The Batman is the Greatest Batman Movie Ever Made

by Jacob Varney

Directed by Matt Reeves, it stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne / Batman, Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Colin Farrell, Andy Serkis, John Turturro, and Jeffrey Wright. The Batman highlights Bruce Wayne’s early years as Batman, but unlike 2005’s Batman Begins, it doesn’t highlight his origin story, it starts in his second year as Batman. Gotham is still a horrible and dangerous city with gangs, criminals, and corrupt police roaming the streets.

In this movie a dangerous criminal is on the rise, killing the corrupt and leaving letters for Batman. This criminal goes by “the Riddler” (Dano) because he leaves riddles for Batman and the police at his crime scenes. Throughout the movie, Batman works with Lt. James “Jim” Gordon (Wright), who is the only person on the police force who trusts him. Batman works his way through the riddles left for him by using his genius-level IQ, and he is often helped by his butler and father figure, Alfred Pennyworth (Serkis).

There are three villains in this movie, the Riddler, Penguin (Farrell), and Carmine Falcone (Turturro), the primary antagonist, Dano’s Riddler, is an amazingly written and well-executed character with very realistic crimes. He is reminiscent of Jigsaw from 2004’s Saw or the Zodiac Killer. Often giving his victims near-impossible tasks for them to survive, The Riddler is smart and calculated, but emotionally damaged and psychotic. The Riddler’s twisted psyche pushes him into believing that Batman is like him and thinking that they are partners.

The lead female character, Selina Kyle/ Catwoman (Kravitz) is not necessarily good or bad; she helps Batman to achieve her own goals. The first time Kyle is seen as Catwoman, she is robbing a safe, and several times throughout the movie she fights Batman. We start to understand Catwoman as the movie proceeds; however, she stays shrouded in mystery, with many layers to her character. (One detail I love about this character is her was the costume; as Selina Kyle does not have much money, it seems handmade.)

Pattinson’s interpretations of Bruce Wayne and Batman are pure genius. Pattinson shows a far more solemn Bruce Wayne than previous versions from Christian Bale or Michael Keaton. Wayne's life is not extravagant in this version; although he is still rich, he isn’t the celebrity party boy he is in previous movies. In this movie, Bruce rarely goes out in public, and people are often shocked when they see him. These changes really do offer a fresh perspective on Wayne, as it really shows that money doesn’t buy happiness and he cannot find a purpose in life. The movie also shows how terrifying criminals find Batman. They often hear his footsteps before he comes out of the shadows; he is painted almost as a monster. One thing I appreciated about this movie was it showing the detective side of Batman just as much, if not more, than the action-packed superhero side.

Gotham, shown as both broken and vibrant, truly feels like a city, not just a set, and the chase scene between Batman and the Penguin is an amazing piece of action as a moviegoer, you really feel like you are in Gotham.

Backed by an amazing soundtrack, this movie had me in awe for all of its three hours. While the superhero genre continues to evolve into fighting aliens, crossing dimensions, and other crazy stuff, The Batman reminds me of Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man series, Andrew Garfield’s The Amazing Spider-Man series, and Christian Bale’s The Dark Knight before it, in the sense that it is very grounded and made me excited for what would come next. This movie rates 10/10.

Heritage Theaters in Sandwich, MA

Photo by Jacob Varney

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