Jacked In Reviews ‘The Batman’ (2022)

As we tour Gotham city on a dark, rainy night accompanied by a gritty narration announcing it’s “October 31st”, you can’t help but feel like you’re within the pages of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns.

“They think I’m hiding in the shadows… But I am the shadows.”

Shortly after this, we’re met with the Mayor of Gotham City, who meets his fate – in quite a brutal fashion – at the hands of our main antagonist, The Riddler (Paul Dano) and with that, we get straight into it.

Not only is the setting very gothic but the constent rain just makes it look like an even more abysmal place to live. As is usually the case with a Batman movie, Gotham is a character in itself and each different version of the city we’ve had over the years sets the overall tone.

Rather than rehash an origin story we’ve seen time and time again, we’re meeting this Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) during his second year as The Batman. And that’s pretty much how it stays as Bruce adopts the cloak and cowl for the majority of the feature.

Batman has always been a favourite amongst fans, one of the reasons being, he’s just a regular – albeit billionaire – guy. For that reason, there’s always been a certain realism to Bruce Wayne and this movie shows him more human than ever. Being only two years in, he’s still finding his feet, he’s not indestructible, he does make mistakes, which adds a deeper vulnerability to the character.

As well as this, rather than just being a musclebound vigilante dressed as a bat, the movie finally showcases Batman’s other title, as the world’s greatest detective. For that reason, this feature’s refreshing new take runs more like a crime, mystery, drama, finally giving an interpretation that stays true to the comics.

In saying that, although this instalment is the closest to the comics, some things just don’t translate well to screen. When you’re reading long bits of dialogue in, for example, Batman: Hush, it’s complemented by this amazing artwork and just feels right as an ensemble. Unfortunately, when they’ve tried to bring those same kind of moments to the big screen, they almost seem too cheesy, farfetched or exaggerated to be believable.

With a three-hour run time, the pacing is a lot slower, however, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It allows you to immerse yourself, not just in Batman’s investigation, but in the world that Matt Reeves has created and by the end credits, you’ll feel like you’ve known this Gotham for years. Don’t worry though, it’s not without its action. It has some of the brutalist moments we’ve seen from any previous live-action Batman, aside from the Adam West years, obviously. Not to mention, one of the greatest Batmobile scenes to date… When his engine starts revving, rest assured, your genitals will start tingling.

The majority of the cast absolutely nails their DC counterparts. Although Pattinson puts a vengeful, gritty stamp on his version of the Dark Knight, Dano (unsurprisingly) steals the show, making The Riddler as warped and delusional as ever. Zoë Kravitz’s Selina Kyle AKA Catwoman almost seems like she’s leapt right from the pages of a graphic novel and John Turturro slides into his role as the intimidating mafia boss Carmine Falcone with ease. Jeffrey Wright as the honorable Lt. James Gordan and last but certainly not least, Colin Farell is totally unrecognizable in all the best ways possible as Oz, ‘The Pengiun’.

If you’re after an action-packed superhero movie, you’re going to be disappointed. But if you’re after a movie that follows the life of a detective, hellbent on vengence, you’re in luck. The Batman isn’t as ironed out as some of its predecessors, but it takes the character in a different direction for wider audiences, stays true to the comics and it’s fair to say, Reeves and Pattinson have certainly made their mark.

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