‘The Batman’ is the first iteration that genuinely feels like a detective noir murder mystery straight from the comic books. The cast are stellar and I feel so much more emotionally invested in Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne than in previous versions.
Director: Matt Reeves
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Colin Farrell, Jeffrey Wright, Paul Dano
*** MILD SPOILERS ***
🦇 The film follows a younger version of Batman and has more of a detective/murder mystery/noir vibe. A series of killings rocks Gotham City, and the killer leaves behind hand-written cards addressed to the Batman that contains cyphers/cryptograms/riddles which points to more murders. It’s definitely 90s David Fincher, in the vein of ‘Se7en’ and the Riddler is modernized into a young millennial/gen z villain who enjoys livestreaming a bit too much and has a radicalised following on social media!
🦇 This Bruce Wayne is inspired by Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, and I suppose it gets kinda literal when they use Nirvana’s ‘Something in the Way’ a couple of times in the film! Wayne is moody and brooding - he’s frosty with butler Alfred, and he actually works with GCPD officer Gordon in this film, rather than kinda just ~~ grunting ~~ at him. Wayne is dealing with his vigilantism, what he actually wants to do for Gotham, and the Riddler makes the Bat question long held assumptions about his past.
I also love me a guy in touch with his feelings who writes nightly in a diary, who’s not afraid to wear guyliner and creates art projects directly on the floor:
In Reeves’ own words:
To me, there was an idea of Bruce as a recluse rock star. The way that Cobain was obsessed with his music, but also had an uneasy relationship with the burden of his fame. I thought that made sense for Bruce, because he’s haunted by the fact that everybody knows who he is and the sad history of his family.
🦇 A highlight for me is Zoe Kravitz who plays Selina Kyle/Catwoman, a nightclub waitress and burglar and who I’m obsessed with!!!!!!
She’s nuanced to Batman’s tendency to view morality in black and white and their team up feels like a partnership of equals. There’s also a lot of.. sexual tension, one of the central things in their dynamic which I feel was really missing between Anne Hathaway and Christian Bale.
🦇 In lieu of a final showdown (I guess they couldn’t really have Batman go up against a villain who isn’t physically strong) there’s instead some flooding and faint allusions to climate change. The film sets up a power vacuum with the Falcone and Maroni gangs essentially gone and the Penguin set to be the natural successor to crime lord of Gotham. There’s also a cameo from ‘Eternals’ star Barry Keoghan as the Joker (much more subtle than Jared Leto!).
🦇 The film is long at nearly 3 hours, but I do feel like those 3 hours are needed to flesh out the story given its complexity, though it can feel slow during some sequences. The score and cinematography add to the film’s ambiance, and this version of Gotham is less staid and more immersive than we’ve seen before!
Four bats out of five
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And most importantly:
🐶 Are there dogs in the film? Yes
🎄☃️ Is it set at Christmas? No, Halloween! 🎃
🐶 Pupdate 🐶
Warmest virtual hugs
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