‘The Batman’ Review

Stars: Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell, Jayme Lawson, Max Carver, Charlie Carver, Rupert Penry-Jones | Written by Matt Reeves, Peter Craig | Directed by Matt Reeves

Director Matt Reeves reboots DC’s signature superhero franchise with this new start-from-scratch Batman adventure, starring Robert Pattinson as the Caped Crusader. Conceived as the first instalment of a new trilogy, it’s a comics-savvy Bat-thriller that gets almost everything right.

Taking inspiration from classic Batman story The Long Halloween, The Batman begins two years into billionaire Bruce Wayne’s (Pattinson) “Gotham Project”, whereby he patrols the streets of Gotham City at night, dishing out vigilante justice while dressed as a bat. In doing so, he’s earned the trust of Police Lieutenant James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright), who fires up the Bat-signal whenever there’s a crime requiring The Batman’s attention.

One such case occurs when a twisted serial killer calling himself The Riddler (Paul Dano) targets key political figures in Gotham City, leaving cryptic notes addressed “To The Batman” next to his victims. Pursuing the clues, Batman and Gordon uncover a web of city-wide corruption centred around mob boss Carmine Falcone (John Turturro). Meanwhile, Batman gets some unexpected help from hostess-slash-cat burglar Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz), who believes Falcone is responsible for the disappearance of her friend.

You’d have thought Robert Pattinson would have had enough of franchises after his Twilight years, but apparently not, as he’s signed on to play the costumed crimefighter for at least another two films. Happily, he turns out to be an inspired choice, combining the perfect Bat-jawline with an unexpectedly touching soulful quality that feels original to the live-action Batman movies. This is heightened by the fact that the film allows him to spend so much time in the mask, allowing him to fully inhabit the Batman side of the character. (By contrast, unlike previous screen Batmen, he has surprisingly little dialogue as a rather floppy-haired Bruce Wayne).

The supporting cast are equally good. Kravitz is terrific as Selina, generating off-the-scale chemistry with Pattinson, to the point where their every scene together is a joy to watch. Similarly, Wright is perfectly cast as Gordon and the film’s comics-accurate depiction of their relationship is one of several highlights. On top of that, Dano is properly terrifying as The Riddler, on a number of different levels, while Colin Farrell – unrecogniseable in an astonishing make-up job that makes him look a bit like De Niro – is a lot of fun as shady nightclub-owner The Penguin.

The script, co-written by Reeves and Peter Craig, is likely to delight long-time Batman fans, because it chooses to focus on actual detective work, an aspect of the comics (he is “The World’s Greatest Detective”, after all) that’s long been ignored by the live-action movies. That’s facilitated by the nature of the Riddler’s clues, but either way, it leads to several enjoyable sequences involving The Batman wandering around crime scenes and employing some deductive Bat-reasoning.

Reeves and Craig have also made some other interesting changes to previous Bat-movies. For one thing, Wayne Manor has been transformed into Wayne Tower, in the centre of Gotham, while the Bat-cave is now housed in what looks like a disused underground railway station, the words “Wayne Terminus” dimly visible on the walls. It’s also refreshing to finally have a Batman movie that doesn’t feel the need to trot out a flashback involving Batman’s parents getting murdered and his subsequent origin story.

Reeves’ direction is impressive throughout, particularly in the fight sequences, which are a vast improvement over the previous movies, in that they’re cleanly choreographed, rather than relying on choppy editing and dark shadows. There’s also an enjoyable note of realism, especially when it comes to the array of Bat-gadgets – one highlight involves Batman’s visible panic when he realises he’ll have to rely on one that he probably hasn’t road-tested all that much.

On top of everything else, there’s a note of topicality in the script that’s thrillingly resonant, not least in the way The Riddler has a coterie of devotees that he orchestrates via social media – it’s simultaneously weird, funny and creepy to see him thanking them for the comments in his video messages.

The Batman is further heightened by some stunning production design work (giving Gotham a suitably gloomy, rain-drenched atmosphere) and a fabulous soundtrack from Michael Giacchino that’s easily the best Bat-score since Danny Elfman’s work on Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989. It also gains points for including a Nirvana track (Something in the Way), but loses them again for playing it twice.

**** 4/5

The Batman is in cinemas from Friday, 4 March 2022.