It’s not just a call… it’s a warning.
Today, it seems that superhero content is mass-produced, rushed, and churned out for maximum profits. Yet, it seems audiences always turn to a few core heroes, beloved characters we’ve seen countless times, like Superman, Iron Man, Spider-Man, and finally Batman. At this point, we’ve seen 8 different actors put on the infamous cape and cowl in a full cinematic release, and for a good reason. Many die-hard fans may feel that the 60s and 90s iterations of Batman were the best portrayals of the comic book character, but they can agree their films are half-baked and often dry beside scenes with The Caped Crusader in combat.
Then, The Dark Knight was released. Regarded as one of the best comic book movies of all time, The Dark Knight reformed the way comic book movies were made. Not only does it come in as #3 on the IMDb Top 100 Movies of All Time, but it is also in the top 50 highest-grossing movies of all time. Full of phenomenal acting— and arguably one of the greatest single performances ever from Heath Ledger (shown as the Joker above)— comic book movies began focusing not just on the comic book part, but the movie part. Music, composition, cinematography, storytelling, and acting became a greater focus, and thankfully led us to The Batman.
Director Matt Reeves was incessant in telling the beginning of Batman’s story, one where he’s still learning, making mistakes, and attempting to balance Bruce Wayne and his alter ego, in a noir-detective style film. Here, Bruce is still grasping the detective part of his vigilante job, a difficult ask when faced by The Riddler (above), a mentally ill villain focused on psychological torture and manipulation. This noir style is vastly different from a regular superhero movie, but it births a beautiful cinematography that rivals any film, not just a comic book film. Correspondingly, every scene feels stripped straight out of a comic book, with dramatic, flashy shots (like the one below) creating as much emotion as possible.
This comic-book feel is exactly why I love this film. Reeves manages to exceed at both the comic book and movie parts in The Batman, a refreshing sight for the superhero realm. Gotham City feels like a character, impacting every scene with its gloomy, rainy, and desolate cityscape. Robert Pattinson’s Batman feels naive, inexperienced, and unproven, and we get to see his character progress naturally through his second year of crime-fighting, making mistakes, and inevitably losing his fights with The Riddler. Batman is never meant to be a “perfect” hero, and the audience gets to view his progression as a symbol for Gotham City, rather than a vigilante many citizens want off the streets.
Even if you’re not a superhero movie fan, I still recommend The Batman. Its opening 10 minutes is one of the greatest openings I’ve seen period, and it sets the tone for the kind of story you will be witnessing, a dark, moody, detective film that just happens to include Batman.
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I have to say, I’m glad to see someone else articulating the exact way I feel about this movie! Growing up, I always gravitated towards Marvel movies rather than DC (which is still the case), but I went to see The Batman with my friend last year and I was completely floored with the cohesive vision it had for creating a moody and grounded superhero film. After reading this post, I just may have to watch it again!
I absolutely loved The Batman, I’m so glad I saw it in the movie theater when it first came out! I’m a big superhero movie fan, so seeing the scene with the car chase was so exciting. However, I also really enjoyed the slower, less action-oriented scenes where Batman was focusing on detective work rather than fighting. I am so so excited for this movie’s sequel.
For as long as I can remember, Batman has been my favorite superhero. To this day, the Dark Knight is still one of (if not) my favorite movies and I could quite honestly talk about it for hours. I saw The Batman 2022 in theatres on its opening night and absolutely loved it. I even wrote a review about it for my high school’s newspaper. I was rather weary about Pattinson wearing the cowl, but he exceeded expectations. I also loved Dano’s interpretation of the Riddler! He really combined the great elements of Ledger’s psychotic joker while giving the normally eccentric character a much-needed makeover. I also loved how this movie put the detective back into detective comics. While I do not believe this Batman movie was as good as the Dark Knight, I still think it was absolutely incredible. Great post!