Review: The Batman

Just when you thought we had enough Batman films, we are getting a new vision of the caped crusader.

My history with Batman in film has been pretty enjoyable overall. Outside of the Adam West TV series, my first encounter with Batman was when I saw 1992's Batman Returns. Loved it then, still do today and have always seen it as a modern Greek tragedy.

After that, there has been little to criticise from my side. The only exceptions were the god awful 'Batman & Robin' and the messy execution of the DCEU. However, Ben Affleck's Batman has been a big highlight of that franchise.

The pinnacle is obviously Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy. So I was intrigued to see that director Matt Reeves' portrayal looks to be going a somewhat similar route. I have liked Reeves as a director for the past several years. I loved Cloverfield, felt Let Me In was a solid horror re-make and really enjoyed the second and third chapters of the Planet Of The Apes trilogy.

As for his latest project, the only aspect I felt cautious with was the casting of Robert Pattinson. Despite his recent success post Twilight, playing Batman was something I did not think would be right for him. However, similar reaction for Affleck and even Heath Ledger as a Joker proved us all wrong in the best possible way. So with that strong track record in mind, I was pretty excited to see the latest incarnation.

Right from the opening moment, it transports you to quite an arresting style that reminded me of Watchmen, but without the typical Zack Snyder tropes. There is also signs of David Fincher's 'Se7en' with the grittiness, film-noir tone and brooding atmosphere that is closer to a crime mystery drama. All of that really entices you. This is definitely more towards the detective side of Batman, which I am all for.

With it being more of a mystery drama, the plot does concentrate on the character development rather than the action. So it may be a bit slow for certain demographics. But if you love story driven dramas, then this will be ideal for you.

The final act is probably the most comic book the story ever gets. The threat and stakes of what the antagonist may not be as strong as the ones from The Dark Knight trilogy. But I felt it was still perfectly functional to help with the climax of every character's story archs.

The cast really impressed me both individually as well as particular partnerships. My fears of Robert Pattinson were quickly extinguished. He gives quite a menacing presence throughout that gives you believable fear from anyone that is in the same room as him. You also get a fearless, yet troubled and damaged Bruce Wayne that is looking for his place in this corrupt city. For every minute he was on screen, I was definitely seeing Batman and not Robert Pattinson.

Zoe Kravitz combines sexy and deadly in her portrayal of Catwoman that could genuinely give Michelle Pfeiffer's performance a run for her money.

When together on screen, Pattinson and Kravitz feel like a proper team with that vintage hint of a romance. Their perfect blend of emotional and physical acting gives us a very memorable on-screen partnership.

Paul Dano gives us a pretty disturbing antagonist where he seems to be channelling a mixture of Heath Ledger's Joker with hints of Jim Carrey's Riddler. Jeffrey Wright was a nice surprise as Jim Gordon that could easily compete with Gary Oldman's version. Wright showed the honesty and determination we now expect from Gordon's character and he worked really well with Pattinson.

I also have to give props to the performances of the unrecognisable Colin Farrell, John Tuturro, the always great Andy Serkis and Peter Sarsgaard.

The combination of the cinematography by Greig Fraser, production design James Chinlund and score by Michael Giacchino gives us a complete package that is a delight to look at and listen to.

If I was forced to find negatives, I will say that some scenes that are a bit too dark for its own good. Also while I was never bored, there were a few scenes that did halt the flow and could be cut down.

However, I can safely say this is without a doubt a pretty strong piece of work. Reeves and his talented team have given us a great blend of classic and modern Batman that is worth the almost 3 hours duration. It has that vision and scope that is perfect for the cinematic experience. You get those familiar parts you expect in every Batman film. But we are also introduced to others that we have only seen in comics and video games.

With the amount of versions we have had of Batman, I was one of those people that said "do we really need another reboot?". It turns out, we do. Reeves gives a very effective vision of Gotham's Dark Knight that shows you don't need to rely on the action to have a successful Batman film.

This is a really strong addition to the several other versions and one that I do instantly want to see again. Is it the best? Probably not. However, it is one of the better ones that you can make a believable case of it being the best. It ignores the origins and heads straight into the juice with a layered story, plenty of interesting characters and enough action in both handheld combat as well as car chases.

I would be up for more installments, if Reeves is willing to still be at the helm.

Rating: 8/10