Review: The Batman (2022)

Batman has remained an enduring character through the years through the many ways his story can be told. Christopher Nolan gave us a blockbuster trilogy that skillfully married elaborate action set pieces with genuinely interesting characters. Zack Snyder went in a grittier, bombastic  direction with Batman v Superman and Justice League. While those films struggled to fully gel, they certainly had their own flavor of the dark knight.

Now Matt Reeves takes his own stab at the caped crusader, delivering a film and a message true to the times we are living in. Though the film was written prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and the racial justice efforts that sparked from the murder of George Floyd, it was filmed during and around those events. Many of the themes resonated deeply with myself, a resident of the Twin Cities in Minnesota. Themes like how to restore trust in our government and leaders, institutions who have had their ugly sides brought to light during these recent years. The theme of how to heal ourselves as a society and as individuals after the Trump years made it all too clear that we are not as progressive or tolerant of a country as we thought we were. Truths that were only amplified when we put our country in the pressure cooker of the pandemic.

By the end of the film we've watched the Batman, who initially introduces himself with a seething "I am vengeance.", transform from an angry, self destructive vigilante to a true hero who ultimately saves the people of Gotham by literally bringing light to the darkness, guiding them to safety, and then aiding in subsequent triage of the wounded. Does he beat up bad guys on the way? Of course, but ultimately it isn't violence that saves the day. They're lessons that we could all take to heart as we emerge from the last handful of years, seeking to heal the scars in our nation and build a better future.

It's this grounded, humanistic focus on Bruce Wayne that differentiates this film and makes it a worthy edition to the Batman catalog. Like the titular character, it has its flaws, but it is still a major accomplishment.

The very bones of the film help create the unique atmosphere that helps it succeed. Rather than being an origin story, The Batman jumps to the early stages of the masked vigilante's career. When we meet him, he's already been fighting for two years to beat back the seemingly never-ending onslaught of crime that threatens to drag down Gotham City. Despite his best efforts though, he admits in his opening monologue that he questions if he's making any difference. The grind of night after night of bruising fights have taken their tole, both physically and emotionally. Andy Serkis plays Alfred as the typical role of fatherly figure trying to guide the wayward prince of Gotham, though even his weariness occasionally cracks through. The image of a sullen, brooding Batman is a common (often comical) trope, but in this context it is handled well so that Bruce Wayne's eventual transformation to a sympathetic hero works on an emotionally satisfying level.

Reeve's decision to play the movie like a true detective story also plays a key role in setting a unique tone. The movie literally starts with a murder that must be solved. The world's greatest detective actually gets to detect, following leads, interrogating witnesses, and stealthily following cars in the film's frequent downpours (it rains a lot). Bruce Wayne has already formed a close relationship with Detective Gordon (Jeffrey Wright), and is openly known to the police and the public at large. He investigates crime scenes with the detective while Gordon's colleagues complain about breaches in protocol, dynamics that work well because this isn't pretending to be an origin story. Zoë Kravitz's Selena Kyle (Catwoman) is nicely woven into the mystery, giving Batman a fellow scarred soul who becomes a begrudging partner and perhaps one of the few people who can truly understand him (again a common story theme in the Batman movies, but still handled well here).

Super hero movies are often only as good as their villains, with the bar for Batman films being especially high when you take into account iconic performances like Heather Ledgers' Joker. Luckily, Paul Dano's Riddler and Colin Farrell's Penguin (unrecognizable under his prosthetics) serve well as creepy and buffoonish antagonists respectively. The Riddler in particular is a fascinating character, at times almost serving as a Batman's unwanted partner in his investigation.

And then there is Batman himself. Robert Pattinson's sullen portrayal sometimes borders on too flat and emotionless, but several explosive scenes of fury as well as complimentary scenes of tenderness help show that there is truly a person underneath the armor. Speaking of, it's a good thing that he wears such protective gear. Never has the caped crusader been shot so many times on screen, though it's lucky his opponents never learn to aim at his much less protected head. The bruising fight scenes throughout the film highlight that Batman, while a skilled fighter, is no John Wick. His opponents are actually capable of landing shots and dealing some pain. His gear may help, but it's his raw determination(and ability to take a punch, bullet, or bomb) that helps him emerge victorious from his fights.

With all of these elements mixed together, you end up with a satisfying noir detective story that has heart underpinning it all. It may not have some of the soaring, epic moments of Nolan's films (even the Batman theme in this film is a duller affair, whereas the blaring tones from the Nolan trilogy still gives goosebumps), but the gritty, grounded realism gives it a weight that feels right in 2022. Gotham City could be any one of the troubled metropolitan areas in our country today. The beat down, frustrated citizens could be any one of us. In the end we're looking for stories of hope, examples of how to be better. The road isn't pretty or neat, and the heroes are not perfect, but in the end Batman, his city, and us as viewers emerge in a better place.