Hello Readers, 2022 marked the return of the "only in theaters" movie releases. Here is a review of one of the movies I saw in 2022.
The Batman (released March 2022) Ryan's rating ✯✯✯ (out of four)
In Gotham City (here perpetually gloomy and often raining) a new to the cape Batman (Robert Pattinson) is working to clean up the crime in the city when a psycho calling himself The Riddler (Paul Dano) begins killing high level politicians and public servants (the mayor, the DA, Police Chief) in increasingly elaborate ways. Each death is accompanied by a riddle addressed to Batman and also gruesome videos shared on the internet with a greater conspiracy pointing to the late Thomas Wayne and family. This leads Batman to team up with Lt. Jim Gordon (the always reliable Jeffery Wright) and cat-burglar/club hostess Selina Kyle (Zoe Kravitz) to figure out the bigger picture and stop the madman.
This is just part of the plot of this three hour film, there is also the Penguin (an unrecognizable Colin Farrell), Carmine Falcone (John Turturo), bigger societal issues of the wealthy vs. the working class, corruption in institutions, the internet creating extremism, etc. There is a lot going on in the film but it is very well made and well put together. The story by Matt Reeves and Peter Craig focuses more (compared to other Batman films) on Batman's detective origins with a lot of time spent investigating the Riddler's riddles, though savvy viewers will be able to figure out some of the clues far quicker than the people in the story.
Reeves also serves as director and he and his team have fashioned a visually stunning film. Reeves knows how to stage scenes both big and small. The sequence where the Batmobile first appears is excellent, or when Batman first fights his way into the Iceberg Club with its bright red lights cutting through the darkness. The film often has one more trick or surprising gadget to showcase. In the final climax when Batman makes his entrance, it is truly exciting. The use of Nirvana's music in some key scenes is debatable, I personally was not a fan of its use here but I may be in the minority. Also note the movie is visually dark so if you're watching in a daytime room you may have a hard time seeing parts of the film. In the theater it was occasionally hard to see.
Pattinson is very good as Batman and to a degree Bruce Wayne. I say this because in the course of the long film he only appears as Bruce Wayne in a handful of scenes. Dano is very creepy as the Riddler (miles removed from Jim Carrey in the 1990s) though he has the unfortunate place of being behind Heath Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight and some of his sequences are fairly similar (videos of his crimes, his long monologues, his crazed posse).
If you have no interest in a Batman movie then this is probably not for you. If you have the slightest interest there are rewards in watching the movie. I will say some of the content is pushing the limit of PG-13, the Riddler is intense and his murders are pretty graphic even if the most graphic moments are kept just out of frame there is enough shown. For example one victim's face is eaten by rats.
I am a fan of detective and investigative noir style movies so this was in my wheelhouse. It was a good film to get back into the theater to see.
Great review! I feel very similarly about the film, but you articulated it much better than I could. I also love Paul Dano, and he was perfect for this role, but you are right about the similarities between his Riddler and Heath Ledger's Joker. And it's almost like they felt they HAD to make him dark because of the Ledger precedent.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for reading and commenting Jim Cameron Stan! I like your thought that after Ledger they feel all the Bat villains must be that way.
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