The Batman

Directed by Matt Reeves (2022)

Film Review by KM, Movie Lightbox

Crimes and sinister acts seemed to be heavily featured in previous iterations of the Caped Crusader’s character. But in Matt Reeve’s gritty and uncompromising noir-driven thriller “The Batman”, it’s not about Gotham but the Crusader himself.

Leaning more into the detective aspects of Batman’s character, Director Matt Reeves crafted a crisp arc on his internal compulsions. While previous iterations delved into the hero-villain complex and origin tales, Reeves simply turns into Batman’s inner self, a zoom-in approach on how that greed for vengeance overturns the will to fight the outlaws and criminals. Robert Pattinson hits the mark with his dejected depiction of the character, a reassuring portrayal of Reeves’ vision for the film. Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman scrapes the obscurity of her character in a wicked way. Scenes of tenebrous action sequences and superior staging added a layer of daredevil quality and style throught the film, some parts nauseating. Michael Giacchino’s score pushes the menacing and sinister mood while the blaring sound design pierces through the staging of those sequences. But as a detective story, one could easily get lost into the series of clues and finding answers within the Gotham’s dark underbelly. Paul Dano’s character as The Riddler with his terror-stricken voice inflections sets the tone for a series of trails targeting Gotham’s elites. Uncovering his own motives created a two-pronged approach to that hero-villain complex while leveraging Batman’s ordeal and his strong will to be Gotham’s savior.

Matt Reeves sharp vision using the camera as the audience’s point of view initiates questions on both character’s motives and how different and similar they are in purpose. The visual style along with each character’s impulse and compulsion created a defining question towards the end: Who is really seeking for vengeance?

The Batman is now playing in theatres.