IMDb: 8.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 88% Audience Score
Batman’s director Matt Reeves has really tried to show something different in this movie. Critics have called this movie ‘closest to comics’ as compared to previous movies.
Pattinson’s Batman movie hits $672.8 million this week globaly surpassing Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
The movie starts with Matt Reeves setting up the ground before he introduces the main character, Batman.
Gotham City is portrayed as the hub of crime and vice that has infested the whole city. A group of criminals dressed as clowns wreaking havoc in the city.
From the shadows comes Batman, portrayed by Robert Pattinson, who brute forces his way through the gang. Even though he is successful in stopping the mob, this was just a small part of the battle he is fighting.
A voiceover narrates the story of how for the past two years, billionaire Bruce Wayne, dressed as Batman, has been acting as a vigilante to curb the crime in the city.
Vowed to put a stop to the violence that happened almost twenty years ago, which left him an orphan.
But all his attempts seemingly have gone in vain, as the crime and violence in the city have only risen.
The director has also addressed the moral grey area in which the superhero works, unlike in the other Batman movies.
Although the movie does not introduce anything out of the blue, it does, however, focus on aspects that had been left in the background. For example, the movie is more focused on Gotham City, rather than the superhero himself.
Moreover, in the previous movies, the villains seemed to have been motivated by a messed-up sense of righteousness, which had been triggered due to the hypocrisy of Gotham’s elite.
But here the misconduct and dishonesty of the elites is the central cause of all the trouble that Gotham City is in.
Rather than all the fancy stuff that is generally attributed to superheroes, this movie gives Batman a more realistic touch. Batman is represented as the “world’s greatest detective” who teams up with legendary police Commissioner James Gordon (played by Jeffrey Wright) to solve a series of murders and puzzles from The Riddler (Paul Dano) that has terrorized Gotham.
In spite of being a bit dark, due to scenes where the clues are left in the blood, the movie has a pragmatic way of showing Batman’s journey in his initial years.
As he struggles with the new role he has taken. Being a bit clumsy or not realizing the loopholes in his plan until it’s too late.
The movie has also shown a more humane side of the character, a kid who got deeply hurt by the city and wants to make sure that on his watch, nothing like this ever happens again to anyone.
The pent-up fear and anger of the past that has shaped him into what he is today and how easily that anger seems to surface when he is facing evil.
Pattinson has done an excellent job depicting all these emotions with conviction.
And it’s not just Pattinson that has been cast perfectly. Each and every actor has played their part with genuine loyalty to the character.
Be it Paul Dano’s Riddler, the sincerity of Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, the loyal butler Alfred played by Andy Serkis, the villainous mastermind of Penguin by Collin Farrell, the corrupt District Attorney Gil Colson who puts the powerful mob boss Carmine Falcone in power in Gotham City, played by Peter Sarsgaard and John Turturro respectively.
With a star cast like this, Zoe Kravitz who played Selina Kyle / Catwoman stands out. Just like Batman, Catwoman has also been badly hurt by Gotham City and decided to handle things her way. Even though the Catwoman’s character has normally been that of an anti-hero but the on-screen chemistry between the two is intense, and arcs into other, lighter aspects of their characters.
It cannot be stressed enough the fact that tweaking the focus of the story just a bit could introduce such depth and uniqueness into the saga that already had so many reboots in the past. Focusing more on Gotham City gives the characters added profundity.
The same city that gives birth to evils like Penguin and Riddler on the other hand establishes good like Batman and Commissioner Gordon.
Although the movie is three hours long, the story engulfs the viewers so much that you won’t notice the time until you start seeing the credits rolling. The cinematography by Greig Fraser is the closest thing to perfect that is complemented by a powerful score by Michael Giacchino. As flawlessly the story builds up, the movie is ended superbly too, leaving behind a few loose ends from where the next movie in the series can easily pick up (Reeves has hinted at a trilogy).
Want a bit of gossip?
The Batman has a Joker scene that got deleted before they made it to the final cut. The five minutes scene was made public by Warner Bros. after the film’s release. The scene was supposed to happen right after the Commissioner (before Commissioner Gordon) is killed. With a note by Riddler, Batman goes to Arkham Asylum to visit Joker, in order to gather some insight.
Joker is portrayed as a person restrained heavily with hair messed up, sickly marks and boils on his skin, deformed hands missing fingernails, and a crooked face. One year has passed since Batman and Joker first crossed paths as Joker jokes about it being their anniversary. The interaction leaves Batman visibly frustrated showing the leverage Joker has over him.
All-in-all the movie was the most anticipated movie of 2022 and has gathered mostly positive reviews with both fans and critics liking it.
When The Batman 2022 is Coming on HBO Max
Although the movie has been released in theatres on 4th March, Warner Bros announced its release on their online streaming platform, exclusively on HBO Max, 45 days after theatrical release. so the movie will be released exclusively on HBO Max on the 18th of April confirmed by WarnerMedia on Monday 11th of April.
Canadians can also watch The Batman 2022 on Crave on the 18th of April, according to Bell media, if you are okay with its clumsy user interface, expensive price, and poor customer service.
As HBO Max is geo-restricted outside the US, the best way to watch The Batman (2002) online in Canada and the rest of the world would be through the help of a VPN that will help you bypass any and all kinds of geo-restrictions.
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