The Batman (2022) - Movie Review

What do you get when you take a brilliant writer/producer and give him the reigns to the most storied franchise in media history and add a sparkly vampire as his lead?

The best superhero movie since Logan, that’s what.

Let’s discuss.

Just watch this movie. Go watch it. It’s on HBO MAX.

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The film focuses on a young Bruce Wayne as he comes to grips with the psychosis created by witnessing his family’s murder. With billions of dollars and pent up rage, Bruce has donned the cowl of Batman to put fear into the criminals of Gotham City, but when a masked serial killer begins murdering the city’s elite and demanding that the Batman pay attention, Bruce has no choice but to dive deeper into the darkness. As the killer’s actions escalate and the city begins to turn against him, will Bruce be able to lift the city onto his shoulders or will he be crushed beneath it? Find out into today’s feature: The Batman.

This is one of the best all around films I’ve seen since Covid nerfed the world. The acting, directing, set design, costume design, special effects, and script are head and shoulders above any other superhero film or detective movie. It transcends genre, just like Batman should.

This film is Batman the Animated series come to life. It’s a human story about a mentally disturbed kid with too much money and time. It’s a kid who desperately needs love, but instead walks a crooked path of vengeance towards a bitter end.

This film is the best live action Batman project ever made.

Yeah, I said it.

No, I know you love Tim Burton’s stuff, but I’m not a slave to nostalgia.

Christopher Nolan’s trilogy? It had one okay movie and two utter failures. It also lacked everything that makes Batman, well, Batman. Christopher Nolan couldn’t get funding for his crime dramas so he masked his other scripts in the Batman mythos. The story however was lacking and understanding of the villains and characters completely lost. Take away Heath Ledger’s magical 15 minutes of screen time in the Dark Knight ( a 2 and a half hour movie btw) and you’ve got an unwatchable mess of a trilogy.

Matt Reeves is brilliant. He’s a fantastic writer and a prolific producer responsible for creating Felicity, 10 Cloverfield Lane, and War for the Planet of the Apes. He obviously loves the source material as there are an incredible amount of Easter eggs and subtle homages to some of the great runs of the comics. The film looks and feels like it came out of The Long Halloween by Jeeps Loeb and Tim Sale. The themes and the version of Gotham is also a mix of Batman: Year One and The Court of Owls. It’s a dark Frank Miller-esque world, but without the hamfisted political messages.

This is a very human story and Reeves never loses sight of that. It helps that he has one of the best casts ever assembled.

Yeah, I see you Marvel. You manufactured stars from B list celebrities whose careers were going nowhere. This film picked actors with pedigree.

And before you start bemoaning Twilight star, Robert Pattinson being cast as the Bat. You obviously didn’t see the movie. Pattinson is electric. Much like his standout performances in films like Good Times and High Life, Pattinson is an emotional anchor. He doesn’t have a large amount of dialogue, but you hang on every word. He is our eyes and ears. His asbergers take on the character is much more akin to Batman’s portrayal in the comics and the original Animated Series. It’s also realistic. He was emotionally stunted by experiencing the trauma of his parents murder and having no one but an employee to talk to. He’s a bundle of rage that could snap at any minute. There’s an eerie calm to Pattinson when the cowl is donned. You hear his slow, heavy footsteps approaching from the shadow much like an old gunslinger’s spurs. You know when that noise stops, pain will commence. He also isn’t a fool. He’s a genius level intellect and his lack of hesitation in answering every question and riddle shows that in subtle ways.

Pattinson is my favorite life-action Batman.

I said it.

@ me all you want.

Pattinson is flanked by the unbelievable duo of Jeffery Wright as Jim Gordon and Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth. \

Jeffery Wright is one of the most talented actors in cinema and television. He’s the only reason I made it through Westworld. He brings a road-weary gravitas to the role of Gordon along with his innate likability. He’s a gruff teddybear desperately looking for a way to save the city while surrounded by corruption.

Andy Serkis might just be the most underrated actor of all time due to the majority of his roles being CGI characters. People tend to forget this guy is a brilliant actor. His work with Pattinson is heart wrenching. He brings a humanity to Alfred that’s been lacking in recent projects. He’s not a one liner machine or preachy melodramatist, he’s a parent. He’s a man that regrets not stepping in or speaking up when Bruce’s father’s decision making became murky. He feels the loss of the Wayne’s as acutely as Bruce, but rather than embrace the anger, he has fallen into a deep depression and yet, he tries everything he can to be involved with Bruce. To keep Bruce human. He jumps at the chance to solve puzzles and provide advice on the case. You feel how much he’s trying to be apart of his adopted son’s life, even if Bruce doesn't. It’s a flawless performance.

and then there’s the supporting cast of epic performance.

Ahem.

Zoe Kravitz gives the best performance of her career as Selina Kyle (Catwoman). She’s not a sexpot or a weirdo. She’s not an annoying upper class white lady thief. She’s just a girl born into terrible means and worse surroundings. She scratched and clawed to build a life for herself, embracing the anger she bears towards her mother’s killer. She’s able to relate to the Batman, not because of witty banter or a rubber fetish, but because they both are missing a piece of themselves lost in the murder of a parent. When she’s on the screen, you can’t take your eyes off of her.

Colin Farrell decided to show up and knock it out of the park again as Oz (The Penguin). He is unrecognizable in the incredible makeup sfx applied. If I hadn’t know ahead of time he was playing the Penguin, I wouldn’t have figured out it was him. He plays the role with an insecure vulnerability that mirrors the character from the comics who constantly is overcompensating for the shame of his disfigurement. I don’t think Farrell can do a bad performance.

Then there’s John Turturro. A creepy man once said, “Nobody fucks with the Jesus.” The same could be said of Carmine Falcone. It figures than that Turturro played both characters. Turturro is most known for his work with the Cohen brothers in films like O’ Brother Where Art Thou and Barton Fink. Normally portrayed as a down on his luck everyman, Turturro has a talent for flipping the script. He brings a subtle menace to his role as the mafia don. Every time he appears on screen, there’s tension. He’s as soft spoken as he is cold blooded. His kindly demeanor is as much a mask as Batman’s cowl. It’s a role that has so much nuance that only a fantastic actor like Turturro could provide.

and this is only a few of the incredible supporting cast members. I didn’t even mention Peter Sarsgaard, Paul Dano, Jayme Lawson, Alex Ferns, and my personal favorite Gil Perez-Abraham as Officer Martinez.

Yes, my favorite character in a batman movie was the hilarious socially awkward, incorruptible beat cop. It’s the Animated Series all over again.

The Batman suit in the film looks like a mix of the Batman: Arkham Origins and Batman: Arkham City costumes. It’s not made of rubber or latex. It’s armor as exemplified by the suit’s ability to shrug off gunfire, albeit with painful impact. The suit is intimidating, heavy, and Pattinson bulked up to fill it out. It’s fantastic. It’s the comics come to life.

This movie isn’t an action movie. There is action, but it’s not the focus. This isn’t a giant CGI fest of a superhero film. It’s a slow burn serial killer thriller that actually makes The Riddler terrifying. It’s a mystery movie with the World’s Greatest Detective at the helm. While the film’s runtime is long at 3 hours, I never felt the time. It’s such a well crafted film that I sincerely wanted to solve the mystery. It has a feel similar to films like Silence of the Lambs and Se7en, but with a few explosions and ultra violence.

You need to watch this film.

Get up, clock out of work, and run home to watch it.

It’s free on HBO MAX as of this writing.