Review of 'The Batman'

 Matt Reeves' Batman will be released in March 2. The director has promised a new version of Bruce Wayne and "the darkest movie" in Gotham. Canobu contributor Mari Grigoryan explains why Batman is generating very moderate enthusiasm, but still stands out from Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher's eccentric films, Christopher Nolan's dystopian trilogy and Zack Snyder's pompous crossovers.

Archive documents

Billionaire Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) is nicknamed the "Prince of Gotham". After the murder of his parents, he became the sole owner of the Wayne Enterprises Corporation. Bruce has little interest in business: for the past two years, he has devoted himself to catching Gotham's criminals in the form of his alter ego Batman. Wayne Enterprises is run by butler and old Wayne family friend Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis).

Batman helps the Gotham Police Department maintain order, but only the department's lieutenant, James Gordon (Geoffrey Wright), trusts him. It is Gordon who summons Batman to the case of the Enigma, an assassin who destroys the city's political elite. He leaves unusual clues at the crime scene. And to solve the case, Bruce will not only have to find the killer, but also delve into his past, because all of Enigma's messages, in one way or another, come back to him.

How successful was it?
A really good concept and an interesting plot.

In the 2010s, Batman movies are not without a major villain, or even a planetary threat. Christopher Nolan has built an entire trilogy around the rise of the Dark Knight, from his training and costume creation to his final confrontation with his ultimate enemy. And each time, he's taken on the most famous antagonists who dream of remaking Gotham: Joker, Bane, Scarecrow and others. In Zack Snyder's DCEU movies, Batman was part of the team. His personal motivations are explained in broad strokes or omitted altogether.

Matt Reeves' Batman is primarily a detective story, and that's not a bad story. It's unlikely that the film will make the list of best detectives, but the maniac hunt proved to be a rather curious angle to examine Bruce Wayne's development. The film seems to be limited to a single criminal case, but it actually reveals Bruce's character, the problems of the police force, and several important social issues such as poverty, corruption, and impunity of the authorities.

A worthy Batman played by Robert Pattinson

Since the casting of Robert Pattinson as Wayne, social media has been filled with jokes about the "emo Batman," due to the long bangs chosen for the character, his dark facial expression and various emotional scenes from Warner Bros. videos. And this meme is quite applicable: Wayne interacts with the audience in a "dear diary, today I..." way, reflects a lot on the brutality of this world and often doubts himself.

But Batman is only in his second year in the business, and this behavior is understandable for him. Also, at times, Pattinson seems much funnier, animated and more human than his predecessors, Christian Bale (from the Nolan trilogy) and Ben Affleck (from the DCEU). He'd like to be called the best Batman for jaded millennials: he's thin, pale, burned out at work, unwilling to socialize, and spends his days and nights in his lair.

More importantly, such a young, green, insecure Bruce is a great seed for later films. If Pattinson's version pleases audiences and grosses good box office, it will be interesting to see how the character evolves. And even in the crappy-pathetic lines, Batman introduces himself to people with a very unconvincing "I am vengeance!" growl. - you can tell Bruce still hasn't found his superhero voice.

Beautiful images, a dark atmosphere and a Nirvana ambiance.

Aesthetically, Batman is filmed in a way that makes him truly worthy of being seen on the big screen. The costume design, especially the first version of the Batsuit, is done in a hyper-realistic style (Nolan), so that even among the usual uniformed cops, Batman doesn't look so crazy in a full suit. Eccentric, but somehow also elegant: the costume is very simple, but incredibly beautiful. The same goes for Catwoman, who is dressed not only in classic latex, but also in a funny hood with cat ears.

The trailers and promos don't show every spectacular scene in the film, as is often the case with blockbusters. The strength of "Batman" lies not in the scale, but in Reeves' efforts to make each scene special.

 

The first victim of the riddle is not seen directly, but through the binoculars of an unknown character (probably the riddler himself). And there are many moments of outside observation in the film, which is ideal for a detective; the audience is involved and investigates along with Bruce.

The same goes for the explosion scene included in the first full Batman trailer. Characters are often shown sneaking around a street corner, through the windows of a nearby house, through the rearview mirror of a car, etc. And all of Gotham, despite its size, seems to be the same cramped, closed space where no one can be safe, even alone with themselves. The only space of freedom for people is the Internet, and this is well exploited by Enigma, which periodically broadcasts its crimes.

On the other hand, Reeves' use of visual language, which is more thoughtful than in other comic book films, is to be commended. In some cases, it's too obvious: throughout the film, Bruce comes across an orphan in whom he sees a reflection of himself as a child. But the conception of the mysteries, the investigative process itself, and the overall progression of the plot are always inextricably linked to the elaborate visual effects. The characters do more than just talk, something that is missing from the scripts and production of so many DC films. 

What went wrong?
"Batman is weak as a film black

Batman has many elements of the neo-noir genre: incredibly measured developments, the aforementioned long silent scenes filmed as furtive glances. Even Bruce's internal monologues are presented as diaries, an obvious borrowing from Taxi Driver. And when Batman rides his motorcycle through the dark, numb streets of Gotham, reflecting on the villainy of criminals and a rotten system, the film seems worthy of its film noir title.

But in the end, Reeves' creation doesn't live up to what inspired it. "Batman" lacks the satirical undertones of "Chinatown," for example. You don't hear strong, dominant thinking like in "Taxi Driver." The writers are not even interested in the criminal life of Gotham: viewers will only see upper-class people, and the main location is just a club, the Iceberg Lounge.

There's not much detail to hang on to in Reeves' creation of Gotham, aside from the cartoonish Penguin, the abstract "corrupt politicians" and the psychopathic Enigma. Both Nolan's trilogy and Todd Phillips' Joker did a better job of creating an atmosphere of disarray, helplessness for ordinary people and panic over high crime rates. And this is what distinguishes neo-noir: the filmmakers and screenwriters of the 1970s explored not only the psychology of the protagonists, but also the general pessimism, cruelty and distrust of people towards power and others.

The desire to please all categories of viewers at the same time.

The story of the Enigma and Batman's investigation is similar to David Fincher's work with films such as Seven, Zodiac and The Game. "Batman" could be described as a crime drama, thriller or detective story, as it is very uneven in genre, combining Batman's personal tragedy, the ins and outs of the Gotham underworld and the hunt for a serial killer.

In none of these stories does breathtaking action seem important. For example, one of the film's most memorable scenes - the Penguin car chase, which already appeared in the trailer - is a complete departure from the superhero movies of the past decade. The camera shakes a lot and does close-ups, which confuses the viewer: we don't know what's going to happen to the Penguin's car and the Batmobile in the next second.

The rest of the action scenes are forgotten as soon as you leave the theater. This is also true for the final battle, with some good fighting and impressive destruction. Visually, it looks like it was cut from a Marvel movie only - and the overall atmosphere of the movie, which is maintained in some scenes, absolutely falls apart in the action sequences.

Weak Penguin and melodramatic Selina Kyle

Batman's cast is great, and the secondary characters shine because of it. For example, Alfred, played by Andy Serkis, is the voice of reason, the only character with an ounce of self-deprecation, who isn't afraid to make fun of Bruce while genuinely caring about him.Batman's cast is great, and the secondary characters shine because of it. For example, Alfred, played by Andy Serkis, is the voice of reason, the only character with an ounce of self-deprecation, who is not afraid to make fun of Bruce while genuinely caring about him.

The Penguin and Catwoman in the film are not failures, but they are rather unconvincing. Colin Farrell's villain has little screen time and little impact on the plot. Given his personal poster and the abundance of scenes in the trailers, much more was expected of the Penguin. Either Reeves didn't find a more interesting plot for him, or he saved all the best ideas for a solo spinoff series, which has been in development since fall 2021.

Catwoman had more screen time, and in general American actress Zoe Kravitz did well in this character. On the other hand, we can applaud the skill with which Reeves avoided the boring "damsel in distress" model: Selina Kyle does not need to be saved in the film, she will save everyone herself. But otherwise, her personal line is too melodramatic, and the relationship between Selina and Bruce is underdeveloped.

Verdict: Watch it in the cinema, but don't expect a dark and gritty story.

Superhero movies based on Marvel and DC Comics are released almost every year, except for the beginning of Pandemic their production was put on an assembly line. "Batman" went to Matt Reeves after the experiments of Zack Snyder, Joss Whedon and the failure of "Justice League." Reeves was given much more creative freedom, revisiting the standard concept of a superhero fighting a famous comic book foe and moving to a more realistic style - based on the experience of Nolan's trilogy and 2019's "Joker."

Reeves' "Batman" didn't turn out to be a groundbreaking film that shook up the superhero world like "The Dark Knight" did. But the director tried to take Bruce Wayne's story into a different genre, to create something more striking, aesthetically pleasing and focused on themes and characters rather than action.

And while the noir and neo-noir genre of "Batman" is decidedly weak, Reeves turned out to be a good experiment: not perfect, but an interesting film with a lot to discuss. Starting with Streamer Enigma, which is eerily reminiscent of Reddit and 4chan incels, and ending with the very current theme of corruption and impunity in power.