The Knight is back
Early reviews for Matt Reeves’ The Batman is out, and it is every bit as fantastic as you hoped for. The movie is being compared to 2008’s The Dark Knight, a movie that still stands unbeatable. Whether The Batman beats it truly depends on the viewer. But Reeves has delivered a grounded, darker, and noir film. He makes us question the concept of heroes.
What makes it different?
Batman movies usually rely a lot on their villains. But with this, Reeves presents a hero who is walking a fine line between hero and villain. We are constantly posed the question: What if good guys aren’t really the good guys? What if the person who wants to do good ends up making things worse?
The Batman takes a page of our present political situation and shows a proper crime story. We see gangsters secretly controlling Gotham City, with commentary on challenges faced by the modern world. We see themes from Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s The Long Halloween at times. But overall, Reeves brought a very new tone to this movie. Our titular hero is in his second year, but still has not decided on a name. Yes, that is why the “I’m vengeance” line we saw at the very beginning comes from.
The performances
Zoe Kravitz truly shines as vigilante/cocktail waitress Selina Kyle, with a sense of justice rivalling that of Batman. Colin Farrel steals every scene he is in as Penguin. Jeffrey Wright is a fantastic Gordon, but we already knew he would be. Andy Serkis is the loyal and supportive Alfred, who never shies away from telling Bruce what he should hear. Paul Dano is a terrifying villain, and his best parts will be withheld from this review.
And finally, Robert Pattinson portrays the most damaged Bruce Wayne yet. The nihilism and rage and sorrow is represented in his actions throughout. The movie will forever be remembered as one of the greatest Batman films.
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