One of the biggest films of the year is here already, but does it live up to the hype?
There have been many iterations of Batman through the recent decades ranging from bad to okay
to great (The Dark Knight trilogy). Now, the Caped Crusader comes back to the big screen
in the form of Vengeance.
A Reboot
The Batman is neither a sequel nor a spin-off from any other previous iterations of the hero.
Nowadays almost every superhero movie is tied up to some big cinematic universe that requires
previous knowledge of many other films for you to be able to keep up with the story. This movie
serves as a welcomed breath of fresh air with it being a stand-alone. Clocking in at 176 minutes
total, watching this movie is not a light commitment. One of the first things to notice about The
Batman is that unlike most popcorn movies now, it requires your focus. You can’t really just get
up and leave for five minutes to the bathroom without possibly missing some key plot points.
Nevertheless, despite this being a stand-alone superhero movie, it is intended as merely
the first part in an upcoming shared universe of a couple of sequels and TV show spin-offs. That
could be great news to the fans who loved the movie.
The Story
This superhero movie is primarily a detective story. Batman has always been regarded as “the
world’s greatest detective” but rarely has that been shown on screen before. Now though,
director and writer Matt Reeves has put Batman’s skills as a detective, trying to solve these
brutal murders, very much on focus. That element of the story is present until the very end too.
Batman, now two years in as a vigilante, is trying to fight off corruption with his own hands,
literally. In the opening scene of the film, there’s an unsettling murder by someone in a mask.
Later we come to learn that this person loves to leave clues as riddles for the Batman to solve. In
fact, his villain name is Riddler. There is a reason behind his madness as his targets as
some of the richest and most corrupt men in Gotham. Paul Dano delivers a fantastic performance
as the Riddler. His heavy breathing at first and his slightly maniacal laugh by the end are truly
disturbing.
With that being said, it’s Robert Pattinson as Batman that proves once again just how
good of an actor he is. After Twilight, it seemed like most people would not give another chance
to most of those actors involved but Pattinson is absolutely a terrific Batman and has proven over
and over that he’s just a true professional.
Strangely enough, the city of Gotham feels like a character itself too. The deep-rooted corruption, the criminals running around everywhere, it all feels like a city torn down by the lowest of the low. Even Batman himself isn’t sure that the city can be saved at some point.
The story teaches that as much as things change, they still stay the same at the end. No matter
the efforts to get rid of the corrupt and the liars, almost nothing gets better. The city ends up underwater and somehow in a worse state than before. Despite that, Batman stays and
says he’s willing to keep fighting for the greater good. He is there to help the citizens of Gotham
and inspire hope in the darkest of times.
How It’s Being Received
The overall reception for The Batman has been really good. Robert Pattinson has been highly
praised as Batman, although some criticism towards his portrayal of Bruce Wayne has been
heard. The idea that he barely differs when switching from Batman to Bruce is something that
the critics have pointed out as a negative. Rotten Tomatoes so far has accumulated an 85%
approval rating and Metacritic a 73/100. The audience scores are even higher.
On IMDb from 51k voters so far, it has an impressive 8.8/10 rating. Fans have been excited to experience this movie ever since they got to witness some of the amazing trailers that were published online months prior to the release date. And so far, it seems like it has certainly lived up to the hype.
It’s rare that such a huge movie gets this kind of reception upon its release, but The Batman has
done it. And it’s done so by using darkness as a tool to showcase the best strengths of Batman,
having a cool but scary villain, having great acting all throughout the cast, and most noteworthy,
absolute mastery behind the screen. The cinematography is breathtaking. Another essential thing
that most superhero films tend to forget about is the score. The Batman has had the luck to be
scored by the already-proven Michael Giacchino and his work has been mentioned pretty much
in every review of the film for good reason.
Hopefully, people won’t forget how great of a movie this is by the end of the year. This deserves
much acclaim from many different award ceremonies. Be that as it may, the fans generally seem
to be enjoying it and ultimately that may be all that matters.
Photo: DANIEL CONSTANTE/shutterstock.com
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