The Batman

Peak superhero gothic cinema 🔥  The Batman is a masterpiece. It is the greatest superhero movie I’ve ever seen, until we get the Schumacher cut of Batman Forever but that won’t happen in my lifetime, nothing else in the superhero genre compares with this movie in my opinion. Upon this rewatch, I finally get some of the other metaphors this movie uses and it’s brilliant. I put X-Men 2 in the 2nd place slot on my top 4 but really this is my 2nd place, I just wanted the movie with 2 on the poster to be in the 2nd place slot because it just feels right. The performances and the visuals are all fantastic and the very best, Robert Pattinson’s eye acting in this film is amazing, it conveys so much emotion, Paul Dano too, their eyes completely knock it out of the park , Jeffery Wright, Andy Serkis, Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, etc all do fantastic in this movie, it would be nothing without them. I don’t know how this movie could possibly get any better. Gotham is gorgeous and the world building is incredible, it truly is a city that has been left behind and it’s incredible, they have their own fictional drug called drops and the dealers wear masks shaped like tear drops 😭 and people say this Batman is too grounded for the DCU 🤦‍♀️. We follow a Bruce Wayne who has forsaken everything and became intensely mentally obsessed with fighting crime, up until a point where it consumes his thoughts and takes a toll on his body. He tells Alfred, “I don’t care what happens to me.” Right after Alfred expresses concern over that statement, he says, “Stop. You’re not my father, Alfred” damn harsh. An ongoing theme of the film is that Bruce Wayne doesn’t seem to care deeply about anything, at least not visibly. All he cares about is fighting crime; he doesn’t even express care for really anyone, let alone Alfred, the death of his parents has triggered a trauma response and he has became too scared to, up until midway through the movie when everything begins to unfold and he is pushed to do such. You cannot express anything to anyone when you’re reliving the same stress that killed your parents constantly, witnessing the darkest sides of humanity and crime every single night, it’s torture and just how worth it is the torture? When Alfred endures a near-death experience, Bruce Wayne expresses that he hadn’t felt fear like that since his parents death. The traumatic experience of his parents death is also at the very core of his pursuit against crime, it pushed him to become something more. He expresses that the fear of something like that happening again is something he never got past, while he has no fear of dying, the fear of losing someone he cares about. Maybe this fear is why he pushes everyone away before they can even get close, because he doesn’t want it to hurt him when they leave, or maybe he doesn’t want to hurt them when he’s gone, I mean how long can The Batman survive doing this? Fighting a one man war every single night, how long until you lose? This fear of losing people is something that isolates Robert Pattinson’s iteration of Batman. He cuts himself off from the rest of the world as Bruce Wayne, focusing on developing gadgets and building car engines, unnecessarily meticulously lining up each and every single screw and gear perfectly symmetrically, which payed off because The Batmobile is absolutely gorgeous in this film. I thought back to the Batmobile’s tool bench whenever The Riddler’s meticulous apartment is shown, they really are so alike. Bella Real, who is in the process of becoming the Mayor in this film, comments on his chronic unavailability, and talks about how he is “doing nothing”. Bruce Wayne, of course is The Batman, he is doing more than anyone else is for the city, probably doing too much, but nobody sees that because Bruce Wayne isn’t. Towards the end of the film, The Batman believes that the The Riddler is seeking to target him, believing that The Riddler seeks to reveal who he truly is. Why would he seek to unmask The Batman? Why would The Batman think he seeks to unmask him? He is not corrupt, right? I mean, he beats up criminals and such, but that’s no different from The Riddler, why would he reveal his identity? Because it’s him, he’s The Riddler, or at least, that’s what he’s afraid of. It’s a needless persecutory ideation, that The Riddlers sins are a reflection of his own, simply because they’re both masked, he projects himself onto him. I have a feeling Bruce Wayne could be diagnosed with persecutory ideation as well as other mental disorders. This fear of The Riddler knowing who he is is once again brought up in The Riddler’s meticulous apartment, he has a picture ton of pictures of The Batman and etc, as if he’s trying to find out who The Batman is, or maybe he already knows, in the center of it there is a picture of a young Bruce Wayne and it says “I know the REAL you”, I do think it’s likely The Riddler knew Bruce was The Batman, he was the forensic accountant who found out what happened to the renewal money and who’s really been in charge of Gotham for decades, who’s to say he didn’t find out who The Batman is? Anyhow, seeing that in The Riddlers apartment pushes him to tell the Commisoner that “I think this is all coming to an end.” “What is?” “The Batman. You’re a good cop.” one of the few times he uses expression towards his peers, and then he turns himself into Arkham to face The Riddler, to be unmasked. Again, similar to the situation with Alfred, it is at a time when he believes hope is lost, this time it isn’t hope for Alfred, it is hope for him, as far as he knows they’re gonna put him in the cell next to The Riddler. Two masked orphans side by side in Arkham Asylum. The difference is one of them kills people and shot a gun. The Batman’s bat symbol in the center of his chest I believe is made out of a gun, the same gun that shot his parents, he holds it closest to his heart so that he will never forget what’s at the center of his pursuit of crime. Who is Bruce Wayne? How many people see the real him? The Bruce Wayne we often see in this movie is either the prettied-up version of himself he presents to the press during his selective public appearances or his disheveled, greasy-haired look after his night fighting crime as The Batman. He writes the details of his poisonous night and all of the horrors in his journal that nobody reads, that’s just like my Letterboxd reviews frl; he’s been doing that for a little over a year during the beginning of this film. He often repeats the same phrases and philosophies over and over again, The Batman is sort of a madman, but he knows his morals and philosophies are sacred, the no kill rule is sacred. Who is the real Bruce Wayne? Is it the disheveled, greasy-haired mess we see after his time as The Batman? Is it The Batman himself, the outlet of vengeance he uses to express agony that stems from his parent's death, or is it the perfect-looking public appearance of Bruce Wayne?   The Riddler is the best choice for the villain in this movie. The Riddler reflects The Batman, or more of a reflection of his perception, what he fears he can be seen as. The Riddler is like him, an orphan hiding behind a mask, pursuing “heroism” through violence, but they do two entirely different things. Because The Riddler murders people, The Batman does not. The Batman would never seek to inflict that trauma on others; death has taken so much from him before, but beyond the fact that The Riddler kills people, are The Batman and The Riddler truly that different? If you look at who The Riddler kills, he kills only evil men, with the only downside being that their wives lose their husbands, and their sons and daughters lose their father. The Mayor ridden with the corruption and infidelity, the corrupt Commissioner Pete savage, and lastly Satan himself Carmine Falcone. I think what makes The Riddler evil in The Batman’s eyes was seeing the Mayors son, who found his father dead just like Bruce did when he was younger, I think that in Bruce’s eyes The Riddler is not only a reflection of The Batman, but the unidentified man who killed his parents, which makes it all the more personal. The Riddler uses a carpet tool for his first two killings rather than a gun, for a very selective reason which I find beautiful. Tears well up in his eyes as The Batman speaks to The Riddler in Arkham, The Riddler opens the conversation with slowly saying “Bruce Wayne”, The Batman looks at the cameras, looks at The Riddler, and remains silent and inexpressive. The Riddler knows he’s The Batman, but he loves him, The Batman is why he does what he does, why would he say it out loud? Eventually, the conversation turns when The Riddler says that Bruce Wayne was the only one they weren’t able to get, subverting The Batman’s expectation. “God, look at you ... Your ... mask is amazing. I wish you could have seen me in mine… Isn't it funny? All everyone wants to do is unmask you, but they're missing the point... You and I both know, I'm looking at the real you right now.” The Riddler gets the point, if Bruce wanted to hide it, why would he tell him he knows? He doesn’t like Bruce Wayne, but he knows that our masks allow us to be who we really are, and he is The Batman, and he loves The Batman. I had questioned it earlier, which Bruce Wayne is the real one, I think the real Bruce Wayne is The Batman, is the mask, not the unsociable loser who rarely makes public appearances. There’s a comic where Riddler puts together that Batman is Bruce Wayne, and Batman tells him "I know you, Edward Nygma. Maybe better than you know yourself. Riddles are your compulsion. Your addiction. And a riddle that everyone knows the answer to is worthless," which is similar to this iteration of Riddler, yet different, because that was Riddler, not The Riddler, I believe that The Batman is his compulsion in this movie, his addiction, because The Batman is perfect. Then as their conversation in Arkham continues, The Riddler says that they were doing it together, playing two opposite ends of the same goal, The Batman helped bring Carmine Falcone “into the light” by bringing him underneath the lamppost outside The Riddler’s apartment, where The Riddler proceeded to shoot him and then was apprehended. The Batman tells him that he is insane for saying such a thing, that he is a pathetic psychopath who is going to die alone. The Batman puts aside the notion that they are similar at all as masked figures. Though, The Riddler lets it slip that The Batman never caught on to the true intentions The Riddler had planned. As in, what he plans to do to Gotham city. What The Riddler did after this ensured that the city got the attention it needed, because the system needed to reform, it needed to be cleansed on a biblical level. This was The Riddler’s retribution, his flood. The flood of the city both The Riddler and The Batman are trying to “Help”. This act by The Riddler not only ensures he will be in Arkham until likely he dies, but it ensures the city will reform, and it turns The Batman into a symbol of hope, a star. The Riddler sacrifices himself for The Batman and Gotham in doing so.  Whenever this happens, The Batman realizes that he must evolve into something more. Rather than staying disconnected from the city, he needs to see his place in it. He had made an effect on the city, just not the one he intended. Vengeance can only get you so far. I love how the song “Something in the way” by Nirvana is used. It not only is a good song to represent his disconnection from Gotham, and his very own something that is in his way; as in his dull dialogue and isolationist nature, but it is a good song to represent Bruce Wayne’s privilege and how naive he is. He, a billionaire, listens to the song “Something in the way” by Nirvana, which is written about homelessness and struggle, it is a song about the less fortunate, those who are overlooked. Bruce Wayne is not a person like this. The Riddler’s item he uses as a weapon is a carpet tool, when he is detained The Batman calls it a “murder weapon”, seeing it in the same vain as a gun, he doesn’t recognize it for what it is, because Bruce Wayne has never had to work a day in his life.  The Riddler in Arkham tells The Batman ”You know, I was there that day ... the day the great Thomas Wayne announced he was running for mayor. Made all those promises ... Week later he was dead, and everybody just forgot about us. All they could talk about was poor Bruce Wayne ... Bruce Wayne the orphan ... Orphan? Living in some tower over the park isn't being an orphan. Looking down at everyone with all that money -- don't you tell me ... You know what being an orphan is? Thirty kids to a room, twelve years old and already a drophead, numbing the pain -- you wake up screaming with rats chewing your fingers, and every winter one of the babies dies because it's so cold. But oh, no. Let's focus on the billionaire with the lying dead daddy. Because at least the money makes it go down easy, doesn't it?” No, it doesn’t, and The Riddler knew the answer to that question. It is why Bruce Wayne is The Batman. Even with all of that money, all of that privilege, Bruce Wayne is a recluse, who struggles to express that he cares about any of the good that surrounds him, and he misses his family, and he would trade everything to get back to that “normal”, he spends every night trying to save others from that terrible fate, from losing their “normal”, saving lives and families. He lives in a lonely castle filled with Gothic architecture, interacting with only people who love and care about him, and he poisons every moment with them just by being himself. Why does he listen to “Something in the Way” by Nirvana? Is there something in the way for Bruce Wayne? Maybe it is his parents death. Or maybe it’s the knowledge that something so certain can go undone just like that, a life can be taken away, people can leave, and maybe he can’t connect because he doesn’t want the disconnect to feel as terrible when it’s all over in the long run, because how long until The Batman dies? He still gets by just fine without that connection, right? He still gets by, but he doesn’t care what happens to him; he lacks his identity. The identity we see most of the movie is based around his parents' death and his identity as The Batman. Bruce Wayne is leading disconnected lives as Bruce Wayne and The Batman, and while his contributions to Gotham City as The Batman are helpful, that same disconnection only continues to loom over the city up until the end of the film. I think that there is a third meaning to the song “Something in the way” during this film, however. I believe it is the true meaning, I think he listens to the song because he believes that he is something in the way, that he isn’t good enough, that he isn’t doing enough, that he is unworthy to the people closest around him.  At the end of the film, the people he cares about the most come together to help him. Gordon and Selina Kyle both come and help him. Selina’s character is so well written, she’s my literally me character maybe because she’s a crazy cat lady with great fashion taste tho, maybe it’s because I love The Batman. She is directly related to Carmine Falcone, who is the kingpin of Gotham, he is her father. She’s giving Luke Skywalker lowkey. He is the root of all corruption in the city and pretty much everything that is wrong. She also helps show Bruce that connection is healing and can redeem people, and Bruce shows her that she doesn’t have to pay with him, and that love and mercy is the answer. The Batman asks her why a guy like Carmine Falcone would owe her anything, assuming that she is some drop head dealing for Carmine Falcone, it is in that moment where she tells him that he is her father. The Batman apologizes for what he said, and Selina tells him, “It's alright... You just assume the worst in people... Maybe we aren't so different after all… Who are you under there? What're you hiding? Are you just... hideously scarred?” He is hideously scarred just not physically. I love the scene where The Batman is going to apprehend Carmine Falcone and Selina is there with a gun ready to kill her father, who strangled her mother and friend/potential lesbian lover idek, and Batman goes to her and holds her, trying to get her to put the gun down, she screams out “he has to pay!”, and The Batman replies “but you don’t have to pay with him”, he knows that it’s not worth it, because he knows the money doesn’t make it go down easy, and that it would only lead to hurt, and he’s protecting her in that moment because he loves her. She puts down the gun, and The Batman brings Carmine Falcone to the GCPD, and under a light post The Riddler becomes 3/3 for killing Gotham’s corrupt officials. Even though the meeting of the Bat and the Cat is just a brief part of the both of their lives, they both helped each other solve their issues, and I felt terribly sad to see them depart. They were meant to be, it was true love, and honestly by the end of this trilogy I hope they get married. Carmine Falcone is literally Satan, he is at the root of all of the corruption in Gotham, and behind both Selina and Bruce’s trauma, he is Selina’s father who murdered her best friend/potential lesbian lover and mother, and the one who allegedly orchestrated the murder of Bruce’s parents, and The Riddler is the one who puts the root of their traumas to rest, and liberates the city, and he is punished for it. His followers are the ones who attacked people at Gotham Square Garden at the end, he didn’t influence them to do that, they took his words out of context and acted as if he had ordered them to go and hurt innocent people, that is entirely not the case. The three people who The Riddler killed were all corrupt, they all had the devil in their hearts, and Coulson did too, but in my opinion that was a suicide because he had the chance to live if he revealed that Falcone was really in charge, so that doesn’t count towards the three people The Riddler righteously killed.  After Selina and the Commissioner help him, he ends up helping the people of Gotham around him during the aftermath of the unfolding of The Riddler’s true plan, the poetic almost biblical retribution and cleansing of Gotham. He defeats the followers at Gotham Square Garden, and then climbs onto this electrical device that is about to fall into the water and electrocute all of the survivors on the ground and he cuts it before screaming out a war cry, maybe even believing in that moment he will die. Then once he survives, he saves Bella Real, the Mayor in this movie, who stated that he was doing “nothing”, she doesn’t know it, but that “nothing” just saved her life. The Batman saves Mitchell’s son, the son of the Mayor, who was murdered at the very beginning of the film by The Riddler. He saves a fellow orphan, and almost a fellow Mayor’s son, if Thomas Wayne had not been killed by Carmine Falcone before the polls. We see Mitchell’s son at the beginning of the film, when “Something in the Way” by Nirvana first starts playing. He represents Bruce, a scared kid, very traumatized by the events that unfolded. Mitchell’s son found the body, too. Just like Bruce found his parents when he was younger. I think by saving the Mayors son he was saving himself, that traumatized boy who until the end of this film never got to heal. The song “Something in the Way” plays again after he saves Bella Real, Mitchell’s son, and the people of Gotham, who were left helpless after the flooding. He saved the real reflection of himself, he saved the people who doubted him, and he saved a city that he thought feared him, but they loved him. Vengeance can only get you so far; the people of Gotham City need hope. This is their darkest hour, and he needs to find his place in the city. He helps this woman who was injured during the floods get airlifted to help, there is fear in her eyes. Bruce recognizes fear; he’s spent most of his life engulfed in it. In the narration Bruce says, “Our scars can destroy us... even after the physical wounds have healed. But if we survive them... They can transform us. They can give us the power... to endure. And the strength to fight." He comforts the woman before she is airlifted; he gives her a reassuring smile and a nod, the only smile I recall him giving throughout the entire film. She is at peace, and she is airlifted away. Something that sticks with me is that even after she is lifted away, the expression of contentment doesn’t go away. On to save the next person. The Batman. The Penguin show only elevated this film even more, the character who was once comedic relief I now find difficult to look at just knowing how pure evil he is, I hope Batman breaks his no kill rule and gives him the death penalty he deserves 🤞 either that or hopefully he’s locked away in Arkham 🙏 The Batman should be in the DCU, there is no way that another Batman can ever possibly top this one and it would be foolish to try, surely Warner Brothers will come to their senses.