March 3, 2022
It has only been two years since millionaire Bruce Wayne began his vigilante mission against crime in Gotham City, . Beginning that Halloween, a mystery man calling himself the Riddler began a series of murders of Gotham's Mayor, police commissioner and district attorney, all with a video sent to the news and with a card with a riddle addressed to Batman. His next target was to be Bruce Wayne himself.
The Batman is the DC superhero with the most number of theatrical releases made about him. The character was also played by Lewis Wilson (1943), Robert Lowery (1949), Adam West (1966), Michael Keaton (1998, 1992), Val Kilmer (1995), George Clooney (1997), Christian Bale (2005, 2008, 2012) and Ben Affleck (2016, 2017/2021), and in animated films by Kevin Conroy (1993) and Will Arnett (2017). Now comes a new incarnation.
Robert Pattinson is not really an actor one would associate with the Batman character. He was launched to superstardom in the maligned "Twilight Saga" films as the sparkly vampire Edward Cullen. Since then, he had been slowly building his credibility as an actor steadily in various indie films, latest of which was "The Lighthouse" (Robert Eggers, 2019). He made a return to commercial films with "Tenet" (Christopher Nolan, 2020) and now this.
Pattinson's face and hairstyle does not exactly match how we would picture Bruce Wayne as a millionaire playboy and business magnate. This film did not actually go much into that aspect of Bruce's life, as he was more concerned about his crime fighting than Wayne Enterprises. However, Pattinson looked very good behind the iconic Batman mask, with his eyelids all smeared with eye shadow to add to the mystique.
This younger Batman preferred going around using his motorcycle. The "Batmobile" only made an appearance after the one hour mark in an exhilarating and explosive car chase between Batman and the Penguin, maneuvering against an oncoming rush of traffic on a busy expressway filled with 18-wheeler trailer trucks. The editing of William Hoy and Tyler Nelson deserve awards for that breathtaking sequence alone.
Paul Dano's Riddler is nothing like the comical ones we knew before, Frank Gorshin's in the Adam West series and Jim Carrey in the Val Kilmer's edition. The riddles of this chilling Riddler were deadly and macabre, written on creepy-looking greeting cards, with sinister answers that refer to something worse. In one particular clue written in Spanish, the Riddler wanted "a rat with wings," actually puzzled Batman with its varied interpretations.
Zoe Kravitz was gorgeous as Selina Kyle and an elegant fighter as Catwoman. Her presence was a welcome breath of fresh air amidst all the grit and grime of this Gotham. Her intimate scenes with the Batman sizzled with kinetic romantic chemistry. Her involvement in the story about her friend who had been abducted by mobsters, appeared shallow at first, but later revealed to be critical in unmasking the main villain.
The Penguin does not look like the Burgess Meredith nor the Danny de Vito versions, as Colin Farrell is unrecognizable under layers of facial prosthetics and a fat suit. Wayne's loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth is played by Andy Serkis (sans any CGI). Lt. (pre-Commissioner) James Gordon is played by Jeffrey Wright. The wimpy District Attorney Gil Colson is played by Peter Sarsgaard. Ruthless mobster Carmine Falcone is played by John Turturro.
After 5 years, Matt Reeves is back as director and writer after his two "Planet of the Apes" films in 2014 and 2017. He was able to tell this complex story with multiple characters with engaging skill using cinematically-creative shots with excellent cinematography by Greig Fraser, production design by James Chinlund, and musical score by Michael Giacchino. The 3-hour running time may sound formidable, but this was worth every minute. 10/10.
I agree....10/10 it is!
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