Matt Reeves proves once more that all stories have been told before, the key now is in the telling, how the story is told.
Matt Reeves goes in deep with noir style influences; from the look of the film to character designs and themes.
For the second time in less than six months Hollywood gives us another arthouse movie dressed as a commercial flik. Last year it was Dune, this year it's The Batman.
Let's dig in...
Right off the bat *hehehe* Matt Reeves signals this ain't your Tim Burton Batman nor Zack Snyder's Batman (although this one has a lot in common with BatFleck). Gotham City is a living and walking cesspool akin to the Gotham City in Joker.
The City is dirty, run down, corrupt and criminals are running loose. The corruption is as deep and murky as our own in South Africa whereby public funds and facilities are all in a state of disrepair - there are networks upon networks of capture in Gotham. The dark and gritty take then reflects the characters of this world quite well.
Characters consistently come out of the shadows, or are obscured by light - in this world nothing is ever crystal clear. Matt Reeves owes a lot to David Fincher in the look and feel of this movie, which is not just seen in how the city is realised but also in the characters.
Paul Dano's Riddler is a character that could easily feature in David Fincher's Mindhunters. Mindhunters is a series loosely based on how the FBI Serial Killer unit was established. Paul Dano's Riddler is an internet troll with psychotic tendencies who is a step ahead of the Batman.
He is both a puppet master and a worthy antagonist to the Bat, who in the movie plays Batman's shadow to a point. He's a crusader showcasing Gotham's corrupt and powerful, bringing them out in the light - at times one wishes we had our own Riddler to expose some of corrupt overlords minus the murders though.
Whilst Pattinsson's Batman is all about being the Bat, there is no billionaire playboy mask here. Bruce Wayne looks and acts like someone who would dress up like a bat, someone who beats up people at night, someone who has serious psychological issues and needs to be in the sun more.
The story takes his issues beyond just the traumatic murder of his family and hints that his genes may have predisposed him to mental issues. The film has a lot of hints for Batman fans who have read the comics or seen the animated series and movies. Nice easter eggs that I won't spoil here.
Battinson is supported well by Zoë Kravitz as a competent femme fatale-esque Catwoman, who is both sexy, tough and witty. Colin Farrell's Penguin reminded me of Al Capone as portrayed by Robert De Niro in the Untouchables, just bigger, funnier and a little more scary looking.
The humour is as dark as the movie though and extremely witty. So the film is not dark throughout but one of the many great things about The Batman movie is that its themes are set up from the beginning and take an interesting turn as the movie progresses.
By the time the credits roll one does feel you've just watched a movie that is cleverly conceived and executed, which has a few things to say, not just limited to corruption and graft by politicians and the 1% but also mental health and the limitations of vigilantes.
I'm hoping this movie makes gang banger numbers at the Box Office 'cause I really want to see more stories set in this world where we get the other Batman villains given this world treatment.
I love that there are many grey areas - no one is super clean, Gotham City dirties everyone. Even The Batman and Bruce Wayne.
With that said, this movie won't be for everyone. If you want mindless action, this ain't it. The movie is almost three hours long, which may be too much for the TikTok generation but if you are patient, the film will definitely reward you.
This is a film that elevates the genre and material in the same way The Dark Knight did and I for one can't wait for the rest of the trilogy.
It felt like: Seven and Zodiac had sex with a Batman movie and this was their two year old.
Ratings
*****
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* Trash ** You are on your own ***It Tries ****Almost Perfect *****Instant classic