THIS IS MY BATMAN – THE BATMAN (2022) Movie Review

Finally, after so many years of anticipation, Matt Reeves has delivered fans his take on the Caped Crusader. I finally saw the movie along with my older brother who is the biggest Batman fan I have ever met. This was our most anticipated film of 2022 and our expectations were soaring higher than a Kryptonian in orbit. Much to our surprise…The Batman not only met but exceeded our expectations.

I’m just going to be straightforward about this; The Batman is now a contender for my favorite comic book movie ever made and possibly one of my favorite movies, period. It finally did what I’ve always wanted to see done in a Batman movie.

To preface this, I have loved nearly every Batman movie made since 1989. The two Tim Burton Batman movies, Batman Forever, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice. All of them have given their own awesome portrayals of Batman. However, The Batman trumps them all by going in the direction that I wanted to go myself as a filmmaker.

Robert Pattinson Is The Perfect Batman

From the instant he was announced to be playing Batman, the internet instantly went into boycotting the actor because of his time with the Twilight franchise. While he was never in my head prior to the announcement, I was always on board with it. Especially after films like The Lighthouse, The Rover, and Good Time showed off the actor’s immense talent.

I went in expecting a great performance and portrayal of Batman but my jaw dropped at Robert Pattinson’s Batman. This is the young, violent, and troubled Batman that I felt was never explored enough in previous incarnations. This Batman only cares about wearing the cape and cowl while pummeling criminals to a pulp. There is no Bruce Wayne mask yet and I loved how Pattinson portrayed the intensity and fear factor of the Batman. There is almost an addiction to being Batman and he feels that being this vigilante is the only way he can help Gotham City.

He wasn’t just an angry man through the whole movie, however. He has plenty of emotional moments that he plays with such subtlety but the sorrow echoes beautifully through those moments. Pattinson’s Batman voice is less drastic than Christian Bale’s, for example. Pattinson’s simply lowers his octave and puts a slight gruffness that changes his voice just enough to be effective, similar to Michael Keaton’s Batman voice.

What really helps is that Robert Pattinson is the first Batman who actually feels like the star of this own movie. Previously, the only movie to get that right was Batman Begins but whether it’s The Dark Knight or Batman V Superman or even Batman ’89, Batman himself is always treated as an afterthought. The Batman puts the titular character front and center for all three hours and I loved it, especially since he is Batman for easily 90% of the runtime. In a way, it reminded me of the Arkham games where Bruce Wayne rarely ever makes an appearance.

Since Batman is the main character, this is one of the few times where Batman actually has a character arc and it is a beautiful one at that. Batman actually grows as a character and learns from his own flaws, leading to a finale that I felt was surprisingly emotional.

Not only was Robert Pattinson a great actor but he wore a beautifully designed suit that looked like the best parts of Zero Year, Arkham Origins, and even a bit of Gotham By Gaslight mixed with some of Matt Reeves’ own elements to create my favorite Batman design thus far.

I can go on and on about how much I loved Robert Pattinson as Batman. This man deserves more than just a trilogy in my eyes and I now call him the definitive Batman.

The Rest Of The Cast Excels

Pattinson is not the only great character; there is Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman who I personally think the movies have never done that well. Burton leaned way too hard into the supernatural with his version and Nolan’s Catwoman was…bland. Zoe Kravitz was a nice blend of her version in comics like Year One and The Long Halloween but still added enough of her own flavor to create this sympathetic anti-hero that stole a lot of scenes in the film.

The best show-stealer in my opinion was Paul Dano as The Riddler. From the marketing, I expected this really quiet and ominous serial killer akin to the Zodiac killer or some of the villains in Hannibal Lecter stories. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised by how wild and flamboyantly Paul Dano played the Riddler which felt straight out of the comics and in some cases, reminded me of a much darker Frank Gorshin version of the Riddler. I loved the way he looked, I loved the way he acted, and I loved how scary he could be.

The other one that I felt made every scene ten times more enjoyable was Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepott AKA The Penguin. Every single scene with the Penguin was such a joy to watch because it is clear that Colin is having the time of his life but this version of the Penguin was a bombastic gangster who chewed through the scenery but never felt like he was going overboard with it.

There’s a history to Cobblepott and this movie helps set up the character so well. Prior to seeing it, I had no interest in watching a spin-off about the Penguin but after seeing The Batman, I am honestly excited to see Colin Farrell lead his own series. That’s how good he was in the role. He doesn’t have a huge role but he had an important one that helped flesh out this version of Gotham City.

John Turturro was an excellent Carmine Falcone that made every scene with him even more engaging. He was a surprisingly layered villain rather than your typical mob boss character but part of me wishes he had more scenes. However, for what scenes he does have, I was having a blast with Carmine.

Jeffrey Wright knocked it out of the park as Jim Gordon. He’s always been a very underrated supporting actor in everything he’s ever done and he shines brightly as Gordon. As much as the movie is about Batman, Gordon is not just there to turn on the Bat-Signal and let Batman take over his job.

Batman and Gordon are basically partners in this movie and they bounce off each other well with Gordon providing healthy doses of humor. Is he my favorite Gordon? Time will tell because Gary Oldman did the character perfectly in my eyes but maybe as I see the movie more times or across multiple sequels, Wright will take over as the best.

Andy Serkis is quite literally one of the greatest people working in Hollywood today, not just as an actor. So when he was cast as Alfred, I knew he was going to nail it and he did. This was very much the Batman: Earth-One version of Batman who was this stern but loving ex-military man who raised Bruce Wayne but also trained him. Much like The Penguin, he doesn’t have a large role but he’s a joy whenever he’s on-screen with one of the best scenes in the movie featuring him.

Finally, The World’s Greatest Detective

For as great as some Batman movies have been, one of my biggest complaints about them is that the detective work is either non-existent or reduced to five minutes of the movie. Whereas, The Batman is a full-on detective story from beginning to end with some superhero action sprinkled onto the film.

This is what I’ve always wanted. Ever since I was a kid, my favorite episodes of Batman: The Animated Series were the ones where Batman doesn’t have much action and he’s simply investigating a case. That’s exactly what The Batman was, a very much extended version of those kinds of episodes. The Batman is David Fincher’s Se7en and Zodiac mixed with Saw and various famous comic books of the past and I couldn’t get enough of it.

Batman is in detective mode through most of the movie and Matt Reeves shows off his cunning intellect beautifully by having him always finding clues, solving ciphers, and using his gadgets to spy on leads.

The Most Gotham That Gotham City Has Ever Looked

Gotham City was gorgeous despite how grimy and awful the place truly is. Matt Reeves and Greig Fraser worked together to bring Gotham to life that felt straight out of the comics and even games like Batman: Arkham Knight.

It has that perfect blend of old and new with gothic architecture and neon signs combined that always look beautiful whether it’s night, daytime, raining, or sunset. It’s essentially what the Joel Schumacher movies were trying to do but done far better.

The Action Scenes Fit This Batman

I’ll just say this: the warehouse fight from Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice is still my favorite Batman fight scene of all time. That’s not to say that The Batman doesn’t have good fight scenes; no, they are awesome but they are not the same as the warehouse fight and fittingly so.

This is not the veteran Batman who knows every single martial art that can destroy a criminal. This is a younger and flawed Batman who more or less uses his enemy’s momentum against them for the quick combos that may not have the flourish of the warehouse fight but they have even more impact. Every time Batman punches someone, I felt it in my bones.

That fight scene with the skull-themed thugs from all the trailers is even better in the actual film but the big climax against Riddler’s men is beautifully handled. It may not reach the same levels as the warehouse fight but it’s a really close second.

Best. Batmobile. Ever.

To everyone that is judging this Batmobile for being “a regular car” can simply shut up. When that thing fires up with the rocket engine roaring, the entire theater rumbled but then it goes through this epic car chase with the Penguin that was also showcased in the trailers. That scene is much longer in the final product and it is a spectacle to see, especially since it was all done practically with cameras mounted to the vehicles.

While I do prefer my Batmobiles to have more of a Bat-like theme to them, this Batmobile was pure muscle that was blowing through concrete and metal as if they were paper. I can’t wait to see how this Batmobile is upgraded through the sequels.

When Did This Turn Into A Horror Movie?

The Batman is not a movie for kids and I respect the hell out of Matt Reeves for pushing the limits of a PG-13 superhero film. There is no gore but what is suggested by the Riddler as to what he does to his victims is enough to make anyone cringe in fear.

Even Batman is scary in this movie and it is BRILLIANTLY done. Without spoiling, there are theme brilliant shots towards the beginning where once criminals see the Bat-Signal in the sky, their souls leave their body and they start getting paranoid. These shots feel straight out of a horror film where a person is looking for a killer or a monster and they are so afraid that they turn pale. That’s what Batman is to the criminal world in Gotham City and I commend Matt Reeves for that.

Batman is supposed to be the boogeyman of Gotham City, almost like a reverse-Jason Voorhees and while other versions of Batman have dipped their toes into that pool, The Batman dives right into the deep end.

Michael Giacchino Is A Genius

I’ve said many times in the past that I consider the soundtrack to any movie to be one of the most important elements. That’s why it bugs me that most superhero movies suffer from forgettable soundtracks, especially movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Thankfully, Michael Giacchino delivered with The Batman, giving fans a soundtrack that I have been listening to non-stop since it came out. The main Batman theme alone is brilliant on its own, reminding me a lot of Phantom Of The Opera with a hint of Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm.

Then there are the final two minutes of the theme which has been played in the trailers that is Batman’s overture. That will get stuck in your head after seeing The Batman but also give you the chills because it is always used at the perfect moments.

There has never been a bad Batman theme song and that streak continues with Michael Giacchino. However, it’s not just the theme song because the rest of the score is immaculate, fitting the tone for each character and scene. Riddler’s theme is very horror movie-like and Catwoman’s sounded eerily similar to both her themes in Arkham City and Batman Returns combined.

The music for The Batman is already one of the best scores I’ve ever listened to on its own but in context, the music is even better.

Is It Worth The Runtime?

100% yes, because there is nothing in The Batman that seems padded or not necessary to the plot. Everything that happens is an essential part of Riddler’s scheme and the character arc for Batman. As a result, there are no scenes that dragged on. The Batman may be a slower detective story but it’s still a thriller that personally kept me captivated through the runtimes. I was never bored, although I was very hungry by the end of it.

Did I Have Any Flaws?

Technically, only one and it’s one that I immediately got over just because of how much it got me to laugh. Without spoilers, there is a scene where Batman goes through a very nasty crash and I do not care what kind of armor you are wearing, there is no way any human would have survived through that. That being said, the crash was so over the top and Batman’s reaction to the crash was so genuinely hilarious that I was able to get over it.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

The Batman felt like it was catered to me as it mended every single flaw I had with previous incarnations of the Caped Crusader and gave me what is now, in my opinion, the best Batman movie ever made. It was dark, epic, broody, filled with neo-noir intrigue, the action that left an impact and created a personal story for Batman that had me invested.

The villains were memorable but they never took away from Batman in the spotlight. It was a Batman story that was very similar to the one that I’ve wanted to tell but never got around to it. Matt Reeves’ direction was even better than his work on the Planet Of The Apes movies, Greig Fraser’s camera work felt like a comic book brought to life, and the characters were perfect.

Robert Pattinson is now my Batman and I can’t wait to see more of him. Even with my slight nitpick, I was enthralled and elated from beginning to end. It was also an amazing theater experience, seeing it in IMAX with my brother and looking over during the climax to see my Batman fanatic of a brother break into tears from seeing his hero brought to life in such an astonishing way. I give Matt Reeves’ The Batman a 10/10, it was the perfect Batman movie for me.

You’re all SO SWEET for making it this far and I hope you all enjoyed this review! I write about anything geek-related, especially comic book-related stuff so if you want to stay up to date with all the reviews, news breakdowns, and lists I do, make sure to follow this blog or follow me on Twitter @MelodyMacReady ! Love you all!