Film: The Batman

 

GENRE: Action, Mystery
RATING: PG-13 for violent and disturbing content and strong language RUNTIME: 2 hours and 55 minutes
PLATFORM: Movie Theatre
STARRING: Robert Pattinson (Twilight, Tenet, The Lighthouse)
Zoe Kravitz (Divergent); Jeffrey Wright (Hunger Games; Shaft)
DIRECTOR: Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes)
WRITERS: Reeves (Let Me In, War for the Planet of the Apes)
Peter Craig (Hunger Games Mockingjay, The Town, Bad Boys for Life)
PLOT: Batman and Jim Gordon investigate a series of political murders orchestrated by the sadistic Riddler.    

FULL DISCLOSURE: I do not like Robert Pattinson.

STORY STUFF: Okay, that was a lot better than I thought it would be, but it wasn’t amazing like the critics said. I’m a big fan of the film noir mysteriousness of the movie. The problem is that it goes on way too long. Batman solves a few riddles quickly then takes about an hour to solve another one. This movie is just way too long. They even take the James Bond route of adding another action set piece at the end of the film just because they can. Cut down the riddles a bit and remove the disaster to get to the two-hour mark and you would have an amazing film. It also doesn’t help that everyone walks really slowly through rooms. I also found it odd that people rarely call him Batman. Also, Gotham News doesn’t seem to have any problem showing highly disturbing and inappropriate content as long as they provide a warning first.

ACTING STUFF: I begrudging admit that Pattinson is really good as Batman. His demeanor and vocal tone works well; he may be the best one. I hated his Bruce Wayne though. That was terrible with his stupid hair in his face. I liked Bale’s Bruce better, then Keaton. I loved Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine) as The Riddler; he’s creepy then completely insane. Colin Farrell gets some fun lines as Penguin and even sounds like Danny DeVito at times.  I like Wright as Gordon but felt Oldman did it better. Kravitz is compelling as Catwoman. I was not a fan of Andy Serkis (LOTR) as Alfred. I think I dozed off during his heart to heart with Bruce.

ARTISTIC STUFF: The cinematography is top notch. There are some fantastic camera moves that looked really cool. The lighting is a bit too dark but is used effectively. The production design works well but a little too rainy for my liking. Batman’s costume is sleek and I kind of like the darkened eyes so Bruce can see easily through the cowl. Riddler’s Saw-style serial killer was a little too covered up for my liking. Also, I was not a fan of Farrell’s make-up as Penguin. He just looks scarred and bloated – a missed opportunity. I did not like the music in the film. Too much use of “Ava Maria” and some of Batman’s approach music sounded too much like Darth Vader’s Imperial March. Michael Giacchino has done far better work in the past (look at his imdb credits).     

VERDICT: Four stars out of five
SEE IT IF: You like Batman and have three hours to kill.
UPCOMING REVIEW:  Remaining Oscar contenders