RECENT WATCHES: The Batman (2022)

Since busting onto the pop culture scene over eighty years ago, Batman has made countless cinematic appearances. From the high camp of the Adam West days to the gothic fantasies of Tim Burton’s films, the Dark Knight has explored just about every tone imaginable on-screen. Yet, discounting his occasional appearances as a Lego mini-fig, it seems the Caped Crusader’s films have been stuck in “dark and gritty” mode for the last seventeen years. Christopher Nolan’s trilogy was so focused on realism that it sometimes seemed actively ashamed of its comic book roots. Zack Snyder’s Batman was a hyper-violent fascist. So when the trailers for “The Batman” appeared, I was a little exhausted by what looked to be another grim and gritty take on Gotham’s favorite vigilante. Ya know, I just wanted a Batman movie that was a little fun, that had a little color in it. I went into the theaters a skeptic but I’m happy to say Matt Reeves’ bat-epic won me over. 

For two years now, billionaire orphan Bruce Wayne has been operating as the vigilante Batman. His brutal tactics terrify the criminals of Gotham City but seem to have done little to lower the crime rate. His obsessive one-man crusade has lead to an unsteady truce with the city’s police, especially Lt. James Gordon. When the mayor is murdered in his own home, and the killer leaves a note for the Batman, the two team up to investigate. The killer taunts the police and calls himself The Riddler, leaving elaborate clues and striking again and again. Bruce Wayne digs into the corrupt heart of Gotham City, encountering crime bosses and a cat woman and a penguin, as he unravel a mystery that is closer to home than initially expected. 

Each new cinematic iteration of Batman promises to bring something new to the table. While Reeves’ film does seem indebted to Nolan’s work to some degree, it ultimately finds a tone all its own. Batman’s status as the World’s Greatest Detective is emphasized. The film actually does devote long stretches of its runtime to Bruce Wayne digging through old documents, trying to unravel clues, and following leads. For the first time in any film, you feel like Batman actually does the detective work necessary to earn his title. A neo-noir atmosphere is built around the detective angle, with a plot that focuses on corruption in a filthy, hopeless city. There are times when the superhero action theatrics feel secondary to involving the viewer in the mystery and creating thrills. 

“The Batman’s” story veers towards convoluted at times but it’s twisted web of villains and vigilantes coheres in a clever way. All of these masked figures, it turns out, have some pretty serious Daddy Issues. Batman’s crusade is explicitly characterized as one of vengeance for his dead parents. Catwoman, we soon discover, is looking to uncover the deadbeat dad that abandoned her. The Riddler, meanwhile, is also motivated by the murder of his father and the injustice he felt as an orphan. The reveal that Thomas Wayne, usually depicted as nothing but a saintly patriarch, might have something to do with this is a much needed one. No dad is perfect — lots of them are bad people — and making Bruce’s father a flawed figure makes his own story more nuanced. Meanwhile, the figure of the mayor’s orphaned son repeatedly appears, reminding everyone of the loss of innocence that triggers these issues. By rooting everyone’s motivation in a broken childhood, “The Batman” adds some appreciated complexity to the Dark Knight’s story. And all of that without another tedious visit to Crime Alley or a splintering pearl necklace. 

What most impressed me about “The Batman” is that Bruce Wayne gets a character arc that isn’t based in him overcoming a villain or building up his heroic persona. In his first scene, Batman beats a goon so brutally that the person he rescued is more scared of him than the attackers. He talks over and over again about “vengeance,” obsessed with reordering a chaotic, corrupt world into something that makes sense for him. Yet, as the story goes on, Bruce sees how deeply rooted these problems are in Gotham City. He discovers a police force that is not just complacent but actively participating in the destruction of their own city. He grows as a person, realizing vengeance alone isn’t enough to resolve these problems. This isn’t a narrative origin for Batman but a psychological, philosophical one. And that’s something I’m genuinely not sure we’ve seen before. 

Stepping into the bat-suit this time is Robert Pattinson. While Pattinson has done everything he can in the last decade to distance himself from his “Twilight” beginnings, working with respected auteurs in aggressively weird independent films, I’ll admit I still hadn’t shaken my image of him as blandly brooding Edward Cullen. Well, it finally happened. Pattinson supposedly didn’t bathe while in his superhero costume and that grunginess is palatable on-screen. This is a Bruce Wayne that doesn’t sleep. He’s pale and seems constantly exhausted. Through Pattinson’s voiceover narration, we get a peek at his truly obsessive thoughts. Never before have you so keenly felt how much Bruce Wayne’s quest is molded by his childhood trauma. When he has to do things like inject himself with adrenaline or make a desperate escape from the police station, you even get the distinct impression that this Batman is more unhealthy than an unstoppable ubermensch. It is, somehow, a new take on the character, at least in the movies. 

While Reeves’ movie is a lot closer aesthetically to “Batman Begins” than “Batman Returns,” I’m happy to say this movie has one thing in common with Burton’s films. Burton’s sequel operated on a barely contained lust, the characters seemingly addressing their sex drives through violence and kinky costumes. Reeves happily returns to these hormones. Pattinson’s Batman is a voyeur, watching Zoe Kravitz’ Selina Kyle slip out of her work clothes and into her Catwoman suit. The next scene has the two wrestling in a way that seems more than a little suggestive. Kravtiz’ Catwoman, while never underselling the character’s complex personality and back story, still purrs with sensuality. These two are extremely into each other and always seem minutes away from consummating their relationship. But their twisted personalities sublimates these desires into their obsessive quests. This is the first superhero movie I’ve seen in a while where it seems like people actually have sex. And that is much appreciated. 

Something else Reeves' film has in common with Burton's is a grand, gothic soundtrack. Michael Giacchino provides tolling bells, shrieking strings, and an immediately recognizable four note motif for the main character .These combine to make a theatrical and memorable musical soundscape. It matches a moody, grungy depiction of Gotham City. David Fincher seems to be the main inspiration here, as we're dropped into a city where everything is dirty, overcast or cold. Darkness and foreboding red are the main colors on display here, creating a truly hellish setting.

Another thing that made me skeptical about this movie is the Riddler being the villain. I’ve always found the Riddler to be the goofiest of Batman’s A-list rogues and the idea of reinventing him as a conniving serial killer struck me as a deeply boring choice. Yet the film ultimately makes it work. First off, unlike some in-name-only versions of classic villains we’ve gotten, the film still respects the character’s central gimmick. This Riddler still tells riddles. In fact, patterning his elaborate game after the Zodiac Killer’s ciphers works better in execution than I would’ve thought. This Riddler is also clearly influenced by Jigsaw, with the deadly trap he sticks his victims in, and “Seven’s” John Doe, with his twisted modus operandi and cramped apartment full of notebooks. 

Mostly, what makes this Riddler work for me is Paul Dano. Dano plays the villain as a master manipulator second and a huge fucking nerd first. He laughs awkwardly. His body language is never comfortable. His voice breaks during his villainous monologues. His motivations are ultimately petty and frustrated. And, like all nerds, he looks up to Batman. I was pleased to see the film successfully reinvent the character as a serious threat while keeping his most important qualities intact. 

And if this Riddler is a huge nerd, he’s also extremely online. Another influence on this version of the character is the cult of Q-Anon. He posts his ranting videos online and has a devoted group of followers, who repeat his catchphrases and follow his lead. At about the two hour mark, “The Batman’s” story seems just about resolved… Until it launches into an additional fourth act, that brings this element to the forefront. The Riddler then becomes a symbol of domestic terrorism and mass shootings in the new millennium, invoking a world where angry young men are radicalized into killers by enflamed online rhetoric. Whether or not it’s tasteful for a superhero movie to knowingly draw comparisons to real life acts of violence — or if this movie needed to be three hours long — are debatable. Yet at least “The Batman” wants to actually comment on the world, however vaguely, instead of just being escapist entertainment. 

As much as "The Batman" is focused on the psychological state of its characters and diving deep into its conspiracy, this is still a thrilling action movie. The standout action sequence is a freeway chase between the Penguin's getaway car and the souped-up muscle car Batmobile. The vehicles swerve in and around traffic, flames shooting from the engine as eighteen wheelers crash around them. Another equally tense moment has Pattinson ascending a staircase out of the police building before swooping off the roof in a flight suit, something he's clearly never done before and isn't sure if it'll work. Reeves dots the film with exciting moments like that, such as a hail of gunfire in a darkened hallway or an acrobatic brawl in a staircase. Yet the most exciting scene in the film features relatively fewer pyrotechnics. It instead involves Batman trying to talk a panicked victim of the Riddler through a series of questions before the bomb strapped to his neck goes off.

"The Batman" squeezes in a lot over its three hour runtime. This includes a number of meaty roles for established members of the Batman supporting cast. Jeffrey Wright makes for a memorably pragmatic Jim Gordon. He plays well off of Pattinson's brooding Dark Knight, even get some of the movie's funnier moments. John Turturro appears as Carmine Falcone, the crime boss pulling many of the story's strings. Turturro is certainly capable of hamming it up as an unhinged villain but instead goes in the opposite direction. His Falcone is calm, collected, observant, a slow and careful speaker. This makes it all the more intimidating when he does lash out in violence. I do wish Andy Serkis was given a little more to do as Alfred. Outside the obligatory scene where he establishes himself as Bruce's real father figure and a couple of moments of banter, he's mostly in the background. And I don't know why they cast Colin Feral as the Penguin, only to make him totally unrecognizable with make-up, but his palooka minor mafioso take on the famous bird-themed villain is memorable nevertheless. 

"The Batman" still has its flaws. It's definitely too long, the story feeling more-or-less over before the disaster-filled bonus finale begins. That's kind of an odd structure, even if it mostly works. I'm also not a huge fan of the goofy mask Catwoman wears in a few scenes. Reeves mostly avoids the sequel hooks and Easter eggs you associate with modern superhero movies... Save for the seriously unpromising teasing of Batman's most famous enemy, a character I think I've had my fill of. (Reeves claims this isn't a sequel hook but I don't believe him.) Despite those issues, I still found "The Batman" to be an extremely well made contribution to the character's cinematic legacy. Somehow, it manages to find new things to say about a superhero we're all very familiar, putting a thrilling and insight take on Gotham and the hero who protects it. [8/10]