The Batman Movie Review: The World's Greatest Detective

To say I walked into a new Batman film excited would be a gross understatement. Batman has always been like my favorite superhero, and I have a great deal of fondness for many of the previous films, so despite how many we've already had, I'm always down to see a new incarnation of the Caped Crusader. I've also been a huge fan of director Matt Reeves throughout his entire career (whose work ranges from the most recent Planet of the Apes films and Cloverfield) so I've been following this film almost religiously ever since it was first announced that he was directing. I also never once doubted the inspired casting choice of Robert Pattinson nor the immensely impressive supporting cast assembled around him. Every single trailer or marking piece released for this film has also been quite frankly perfect. My expectations for this were almost unrealistically high, but somehow Reeves and company did the impossible by surpassing every single one of them with an enthralling film that is everything I've ever wanted to see in a Batman film.

One of the many aspects I was most excited to see with this new rendition was how Matt Reeves clearly wanted to put great emphasis on the "World's Greatest Detective" angle with Batman and pay homage to classical film noir. And he pulls that off in fantastic fashion with this film. This is a very dark, gritty and at times even unsettling detective noir that is being disguised as another superhero film. The comparisons to films such as Zodiac, Se7en, and even Chinatown are so appropriate, but make no mistake this is still very much a Batman story at heart. Reeves is a true fanboy himself and captures the essences of this character (and his supporting cast) as well as any other filmmaker before him has. The city of Gotham itself has also never felt this well realized and is essentially its own leading character in the film.

This shouldn't have come as a surprise to me, but this ridiculously talented cast is somehow even better than I imagined they would be. Every single performance in this film absolutely rocks and I couldn't possibly just single out one standout or two. Robert Pattinson proves to be a ruthless and bad-ass Batman, embodying everything I've ever envision in a perfect caped crusader. As Bruce Wayne, he's very brooding and even a bit emo, but appropriately so given his personal journey in this film and I'm excited to see him evolve more in inevitable sequels. Andy Serkis is a perfect Alfred and while I would've liked to have seen a little more of it, him & Pattinson play off the Alfred/Bruce relationship wonderfully in the moments they do have. Zoe Kravitz also makes for a fantastic Selina Kyle aka Catwoman as she nails down the seductive femme fatale and physicality, but also brings a great deal of charm to her performance. Kravitz & Pattinson also just sizzle on screen with one another. Even after just one movie, this new BatCat dynamic has to be up there with the original animated series as my favorite one we've had on screen before, so I hope we get much more of it in any future installments. And Jeffrey Wright as Lt. James Gordon was yet another case of inspired casting choice as he is wonderful in this film. Once again, it's only been one movie, and this is already my favorite Batman & Gordon dynamic as seeing them work together to solve the mystery are amongst my favorite scenes in the entire film.

You can't have a truly great Batman film without some memorable villain performances though. Out of all the outstanding casting choices made here, I was easily most excited to see Paul Dano as The Riddler and oh boy did he deliver in terrifying spades. The Riddler has always been one of my personal favorite Batman villains and with his brilliant work here Dano delivers pretty much the exact incarnation of the character I've always wanted to see in live action. He's frightening, cunning and just multiple steps ahead of everyone else just like he should be. Whenever The Riddler is on screen, this film plays with very much a horror vibe as he's essentially a slasher movie villain and I loved that. Dano has been so underrated for far too long and it's great to see him really get to crush it in a film of this size. Another one of my favorite character actors in Collin Farrell is every bit as completely unrecognizable as advertised in his role as The Penguin. It's a smaller part, but Farrell really steals the entire film whenever he is on screen and thankfully, he's already confirmed to have an even bigger part in any sequel or future spin-offs which I can't wait. The great John Turturro even has a much pivotal role here as Carmine Falcone than I anticipated and thank god for that because he is just awesome in this role with every moment he has.

I'm not exaggerating in the slightest when I say this is one of the most visually stunning comic books films ever made and just a masterful technical achievement on every level. Composer Michael Giacchino has delivered simply one of his greatest achievements yet with his bleak, somber yet addicting musical score that I have already been listening to on constant repeat. And Greg Fraser's immersive and gorgeous cinematography work is practically its own character within the movie. There are shots that not only feel ripped straight out of films like Blade Runner or Chinatown, but also a comic book panel and I mean that as the highest of compliments. It's way too early to make these sort of declarations, but there's no way this film shouldn't be at least up for some major technical awards come next year's Oscar season. There's also less fight sequences in this than I imagined which might underwhelm some, but when there is action all of it is so well choreographed and some of the most visceral Batman action ever displayed in a live action film. The car chase sequence that has been shown in trailers with The Penguin has even been done justice. This is certainly a film worth the admission of an IMAX ticket price or at least the biggest screen possible.

I'm struggling to find much apparent flaws or even nit-picks to be quite honest. Did this Batman film need to run just about three hours long? Maybe not, but speaking for myself personally this running really flew by and never once were my eyes not completely glued to the screen. And considering how huge this entire cast is, I think the running time is justified given that it allows all these characters to be so well realized and as a result nobody feels wasted or poorly utilized. This is however a very dark film, and in a lot of ways even more so than any of Christopher Nolan's Batman films. The PG-13 rating is very much pushed to its full limits and that might divide some audience members (particularly ones bringing any small children), but that's okay.

Matt Reeves has delivered a truly exhilarating noir film that also immensely satisfied the Batman and film nerd inside me. From the emotionally involving story, impeccable performances, awe inspiring craftsmanship, and fantastic world building, this is destined to go down as maybe the most definitive Batman film ever made, but I think also a defining comic book movie for decades to come. It is also such an exciting introduction to this new Batman saga from the Reeves/Pattinson duo that I'm so excited to see continue evolve with many future installments that are certain to come. It is a twisty and deliberately paced film that might not be for everyone I'll admit, but it was very much for me and I also really can't imagine other lifelong Batman fans walking away disappointed with this one. I already can't wait to have many more repeat viewings and pick up on so many more new things. Those are always the best kind of films after all.

Final Grade: A