Spider-Man 2 due to nostalgia The Batman is a close second for my favourite comic book movie, this is just how I like/wanted my Batman to be, doing proper detective work like in the comics, and we finally see that come to light on the big screen in this movie, add on to that making Batman a larger than life figure that hides in the shadows, prays on his enemy’s fear, even the minor details such as the combat that just seems to flow so seamless and are just breathtaking to watch, almost like a live action Arkham Batman it’s just chefs kiss, maybe I’m getting ahead of myself because there’s only one film and we don’t know how the rest of the trilogy is going to turn out, but I honestly think Pattinson is my favourite Batman and this is my favourite Batman movie, The other answer is going to be Nolan, it’s the one my friends always turn to and of course he directed a brilliant trilogy of movies, but I would argue while Nolan made good movies ( of course The Dark Knight is beloved and i can agree with that opinion still having watched it last month), Matt Reeves crafts the best Batman Movie, he understands the finer details, that’s evident just looking at his interpretation of Gotham, my biggest complaint about the Nolan movies was that after the first movie it doesn’t feel very Gotham/Batman like, it feels like a big American city that Batman fights crime in, With Matt Reeves from minute one Gotham feels like a dirty city, full of crime and corruption, Batmans monologue that kicks off after the cold open just reinforce these ideas, The Story is so grand but interwoven and connected through Gothams Underbelly that involves all the big players, Gotham feels like a character and does a amazing job lifting up characters such as The Riddler, Speaking of characters every character here has some depth to them and they all serve a purpose to the overall aesthetic and mood of the story, I just love how the world we inhabit seems to be alive through its characters, Robert Pattinson’s Batman is only in his second year here, he is still young and fresh therefore making mistakes, I’ve also said a immature Batman makes for more fun viewing and it’s something the other films never seemed to lean into, but this film does and add to that the amount of actual detective work and puzzle solving that Batman does here, he finally lives up to his “Worlds Greatest Detective” tagline on the big screen and Paul Dano as the riddler is amazing because he manages to have so much screen presence coming off terrifying and imposing and matching the scale of Batman despite not being a actual physical threat to Batman, he doesn’t take up all that much screentime but when he does he steals the show and he manages to unnerve you, the dialogue is so rich, one of my favourite moments coming between Bruce & Alfred after Bruce visits Falcone, it gives me chills each time, I could go on all day praising the other performances because there all so good however I don’t think I could contain it all to one written review The main complaints I’ve seen against this film is that “Riddlers Plan Is To Far Fetched” or “The Final Fight Sequence Is To Short” but to counteract those id say that the final sequence isn’t necessarily about the battle it’s about Batman becoming a symbol of hope in Gotham by saving them from Riddlers Plan, throughout the film people are against Batman calling him a vigilante and not really trusting him, the only one who seems to trust him is Jim Gordon & Selina, but by Batman saving the people of Gotham from the flooding Batman not only comes out of his shell transforming from the Young inexperienced Batman to the hardened detective we all know and love, but he gains the trust and appreciate of the public by becoming that light and symbol of hope, when Batman lights up that flare towards the end and the music kicks in, that isn’t just Batman guiding people out the wreckage, that is Batman coming out of the shadows, letting in the light and becoming the light Matt Reeves The Batman feels like it will be a timeless masterpiece, it’s the most alive and dirty Gotham has ever felt, it’s the most comic accurate Batman has ever felt, and I adore it, from the haunting and masterful score and soundtrack, it’s amazing fight sequences, to breathtakingly beautiful visuals and direction, to every actor pulling there weight and turning in possibly the best performances of there retrospective characters, this is certainly a Top 3 minimum comic book movie, and one of the best movies of the 2020s