The Batman Movie Review

A Solid Noir Film

I went and saw The Batman the other day with one of my buddies and I must say, we really enjoyed it. Granted I don't think this movie is for everyone.

The Batman follows Batman (Robert Pattinson) during his second year of crime fighting. When the mayor of Gotham is killed by The Riddler (Paul Dano), it is up to Batman with the help of James Gordon (Jeffery Wright), and Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz) to stop him.

From a visual point of view, The Batman is gorgeous. Every frame is a painting. The acting is solid, the plot is solid. The musical score is outstanding. I personally loved the film, but there are some things in it that could off-set some Batman fans.

I typically get into the acting first, but like you've probably already heard many reviewers say before, the city is a character in this film. Gotham feels real, grounded, and certainly not a place you'd want to visit. Corruption and crime run rampant at every level of society. The architecture is stunning.

The cast does a solid job with what they are given. Zoë Kravitz and Jeffery Wright embody their characters on screen. Each of them feels unique. Robert Pattinson might be a little more controversial. He plays a more dark and brooding Bruce Wayne, which may turn some fans off, and I can understand why. However, for the context of this film, I think it works.

You should know this film leans more into a plot centric story rather than a character centric story. If they do continue this as a trilogy, there is room for the characters to grow and we should see massive amounts of development by the end. Also, the cast has really good chemistry with each other.

The music is dominant in, The Batman. It sets the tone perfectly and this is one soundtrack I think I'll be checking out later. This film is dark, and not just in tone, but in lighting too. I'd say at least four fifths of, The Batman takes place at night. This helps with the noir feel of the film.

I should note you shouldn't go into The Batman looking for a beat 'em up action comedy which audiences have come to expect from superhero films. No, this is a grounded detective story. I think film noir is an underutilized genre, and I love the fact that someone is taking it up.

I would recommend going to see, The Batman. If you're a fan of the more realistic superhero films, film noir, or just a detective story, this might be the film for you. Oh! and before I forget, if you have really little kids, I wouldn't recommend taking them to see this. The PG-13 is earned. I'm not to sure about other films coming out this year, but The Batman was worth the wait.

final score: 5/5