Movie Review: The Batman (2022)

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I don’t like writing about performances of actors. So many times it seems like the performance depends more on the director/-s than actors themselves, thus if a director fails to connect with their actors and actresses on a profound enough level, the director's vision would likely fail to channel through those performers. Besides, if the creative idea is not that interesting, no amount of actor talent would make up for the idea's lack of spark. Therefore one has to always be extra careful when having opinions about the work of people who bring characters to life – there should, I think, always be an understanding about where the difference between writer’s vision and that of director may have played its role, and where the actor or actress has had a rather limited artistic freedom. Not to mention the possibility of an unintended dig to take place, especially where some issues of high maintenance could be the case, which altogether is not that difficult to achieve...

When I look at all that I just wrote, I’m asking myself “why the hell am I even writing this?” Because it would be simple to just not write anything; one wouldn’t have to worry about any of the aforementioned things. The truth is, there isn’t a single answer to the question about “why?”. The truth would be that I look at all this as a writing exercise. The writing being about something I love (i.e. cinema) would also be a truthful statement. So these alone are already, in my opinion, enough reasons to write.

And let’s just hope this doesn’t get read by anyone who’s looking for something to be upset about.

Let’s get to the point.

So why am I concerned about the people in lead roles in the first place, when writing a review of the new Batman movie? Well, because I think any new rendition or a story related to Gotham-verse that’s intended for the cinema screen always depends on actors and actresses; the subject regarding the performances of actors is unavoidable. “Who is going to be the new Batman?” Always the first question that gets asked on these occasions, right? (No? What? Director? Uhmm, you might be right about that one... or you might be not.) Think about it. No one asks if Gotham is going to be 500 years in the future as the center of a post-apocalyptic Cyberpunk state. No one thinks about what romantic dramas are taking place in Gotham. Because it’s always clear that it is going to be about the current state of social and political affairs in a great city which happens to suffer from corruption and criminality. Or some other things that hadn’t been paid enough attention to up until now, when it all blows up in the face of city’s public. That’s all a given regarding the scene.

Then the next important question about any new Batman movie: who’s the adversary this time? Joker? Penguin? Scarecrow? And the next question: who’s playing that role? Because it’s always important to know who is going to represent that what is just and right, and who is going to be representing that what the civilized society fears and had failed, for one or another reason, to include, allowing it to become antagonistic. Actors, actresses and the roles they are most famous for are always a big deal in all this.

_{Robert Pattinson in The Batman movie.}

Robert Pattinson. The first time I read about him being the new Batman, I thought it’s going to be an entirely new take on the concept of superhero. Unlike the case of Christian Bale, one thing I couldn’t imagine was the vampire star of Twilight franchise being a lone wolf eating little yes-men of big time criminals of Gotham for breakfast, meaning, kicking the s*it out of them. Besides, the guy wasn’t even supposed to be in the new Batman movie. Back in 2013 the project was all about Ben Affleck’s vision and rendition. Alas it ended up with Robert Pattinson becoming the Batman in 2019.

I’m happy to report that all is not bad. What we have as the new social justice warrior of Gotham is a guy of emo generation who looks as if he’s taken some good lessons from Steven Seagal before putting on the Batman costume. (Steven Seagal because his characters usually don’t get any considerable beating in movies, which is also true regarding Pattinson’s Batman.) His nighttime business is being conducted without the sounds of broken bones or dislocated joints though. But with scrunching of leather, sometimes produced by the costume. I was listening to it thinking “where art thou, Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman, when you’re most needed?” It could have possibly made an awesome leatherfest, where a Mr. Grey type of character wouldn’t have to spend time introducing some newbie girl to the art of pleasure and pain, rather have an appropriately experienced partner to spend the rest of his life with, continuing that and other kinds of adventures together. Considering the fact that this new Batman movie is going to be getting sequels and tv series, the idea of a couple like that might have been an interesting one indeed.

So what about the Catwoman who’s already there – Zoë Kravitz? Wouldn’t she qualify for a scenario like one just mentioned? I guess anything could happen, and one doesn’t necessarily has to be all that much into leather that's suited for other purposes than riding the bike with more comfort, but the fact is a fact – the Catwoman’s outfit in the new Batman movie is different from that of Batman Returns. Besides, domination and submission doesn’t seem like a very familiar game to the new Catwoman. What is obvious though is Zoë’s moves – there is a lot of cat in them (when not sorting out the bad guys). And by that I don’t just mean the experience walking the catwalk, but the supple moves that look so natural on screen, they may have a mesmerizing effect on spectator. All in all a spectacular performance.

_{Robert Pattinson as Batman and Zoë Kravitz as the Catwoman in The Batman movie.}

Catwoman is quite a 2020 Catwoman in this movie – I think she’s the only one who is mentioning a problem no one else notices – the power of rich white males. Her whole mission, which is related to a missing friend, inevitably leads to confrontation with that power. This is a very interesting aspect in this film because, for one, and along The Riddler (Paul Dano), it works as another of the film’s antagonists. To the point where, contrary to what we might expect, it overshadows one of the notorious bad guys in Gotham-verse – the Penguin (played by Colin Farrell). In fact, the only scene that puts Penguin in a real spotlight in this film is one of car chase. I’ve not seen such a good chase ever since watching Christopher Nolan's Tenet – another movie featuring Pattinson in one of the roles. Director Matt Reeves has done a top notch job here, particularly with trucks - it is what the big screen is for, and all that highway bit is just amazeballs from A to Z.

Secondly, as we all know, Bruce Wayne is a rich white male, which then shouldn’t make him friends with Catwoman. Well, Bruce Wayne might not be a friend, but Batman is. This is where, in my opinion, Pattinson as the lead character makes more sense – Bruce Wayne in this movie does not just wear a mask and fight criminals at night; he has some personal struggles to deal with – understanding his position in society Vs morals Vs sense of duty Vs Wayne legacy. Those become all the more difficult because of what Riddler is doing. This is where you want that Pattinson, who’s practiced while starring in both, The Lighthouse and Cosmopolis – a character who hardly ever smiles, with either sad or dark, at times even grim visage. Darkness gets a lot of focus in this Batman movie. Pattinson’s Batman also gets a fitting associate when working on investigations – Lt. James Gordon, played by Westworld series’ star Jeffrey Wright, whom the movie going audience may remember from the latest James Bond films as Felix Leiter. There was hardly anything jolly about Wright’s character Bernard in Westworld, and that same non jolly vibe we get in The Batman. This ever so serious and focused duo of Pattinson and Wright marks one major difference from the previous Batman movies – Batman now is like a freelance detective rather than just a vigilante character with connections in law enforcement. I don’t know how you feel about this new status quo, but I can tell you that the investigations, crime scenes and the work of law enforcement at those is rather realistically depicted, all of which we probably wouldn’t get if Batman wasn’t working with Police closely. The idea that a vigilante and someone from the law enforcement could work together isn’t new, but The Batman does make one think about how that could be a real possibility, that cops wouldn’t necessarily regard you as a problem rather than help and, most of all, if it comes to choosing between tackling domestic terrorists (even if some of them seem like the most righteous and patriotic citizens who listen to Ave Maria four times a day) separately, on your own, or working with law enforcement, the latter should always be the preferred choice.

_{Robert Pattinson as the Batman and Jeffrey Wright as Lt. James Gordon in The Batman movie.}

Wrapping this review up, I want to mention the scene, where Riddler finally sees Batman eye to eye and gets to state his case. There were, in my opinion, some profound truths about wearing masks in that scene. There is a certain kind of freedom to be found in masks. It’s not about good or evil, but about truth, the true you. I don’t think this topic about masks and their power gets covered often in movies.

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