Even from the film’s opening scene, it was clear that so much work, time, and effort went into the makings of The Batman. Although Christian Bale has created the ideal within Batman fans that no one else can play the part, Pattinson still showed much skill. Matt Reeves’ Batman is bound to scare you and send you right into a world of mystery. The monotoned theme behind Batman is brought to another level in this movie, one that brings an entirely different sensation in comparison to its predecessors. 

When I watched the movie, I noticed that they tried to incorporate as many different things into it as possible, meaning that there was a car chase, a gliding scene, moments of immense courage, moments of crisis, etc. Of course, he had all the classic gadgets – the rugged suit, the cape, the Batmobile, and other tools. Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t portray The Riddler as meant to be displayed, especially when it comes to costuming. 

The Riddler originally appears in Detective Comics #140 (1948). Even though he isn’t as primitive as Batman rogues like the Joker and Catwoman, he is nonetheless a member of Gotham’s iconic first generation of villains. More recent Batman comics have further rewritten Riddler’s beginnings to demonstrate that he was among the first to clash with Batman, even before the Joker. As we can see above, his costuming commonly involves purples and greens, and the Batman 2022 movie does not demonstrate this similarly. Perhaps because of the darkened color usage, they had hoped to keep from using vibrant colors. Since they wanted the Riddler’s identity to stay more disclosed, I suppose they determined that his facial structure should remain hidden. All the same, his costume in the new film looks more like a scarecrow and honestly reminds me of The Silence of the Lambs (1991) mask. 

When it comes to playing the part of Bruce Wayne himself (the counter-identity to Batman), Robert Pattinson is lacking. He wasn’t provided enough time to play the billionaire in general, but even for the short times he did, he didn’t play it exceptionally well. Seeing him as Bruce Wayne didn’t keep me engaged; it simply made me impatient to see him back as the Caped Crusader as soon as possible. In prior Batman films, Bruce Wayne is commonly obnoxious with his money, providing character to the part. For example, in Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne and two girls go swimming in a formal hotel fountain in the middle of a restaurant. It’s not the right thing to do when sophisticated as a billionaire. When the hotel’s authority explains to Bruce Wayne that his girl-friends shouldn’t be swimming in that pool, he claims he is buying the hotel on the spot. Even though Pattinson’s part doesn’t shine upon us as the dashing heir to a fortune kicking ass in a cool costume, he still plays the role well, giving us an entirely new feel to the character. 

We’ve witnessed many Catwomen actresses, but the others didn’t have the immense amount of chemistry between them that Pattinson and Kravitz have. I wasn’t a massive fan of Kravitz playing the part, but I can’t deny that she did have a fantastic connection with Pattinson when it came to the more romantic elements. However, even though her costume was great and she played the part just as I believe she should, she just wasn’t my ideal actress for the role, although I can’t really put my finger on my reasoning to back that up.  

I wish they had given Andy Serkis more screen time as Bruce’s trusted Alfred. As things don’t go as planned and we see several tragedies throughout the film, providing a stronger connection and feeling between the audience and Alfred would have brought forth much more emotion throughout the movie.

The thing I loved about the movie was the cinematography. As we see in many movie remakes and sequels, which have been released more recently, there have been so many amazing captures. This is by far the most “beautiful” Batman movie, showing similarities to the works in the Star Wars movies, Dune (2021), and other newer films. Cinematographer Greig Fraser pulls off the same magic he did with his Oscar-nominated work in Dune (2021). Thanks to the pouring rain and neon lights, his artwork has an exquisiteness and a heaviness to it. His shadow and silhouette are masterful, especially for a Batman movie, and bring oh-so-much to the cinema. There are many mixed reviews and opinions on the movie itself, and more detailed nitpicks throughout the film. The “aesthetic” along with the cinematography behind it is the backbone of The Batman, really being what made the movie.

Overall, it’s considerably better than I expected, and it’s fantastic to see Batman in a somewhat new context.