By Jonathan Bermudez
Director Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” is the best Batman movie to grace the screen for it is dark, serious, intense and is visually stunning.
Reeves creates a version of Batman that has never been portrayed on the big screen before. This Batman, played by Robert Pattinson, is focused on crime-solving instead of crime-fighting as seen in other live-action adaptations of Batman.
This Batman lives up to the title the comic books give him as “the world’s greatest detective.”
Pattinson is a perfect Batman and doesn’t go overboard with his acting. He perfectly portrays the mysterious nature of Batman and looks intimidating in every scene he wears the suit.
He also plays a very cold Bruce Wayne who only cares about being Batman and not wanting to make public appearances. There are only a small number of scenes where Pattinson is not dressed as Batman. Not only does Pattinson do an amazing job, so does the supporting cast, notably, Paul Dano as Riddler, Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle, and Colin Farrell as Penguin.
These are the characters, including Batman, that are portrayed like never before. Kravitz turns Kyle into someone with depth and emotion, and isn’t a kleptomaniac like previous depictions have been portrayed. Farrell’s Penguin is menacing and has a mobster look different from the comical penguin suits and features in earlier depictions.
Dano’s Riddler ditches the comical green suits and goes for a sinister green army jacket and face mask. Dano’s Riddler is not the quirky and enigmatic character seen in other iterations.. This Riddler is brutal and terrifying. There are parts in the movie where viewers will feel on edge because the Riddler is so psychotic.
The movie in general feels like a crime-thriller and not a superhero movie.
There are a lot of twists and turns. Viewers never really know where the movie is going to go next. It’s a beautifully crafted movie that respects the source material. Unlike Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” series, this Batman is more realistic and isn’t heavily militarized.
You can see that a lot of his gear is hand-crafted. Even the batmobile is just a muscle car with a jet engine, which makes sense because Batman hasn’t been fighting crime for long. The sound could have been better. There is a lot of whispering in the movie. There are also parts where people talk in low voices. It sets the mood, but also happens when it’s just two people talking alone. In situations like that there is no real reason for such low audio levels.
Other than that, this movie can not be recommended enough. Fans of superhero movies or those who like true crime, should watch this film.