The Batman is a Work of Art

On the 4th of March 2022, Vengeance Came, as the latest rendition/reboot of the Batman Movie adaptations by Warner Bros; The Batman by Matt Reeves made its cinematic debut and has been the hottest new topic round the World.

A lot of high expectations were put into this film given that the lead role and mantle of 'The Batman' was given to the one and only Robert Pattinson, known for his exceptional roles and performances in different cinematic works.

The trailers were stunning and the early reviews for the movie suggested it being something revolutionary, which all but made the already elevated expectations of the fans to blow through the roof.

When a beloved Comic book character gets an amazing adaptation that meets and sometimes even exceeds expectations, it's always a beautiful thing.

I already said in my Spider-Man No Way Home review how much it touched my heart to see my favorite Comic Book Character from Marvel get a groundbreaking movie, and I feel the exact same joy after experiencing this fantastic new movie centered on my favorite Comic Book Character from the DC Universe.

In order not to trigger any spoilers by accident, I'll skip the narrative bit where I usually describe the premise of the film and go straight to the review.

The Batman is in essence a Psychological Crime Thriller/ Systematic Murder Mystery masked as a Super Hero Film. It's a Noir Epic that takes an intricate crime-solving narrative to finally give The Batman the well-grounded detective story he deserves.

The mystery buildup was phenomenal, and the psychological warfare tethered by the Riddler's murderous taunts towards Gotham's Dark Knight made the film truly remarkable.

It's a movie that's bound to be even more appreciated by fans of David Fincher-esque thrillers such as Zodiac and Se7en, given how much effort director Matt Reeves put into establishing a similarly beautiful and well-layered mystery thriller that's one of a kind in the world of Comic Book Cinema.

Reeves' Interpretation of The Batman's Character was truly exceptional. Robert Pattinson's Batman was a broken man who was haunted by the pain he's endured in the past and takes that burden with him every night as he wanders the streets of Gotham bringing pain to the Criminals that wreak havoc in the city.

I couldn't get enough of how his character embodied misery and rage into a single persona.

He was troubled and unrefined in his approach towards heroism, and therefore mostly stood out to the community as a being to be feared than a hero.

The movie perfectly captured how human he was despite being 'The Batman'',  showing him being pushed to the limits, not standing tall throughout every battle or being able to save everyone as he's not yet matured in his venture as a crime fighter.

Only in the end did he transition into a Proper hero after being enlightened by the shortcomings in his former approach and chose to become the symbol of 'Hope' Gotham needed.

The perfect portrayal of Gotham as a city that's hopelessly depraved and rotten to the core in all its criminally stained politics and social structures, served not only as a perfect base for a dark origin story of this kind for our hero, but as a perfect motivation for the antagonist, The Riddler, who's aim was to expose the city wide corruption and misdeeds that were hidden by those who were meant to protect the city.

Paul Dano gave a powerful performance in his portrayal of The Riddler, perfectly capturing how twisted, deranged, unhinged yet adequately motivated The Riddler was in carrying out his mission.

He was the perfect antagonist for such a setting, his character transitions and conniving displays were things I couldn't get enough of.

The Side Characters of this film were also magnificently portrayed and instrumental in making it truly Spectacular.

Zoe Kravitz stole the show with her enchanting performance as Catwoman (Selina Kyle), her subtle romanticisms towards The Batman, her captivating emotional outbursts, her energizing fight scenes and even her subtle moments made her a sight to behold everytime she was on screen.

Colin Farrell was another personal favorite of mine, exhibiting so much charisma in his portrayal of 'The Penguin' that he became a character that can't be overlooked.

Every side character was well executed and portrayed by their cast, given proper emotional depth when required and given valid roles to play in this incredible story.

Finally, The Production Values.

The Cinematography and Music in The Batman were just excellent.

Micheal Giacchino's score was unforgettable, illuminating the key moments of this film with a powerful sound that serves as both haunting and epic.

The ambience of every scene was just perfect.

Greg Fraser's masterful eye for visuals and artistic representation made every scene irresistible.

These masterful production elements made this film a feast for both the eyes and ears, and every highlight scene was just gorgeous in it's execution.

Another noteworthy production element that was great in this film was the costume design. The Bat Suit looked really well crafted and amazing.

The fights were also exhilirating, but I only briefly mention this point, given that the centerpiece of this film is not the action, but rather the mystery.

With every positive thing to be said about this film, I'll also admit that it has its own fair share of flaws or misgivings.

Particularly controversy born from those who view it as a Superhero/Action film bringing several issues to light including the issue of Plot Armor, which isn't really anything new at all in Action movies, just that this movie could've nuanced the fight scenes a bit more to make the characters' survivals more justified. 

Ben Shapiro on his YouTube channel also had issues with the movie not establishing a proper dichotomy between the characters of 'The Batman' and 'Bruce Wayne' , which is a really sad point born from his unwillingness to accept change and director Matt Reeves vision of a broken, unrefined version of The Batman that just hasn't reached that level in his character development yet.

Several other issues could be found or nitpicked by those who view the movie from different perspectives, and it's this division that makes this movie not to be The 'Perfect', globally admired movie it could've been.

Personally, I think this is not only a phenomenal movie, but a new standard for Comic book Origin movies.

It established an enthralling, compact and mature mystery in it's narrative in a manner that has never been seen in comic book origin films beforehand.

It modeled itself in an escalating sequence of events that built off eachother in a clean, cohesive fashion leading to a fullfilling and symbolic ending that marked the birth of a new hero.

The Batman is a strong 9/10 in my opinion and while it may not be a Masterpiece, it's definitely a Work of Art.

Thank you all for Reading this Review.

Definitely leave a Comment of your thoughts of this movie and this review in the comment section.

Stay Safe

Stay Sane

See You all Next Time Geeks!.