Written by Elliot Lines
At this point there have been many iterations of the caped crusader. It feels like there couldn't be much more that could be done with this character, i'll hold you right there. What Matt Reeves has done with The Batman is truly remarkable, providing us with darker and grittier versions of these characters than we've ever seen on screen before, in amongst an almost realistic world.
The Batman follows the early parts of Bruce Wayne's transformation into the asked vigilante. He is known and feared, but not welcome on all fronts by everyone. When a new threat arises, Batman (Robert Pattinson) seems as though he is the target from a man who speaks in riddles. This sparks a detective journey for him as he comes across plenty of recognisable characters from all across the comics.
We are more than used to the cityscape of Gotham being a dark place, and there is no difference here. The whole landscape during night and day is a dark place, corrupt and run by bad people. Throughout the story a web of discoveries uncover who these people are, where they are hiding, with the Riddler (Paul Dano) ousting them for who they really are. The Batman takes an almost detective role, working with the likes of Jim Gordon (Jeffery Wright), who may be the only police officer to trust him. This mystery direction takes the Batman character in a new direction, and focus' on him rather than Bruce Wayne and his history.
Matt Reeves has given these characters a totally new feel, almost towards the "real world" feel of what these characters would be like. Gone are the eccentric comic versions and in come the dark almost horror like interpretations. The Riddler here is using Saw like traps to seal his victims fates, while giving us the medling riddles that we are used to. The Penguin (Colin Farrell) is far from the Batman Returns version, being a gritty character that is deeply involved with underworld of Gotham City. Even the likes of Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz) have a more down to earth look, with just a balaclava to hide her identity.
There is no escaping the gritty nature of The Batman, there is an air of horror about this world, and all the people within it. You can feel the fear that resonates across the city, from its police force to its citizens. Even the performance from Pattinson shows the anguish and horror nature, the need to change the city, and the belief that it can be changed. This is a universe that needs to be explored further, and it feels as though it certainly will be.
At this point it is easy to compare this to all other iterations of the character, we have plenty by now. But forget Batman (1989), The Dark Knight and the DCEU version, what Matt Reeves has brought in The Batman is a "horror" like version of this world, showcasing his own spin on these characters who make the films 3 hour run time fly by in an instant.
STAR RATING
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