“Fear is a tool. When that Light hits the sky, it's not just a Call. It’s a Warning.” Robert Pattinson warns the thugs of Gotham as he puts on the iconic cape in the hard-boiled Neo-noir-inspired, The Batman. Directed and co-written by Matt Reeves and with cinematography by Greig Fraser, the film is set in year two, as Batman is hunting down the Riddler, a serial killer who preys on the city's elite and expose the corruption in Gotham. The film is being praised for the performances, cinematography, art direction, action sequences, and story, which are rightly deserved. However, the audience may feel a little underwhelmed with the new caped crusader's film.
The Batman started, as Ben Affleck’s standalone Dark Knight movie with Deathstroke as the main villain. Matt Reeves was brought on board to help Affleck with the film, so he could focus more on the characters. With Zack Snyder stepping down, and the troubled production of the Justice League movie, the actor stepped down as well, giving Reeves the freedom to create his movie. The director enlists the help of screenwriter Peter Craig to fresh out a new Batman story.
Once again, the casting choice of a comic book character proved the naysayers wrong. Robert Pattinson’s Batman is a broken soul, who’s both crippled and compelled by his unresolved pain. Unfortunately, his Bruce Wayne is no were the charismatic playboy we are used to, despite it being Year Two. Paul Dano does very well as the deranged Riddler, there were times I loved his Zodiac inspired Riddler, then there were times, I felt it was too much Jim Carrey’s Riddler. Each actor and actress give top-tier performances, especially Zoe Kravitz and Jeffrey Wright.
Assuming this would be the superhero version of Se7en was perhaps wishful thinking. The villain is steadily making a statement by murdering the elite, and it does appear to rain 99% of the time, but those are the only similarities. One could appreciate the mayhem The Riddler brought to this mystery, but his presence would have had a greater impact on the first viewing if it had been utterly unexpected. His presence, as a mysterious figure of justice in the twenty-first century, provides a terrific backdrop to Batman's ongoing efforts to reduce crime in Gotham, but expecting him to be the major attraction of this psychic city is where the story runs into issues.
The grim, gritty setting that writer/director Matt Reeves has built for his journey into the world of Gotham relies heavily on the atmospheric style of the cinematography, production design, film score created by Greig Fraser, James Chinlund, and Michael Giacchino. Fraser pits light sources against the shadows that imprison the world's edges, where darkness and lighting coexist and one is frequently absorbed by the other. The piercing strings of Giacchino's score provide eeriness to film "scariest" moments. The narrow and claustrophobic bleak design of Gotham could be a callback to the Arkham games, one of the inspirations for Ben Affleck’s Batman film.
Arkham video games are not the only works the director was influenced by. The Batman is inspired by the works of David Fincher and 1970s Neo-noir films, like Dirty Harry and Klute. Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Year One comics are used as a bible reference for the story by the writing team of Matt Reeves and Peter Craig. The story is the product of taking two Batman comics with different plots and themes, then mixing them together to create a so-called original story. The pacing of the story suffers from this, which caused parts of the film to be slow and directionless.
Despite the fact The Batman was based on the comic Batman: Year One, Matt Reeves and Peter Craig choose to set the film in year two of Batman's crime-fighting career. This is an odd choice, seeing how Batman was still making rookie mistakes, though by the end we got the Batman we all know and love. However, it doesn’t fix the Bruce Wayne persona and his relationship with Alfred. Batman should have already started laying out the playboy persona by the beginning of the film and an emotional scene with Alfred toward the end of the film should have already happened before the film timeline. Setting the in year one would fix these problems, however, The Riddler may be too much of a primetime villain for Year One Batman.
The Batman isn't the disappointed it would have been if not for the excellent cinematography, Arkhamverse designs, eerie soundtrack, and an ensemble of the talented cast.
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