The Batman: Film Review
Matt Reeves Sticks to the Comics
Here’s the quick take: Matt Reeves’ The Batman delivers! The movie’s got incredibly shot action sequences, an intriguing web of crooked Gothamites, a plot line and mystery that’s not so convoluted you can’t follow along, and a driven Batman. He’s still got his gadgets, but they’re definitely not spray cans of villain-repellant. The film overall is pretty grim, but there’s a razor thin line of silver among Gotham’s stormy skies, and Batman has to figure how to be a part of it. At the end of the day, I’d definitely see this film again and it easily ranks right up there in the top three best Batman films ever made.
Now to break it down! A quick word, I’m not going to spoil major plot points of the movie, but if you want to see it completely cold, you may want to bail out and come back later and read the rest. Okay. You’ve been warned.
Often movies play fast and loose with the facts. Historical films often change things to fit a particular narrative. Biofilms leave out events to paint a portrait of a person with better lighting. Superhero films, having years and years of both canonical and one-off stories to pull from, often try to serve up a hybrid film of sorts. Piecing a story together from several comics to tell a different narrative, but still let the comics be a source of inspiration. Sometimes that works well, and sometimes it fails spectacularly.
In past Batman films we’ve gotten both. We’ve gotten bat-films that were garish and over-the-top, overflowing with neon lights and sounds. We’ve gotten bat-films that were so grounded in reality that it just felt like…realism-except for one dude in a bat suit. This film fits right inside that little pocket of comic book movies that truly feels like it knows how to stay in its lane.
The movie starts off two years into Bruce’s campaign as Batman. The film that follows feels a lot like Frank Miller’s Year One, the comic that tells the story of Bruce Wayne’s first year being Batman. In that book, he’s learning what works and what doesn’t. He’s still very much a newbie and mistakes are made. He’s learning things about his city he may not have wanted to know. All of these things are going on in this film as well.
For parts of the film, you hear Batman’s voice-over narration. This is very comic-esque because we’re often inside Batman’s head in the comic books to better understand what he’s thinking and working out. In comics this is done with square text that serves as narration. In film-it’s a voice-over. I heard one review say this was helpful to understand what Batman’s thinking because he’s not naturally a very chatty guy. Here it’s sort of a call back to the comics, and I really appreciated it.
We also see a lot more of the detective side of Batman in this film than previous ones, which made this reviewer extremely happy. There’s often talk about him being ‘the world’s greatest detective’ but we never got to spend much time with it. Not anymore! Gone is the playboy Batman who is haunted by the trauma of his childhood yet attends glitzy galas with a new girl on his arm every week. There’s no double life, he’s Batman by night and he’s Batman by day, just without the cape, at his desk obsessing over the state of Gotham City.
I feel like the city itself is rooted in the look and feel of the comics. Gotham isn’t some stylized art piece that fits the aesthetic of its directior-as it was in both the Tim Burton’s version of Gotham and Joel Schumacher’s. It’s just a gritty, dirty city. No overstatement needed.
I should also say this film is heightened by its supporting cast. Plenty of other reviews will tell you how great Zoë Kravitz is here as Catwoman. And I would agree. I was also very impressed with Jeffery Wright’s Jim Gordon. He’s posited as the last good cop left in Gotham City and I truly believe it.
Because of the sheer number of comic book films released these days, I like to put them in a category of their own. You can’t compare apples and oranges, right? In the same way I can’t put the film Spider Man No Way Home next to a film like Saving Private Ryan and stand back and legit say, Spiderman comes out on top. Disagree with me if you want. But as superhero films, or comic book movies go, I give this a solid 4.5/5 stars. And as far as Batman films go, it may be my personal favorite. Though I do have a soft spot in my heart for Batman Forever. Two words: bat-nipples.
Joking aside, what Matt Reeves has done with The Batman is given us a Gotham City and a Batman that’s not grounded in reality, nor played up for camp or theatrics. Instead, he gives us Batman comics, without resorting to a shot for shot retelling (I’m looking at you Watchmen). It’s detective Batman and a gritty Gotham City and a serial killer is on the loose. One bat vigilante with the help of a good cop and a cat accomplice will try to inject some hope into Gotham. The jury is still out whether or not Batman will succeed, but as far as this movie goes I’d say Reeves had better get to work on the sequel, because even at a 3 hour run time, he still leaves us wanting more.