The Batman 2022

This film has some of the most beautiful cinematography, lighting direction, picture texture, bokeh, implementation of lens flair, and best framing I've ever seen. Absolute cinema.

Some of the dialogue and some of the more traditional scoring diverged from the film's best at times, but Pattinson in this film is definitely my favorite Batman, and Serkis, despite not being in it as much as the rest of the main cast carried his part with excellence, as usual. It's hard to compete with Michelle Pfeifer, but I did like Kravitz's Selina Kyle. And goddamn did she wear the hell of those outfits. Jeffrey Wright actually got to be more than "concerned, overly earnest NBC series guy", and Paul Dano knocked it out of the park IMO, and it's the kind of performance that could easily go awry. Turturro, if anything, has gotten even better with age, and Colin Farrell was unrecognizable, and not just from the prosthetics. Great performance, and I usually dislike yelling in films (though mainly older films, since they didn't really seem to know how to present it), but it was a necessary part of the performances, and even had me laughing a few times. The humor was subtle and situational and drawn directly from the performances.

I will definitely come back to this one. It's one of the most gorgeous films I've ever seen, to the point that I'm gushing.

It's alright but it's not as amazing as some people have made it out to be, with some people like AVGN saying that it has all the strengths of the Dark Knight and none of the weaknesses, i felt I needed to chime in a little.

The cinematography is a bit strange, there's a brown tint throughout most of the film that makes it look kind of ugly at times. The cast is alright for the most part with Zoe Kravitz being the only weak link, after all Catwoman is supposed to be beautiful, on the other hand Robert Pattison makes a great job and so does Paul Dano. Also, the movie is needlessly and tediously long.

Minor spoilers ahead: Batman is kind of stupid in this movie and so is commissioner Gordon, first Batman crashes out of nowhere in a crash that could easily have killed anyone and yet he only sustains minor injuries, it adds nothing to the plot and feels almost like comedic relief. Also, both Batman and Gordon chase the penguin because Batman is too stupid to figure out that "rat with wings" refers to him (world's greatest detective, everyone) and in the chase the penguin shoots at other cars including a gas truck, which should have left many dead let alone injured, just so when they finally catch him they don't even arrest him.

Here’s my “Quick and Dirty Review” of “The Batman.” Wow. Great story, beautiful visuals, and some of the most haunting and melodic scoring I've heard in a long time. You know those folks that say "why can't they make good comic book movies? One's where you care about the good guys and hate the bad guys and it all seems to actually matter and it's not just some dumb exercise in grandstanding morons punching each other for two hours?" Show them this movie. It's haunting and thoughtful and moving. There's the absolute bare minimum of "modern day" tropes and groupthink -- instead, you get a vigilante detective trying to solve an escalating series of gruesome and public murders. Everyone is great in this: Kravitz, Paul Dano, Peter Sarsgaard, a completely unrecognizable Colin Ferrell and Turturro. Serkis as Alfred is haunted by his failure to protect Bruce Wayne's parents, while Jeffrey Wright's Lt. Gordon is apparently the only cop in town who's not on the payroll of some crime lord or syndicate. But my standout was Pattinson, formerly Mr. Shiny Vampire, who brings something new and vulnerable and a little unhinged to the Caped Crusader. Everything here feels fresh and new: a grungy but logical bat cave, a saucy and completely realistic batmobile, the way the Batman uses fear and his ability to be anywhere as tools in an attempt to keep a lid on the bubbling, simmering cesspool that is Gotham City. 9 out of 10, in my Top 5 for 2022.

"The Batman" is the latest installment in the long-running series of films based on the DC Comics character of the same name. Directed by Matt Reeves and starring Robert Pattinson as the Dark Knight, the movie offers a fresh and intriguing take on the iconic character.

The movie tells the story of a young Bruce Wayne as he begins his journey to become the legendary crime-fighter known as Batman. The story is well-written, with a mix of mystery and intrigue that keeps the audience engaged throughout the film. Pattinson does a great job as the brooding and intense version of Batman, bringing a new layer of depth to the character that we haven't seen before. The supporting cast, including Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman and Paul Dano as the Riddler, also give strong performances.

The film is visually stunning, with incredible set design and special effects that transport the audience to the gritty streets of Gotham City. The action scenes are well choreographed and thrilling to watch. The score, composed by Michael Giacchino, is also a standout, adding to the overall atmosphere of the film.

One of the highlights of the film is how it explores the psychological and emotional side of Batman as he navigates his way through the corruption and crime that plagues Gotham City, it shows a more human side of the superhero making it more relatable.

However, the film isn't without its flaws. Some of the plot elements feel a bit convoluted and some of the subplots don't get as much attention as they could have. Also, the story is a little bit darker that some of the other Batman movies, this could be a pro or con depending on the preferences of the audience.

Overall, I would give "The Batman" an 8 out of 10. It's a fresh and exciting take on the iconic character that offers a new perspective on the hero's journey. It's a well-made film with a great cast and impressive visuals, although it has some narrative issues. Fans of the comics and the Batman character should definitely check it out.

To be honest, this is a really good movie. Hang on? So why did I only give it 2 out of 5 stars? Well, this is really personal but, to me, it is not a good Batman movie. I really had problems writing this review because it is a very good movie. I just did not like it as a Batman movie.

The movie is really dark, gritty and noir. Not really a problem. It works for some movies. But it is also quite slow at the beginning and the first quarter of the movie was actually boring. Remember, this is a three hour movie so a quarter is more than half an hour of “boringness”.

The “boringess” was broken up by a pretty cool car chase. Some people seem to not really like the batmobile and I have to say that it was not very inspired but it was not all bad either. Unfortunately the movie turned rather boring for a while again after that.

The movie tries to bring out more of the detective part of Batman than the previous movies, which is fine, but there is just too much moping around with Batman / Bruce Wayne walking around oozing sadness all around him.

Actually, this brings us to my main gripe with this movie. The choice of actor for the Batman is just wrong for me. He is more like a sad puppy than the Batman. The script that makes him mope around, have emotional outbreaks and, occasionally, being downright stupid like just staring dumbfounded when explosives go off in his face does not really help of course.

To me the Selina Kyle character had more charisma than the Batman, especially when the Batman was in his Bruce Wayne alter ego.

And I really, really dislike that twist about Bruce’s parents. That was such a lazy Hollywood writer hack thing to do just to create (unwanted) drama.

Then we have the Riddler. Compared to the charismatic villains that we have come to expect he is just a sad little psychopath with a bunch of equally sad fanatical internet followers.

Now, all of this would have worked great if it had been a movie about some, unspecified, vigilante. The movie is really well done. The detective story, the action (especially towards the end) and the noir setting would have worked great. Even at its three hour bloated length it would have been great although cut down to two hours or a bit more would have been even better. If it had not been a Batman movie!

It follows the new Joker take on the Gotham universe.
They give us a different batman, a batman that's purely driven by revenge "I'm vengeance" with a different approach to his origin story although the morals are there. No killing, no guns and a sense of honour.
Batman grows throughout the movie, finding constructive purpose and molding to what the city needs him to be.
The movie itself is well made, a noir take on a rotten city with a different batman with room to grow.
This said, the movie is slow, batman plays his part as a pawn in the Riddler's plan and doesn't solve or stop anything which is strange given the detective facet they show. Riddler's plan goes through with a forced ending producing Gotham's saviour which doesn't seem that well thought. The idea is there, the people start to believe and follow batman, their saviour, but considering batman didn't stop any of the Riddler's plan, it's a bit of a miss.

Three Riddler turns out great, if being a sociopath is what's intended.

The suit is cool and we are presented with an inventive but not futuristic batman. In every gun fight I wondered how the suit was so bullet proof but light and manoeuvrable enough for him to move and fight, jump, climb, etc. He builds the bat mobile and the bike and they are similar to regular vehicles, just enhanced. The car chase is brilliant and after penguins car gets turned over, the cinematography is excellent.

In the end, I believe we were spoiled by Bale's batman, which had the wits, the tools, the toys and gadgets that amount to a brilliant batman, along with excellent villains, something this one isn't after the first movie.

“Fear is a tool. They think I’m hiding in the shadows but I am the shadows. I wish I could say that I’m making a difference but I don’t know. They might all roll together in a rush. Behind the mask. Sometimes in the morning, I have to push myself to remember everything that happened.”

Absolute cinema! Honestly, so incredible. The film-making from Matt Reeves is so excellent and well crafted, with such skill you forget you are watching a superhero movie. Dark, but with a slick style. The more I think about it, the more I love it. Just from the opening scene with the Riddler and Batman’s voice-over monologue while we see the ongoing crime in Gotham City, I knew we were all in for something spectacular.

The movie is three hours long, but I could watch a six-hour version of this.

Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne, but mostly Batman, is the perfect casting, and from day one of his castings, I knew he was going to bring it, and he did! He did some fantastic acting from his physicality and eyes that captured his thoughts and feelings. I liked his Batman voice, quiet and whispery. Not too forced like bale nor too advanced like Affleck. His Batman/Bruce Wayne, with no other way of describing it, is emo, but then again, Batman as a character is the definition of emo when you think about it. His long, messy, dark, and damp black hair hung over his face, giving his vision the equivalent of window blinders. His skin is as pale as a British introvert. He wears dark eyeliner under his Batman mask, and whenever he takes it off, the eyeliner smudges due to sweat and heat underneath the cowl. Whenever he is in the suit, he never breaks his detective’s eye, but when out of the suit, he cannot make eye contact with anyone. Before he appears, you hear his heavy footsteps on the rock-hard pavement, and then him slowly coming out of his darkness was just... goosebumps. The way he approaches criminals is no different from Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers.

There’s a thrilling car chase that ends with the vehicle flipped upside down and from the POV of the criminal, you see the black silhouette of what looks like a bat-man creation, with fire in the background from the aftermath of the chase, almost like IT came from hell, as it moves closer to the vehicle, and the way it moves its body is so unnatural. Of course, that scene is the Penguin and Batman car chase, with the POV from Penguin and the creation being Batman. It’s terrifying just reading that description with no context of the scene itself, and that’s why it’s so brilliant.

You get a lot of depth with this version, the unseen trauma. Pattinson is the most Batman that ever was and one of the best.

Also, his Batmobile is a killer!

Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman was another stand-out and the heart of the movie. I liked her characterization of a thick-skinned yet vulnerable and feminine. The scenes between her and Pattinson were the best part of the movie, as their chemistry was on point. Her character could’ve easily fit in a Brian De Palma movie.

Jeffrey Wright as Jim Gordon is so good in the role, and the dynamic duo between him and Pattinson brought some surprising comedic moments. While this Gordon isn’t quite the police commissioner, we see a different side to the character; the no-nonsense type that’s devoted.

Paul Dano as the Riddler was a mixture of creepiness but still maintains the sinister sense of humour of the troubled intellectual character. I also liked his costume, as it felt homemade and fit this type of movie. This version of the Riddler is inspired by the Zodiac killer, a real-life Riddler who sent out ciphers that were hard to crack. Fifty years after the case, and only last year that one of the ciphers was cracked. In the same vein as the Zodiac, he taunts the police and leaves none of his DNA at the crime scene. So, it makes this version of the character scary because it's something that could happen in real life. This version of Riddler is straight-up Jigsaw.

Andy Serkis isn't in the movie that much, but he delivers a solid portrayal of the trustworthy Alfred. The relationship between him and Bruce is "icy", a tragic withdrawn situation that I hope mends in the future. So icy that if these two ever crossed paths in a hallway, things would be awkward. However, there is a beautiful and moving scene, which takes place in a hospital, after Alfred stains injuries after a failed bomb attack from the Riddler, and during that scene where these two finally talk because, despite the rocky relationship, Bruce still cares for him. He thought that he mastered his fear, but at that moment, he feared that he lost him. A touching scene and Serkis was brilliant in it.

Colin Farrell as the Penguin is honestly one of the best transformations in movie history, and yes, of all time. I mean, it's been three months since the movie came out, and I still can’t believe that’s him. He is unrecognizable not only for the make-up but his voice as well. The make-up artist behind this work did an incredible job. Both Farrell and the make-up artist deserve high praise here.

John Turturro as Falcone, who rarely got shown in the marketing, is a surprise standout here and has not got enough credit. What a presence he brings to the movie, and I liked his take on the ruthless mobster.

Peter Saarsgard is another actor that isn’t getting talked about because he acts the hell out of the role of the corrupt Gil Colson. The scene with the bomb collar was intense, and Saarsgard was great in it. It felt like a scene from a “Saw” movie where the villain is in complete control. I mean, there's not a single weak actor in this movie.

I loved the score from Michael Giacchino; very epic, Gothic, but jampacked with emotion. There is some distinct character work with compelling themes from Batman, Riddler, and Catwoman, especially from the bat himself, whose score perfectly captures the tragedy and the heroism. His sounds commanding, yet unresolved, almost like Bruce Wayne’s trauma. Catwoman’s theme sounds like a classic noir film when the mysterious woman enters the detective’s office late at night. And the Riddler shares a couple of familiarity with Batman’s theme, in terms of suspense, build-up, and a grand feel to it. Although with an ominous and mysterious tone to it.

I liked how detailed the movie was, whether that’s characterization, acting, writing, directing, etc. I can tell that everyone who worked on this movie truly cared and put a lot of thought into every scene, and I love that so much. I bet on a re-watch there will be new things to pick up on.

The cinematography is the best part of the movie. No other superhero movie in recent times has looked this well-crafted, so captivating, with its incredible atmosphere, darkness, and lighting. Cinematographer Greg Frasier keeps outdoing himself.

Everything else from a technical standpoint is outstanding. The sound work is tremendous and adds to the immersion. The production design, costume, editing, and direction were all mwah!

I liked how dirty and grounded Gotham City looked, where everything is so cramped together, how it was always raining in this city, or how everything always looks so damp. This Gotham feels diseased, old yet new at the same time. Even the day scenes looked like a stormy evening. Despite that, that does not take away its strange beauty.

The movie is more character-driven than anything else, diving into the detective side. Sure, there is action, which is great, but it’s character moments that stuck with me the most. I must admit the third act made me teary-eyed. It was a beautiful scene that involved character growth. While the movie can be dark, brutal, and at times wickedly funny, on the other hand, there is also a sense of hope. Because despite the bleakness of this world, here you have a broken and flawed man who endured all the pain, trauma, and rage, and finally had the strength to put aside it and put himself out there for those who suffer.

So yeah, I liked the movie a lot.

Overall rating: HE IS VEGENECE!

The tricky thing about reviving a long-lived franchise is, it’s always going to be compared to its predecessors. And, as the caped crusader goes, that history is awfully long and speckled. Tim Burton dealt with this when he helmed the 1989 iteration, dodging complaints that it was so fundamentally different from the Adam West camp of twenty years prior. Christopher Nolan fought an uphill battle in overcoming the damage inflicted by Joel Schumacher’s missteps. Now, in the wake of Ben Affleck’s turn beneath the cowl, Matt Reeves faces a different, but similar fight in justifying his vision of a spandex-clad detective in the crumbling urban decay.

Reeves gives us a younger Batman, less seasoned and polished than the Kilmer/Clooney/Affleck years, but also not a rookie. This isn’t an origin story; this bat’s reputation has already been established in Gotham and he’s fostered a tenuous working relationship with certain members of the police force. He’s visible enough to draw the attention of a violent, counter-culture master criminal who addresses hints and clues like love letters and sprinkles them around his prolific crime scenes. But he lacks that grand, accomplished sense of supreme confidence: a patrolman who’s still learning his beat, he makes mistakes and takes lessons from them. Actually, he makes a lot of mistakes. This Batman is neither impervious in a fight nor unmatched in an intellectual sense. He often seems like he’s out of his depth, reacting and improvising to events beyond his control. That can be humanizing, but it also limits his aura. In terms of raw energy and dramatic appearances, this rendition ranks near the bottom. I might even call him dull.

That’s a problem with the whole film, in fact. It has inspired and effective moments, isn’t demonstrably bad, but constantly feels clinical and lethargic. There’s very little dramatic spectacle, so I was never wowed. For all the boastful talk about emphasizing the detective aspect of his character, Batman himself doesn’t actually solve much. Alfred cracks most of the riddles, and when he’s eventually indisposed, the Riddler complains that his counterpart isn’t getting to the answers fast enough. Robert Pattinson’s take on the leading role is... okay. He looks the part while in costume, but often overacts, and his take on the brooding Bruce Wayne, as I’d feared, falls on the wrong side of the emo spectrum. Paul Dano’s Se7en-influenced Riddler is a fresh reimagining, but the conclusion of his story (or lack thereof) leaves an empty feeling. Hints and implications are dropped all over the place - about Gordon, the Penguin, Catwoman and other noteworthy rogues who shall remain nameless - but none go beyond the level of superficial winks. Batman and Robin’s Mister Freeze, for all his cheesy one-liners and bad costume effects, had a more cohesive, satisfying story than any of these characters.

I don’t want to give the wrong impression. This isn’t a bad effort. I admire its influences, and its chutzpah for wearing them loudly on its chest. Gotham is dark and gritty, its corrupt politicians serving as an appropriate mirror to their real-life counterparts. The costumes and set designs look great. But, in a strange way, I feel that it tries too hard to match the execution of 2019’s Joker without really grasping what made that movie tick or why the two should be distinctive. Both are deathly serious, heavily visual, mood-reliant character pieces, but where Joker limits its iris to a small, tight group of characters, The Batman is overwhelmed by its cast. Joaquin Phoenix takes us on a private journey in the former film, and it’s meaningful when his arc is resolved. Pattinson, by comparison, never progresses beyond looking mopey in the rain.

There were portions of this film that I truly enjoyed and portions that I could've done w/ out. Since there was much more good than bad, I'll start w/ what I liked:

1. Although not a huge Batman fan, I have seen all the movies, including some of the animated films, and I really appreciated the gritty, noir quality this film had. It lent well to the dark atmosphere that was necessary for this film.
2. I really liked that Batman wasn't portrayed as some superhuman character, b/c he's not. He's a great detective, in the vein of a Sherlock Holmes, and he's been trained in various fighting disciplines, but he's still just a man. He's not like other members of the Justice League, for instance, and I prefer that he not be portrayed that way. In this film, it was shown that he was able to be injured, as many of the fight scenes were fairly realistic, albeit for what they were. I also appreciated that his attire wasn't laden w/ every gadget in the world that he'd require to navigate any situation. He was more of a relatable superhero in this film b/c of this.
3. I am thankful that we didn't get the umpteenth edition of a superhero origin story. Unless the superhero isn't widely known, there's really no reason for that, and for someone like Batman, it'd been done to death.
4. I'm especially appreciative of the fact that Robert Pattinson spent practically the entire movie in Batman's cowl and cape. Far too many superhero movies are made w/out making use of the superheroes. It's really a travesty of filmmaking, and for a superhero movie, where I want to see someone doing fantastic things, I don't need 105 minutes of would-be drama and 15 minutes of superhero action. That doesn't appeal to me.
5. Finally, I enjoyed the relationship between Batman and Detective Gordon. In this film, they worked together as a team. Jeffrey Wright was excellent as Detective Gordon, and the two of them had an interesting co-existence. I also appreciated the way Robert Pattinson played Bruce Wayne, close to the vest but w/ that intensely visible, yet restrained, rageful anger underneath the surface.

As for what I didn't care for:

1. I felt that while this wasn't an origin story, it was still designed as a way to setup characters for future use. I felt that this film would have been a much more potent vehicle had it been viewed by the writer as a stand-alone feature, since it was outside canon.
2. B/c of this reason, I felt that the film dragged a bit in the middle and toward the climax, which I felt was rather anticlimactic. It wasn't a huge deal, b/c it was still a fine film, but I did feel that everyone could've been better served by making the film more streamlined.