The Batman Review: Robert Pattinson Plays the Arkham Knight…I Mean, The World’s Greatest Detective in this Gothic Take on Batman

As a character who’s had more than twenty films under his belt and about as many television shows, Batman has had several incarnations and interpretations. Adam West’s Batman was a silly take on the character, Burton’s Batman was a bit darker but still retained some of the cheesy jokes from West’s Batman, Joel Schumacher’s Batman was even cheesier, leading Christian Bale’s Batman trilogy to be more grounded. Once this series was over, DC naturally wanted to celebrate the first successful Batman trilogy in years by learning none of those lessons and instead went so dark to the point where the viewer could see Affleck’s Batman breaking his one rule, absolutely annihilating everyone in his path. Come on, we were all thinking it.

Shortly after Batman’s appearance in the DC Extended Universe in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Warner Bros revealed that they were developing a standalone Batman film starring Affleck, who would also direct and co-write the screenplay alongside Geoff Johns. The story would’ve taken influence from Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, Knightfall, as well as the 2009 video game Batman: Arkham Asylum and would’ve taken place after Justice League. In the story, Deathstroke orchestrated a breakout at Arkham Asylum, leading to a face-off in the streets of Gotham City, with an appearance by Batgirl and would also explore the death of Robin.

Less than a year later, Affleck announced he would step down and instead star and produce the film. Shortly thereafter, Matt Reeves was hired to replace Affleck as the director, as well as producing and re-working the script alongside Mattson Tomlin and Peter Craig to fit a younger Batman. Before entering production, it was revealed that Ben Affleck would no longer be portraying this version of Batman because of personal factors, his experience on Justice League, among other things.

Months later, Robert Pattinson would be cast as this incarnation of Batman, Jeffrey Wright joined as James Gordon shortly after, then Paul Dano joined as The Riddler, and Zoë Kravitz joined as Catwoman. A month later, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell, and John Turturro were cast as Alfred Pennyworth, The Penguin, and Carmine Falcone, respectively.

Now, at least five years since its announcement (and Affleck’s most recent appearance as Batman in the DCEU), as well as ten years since the last Batman solo film, can The Batman recapture the magic of what makes Batman such an intriguing character?

So, what is The Batman about? The film follows Bruce Wayne in his second year of fighting crime as Batman, uncovering corruption in Gotham City while hunting down a serial killer leaving riddles at the scenes of his crimes, calling himself The Riddler.

When I think about the story of The Batman, I’m reminded of how Christopher Nolan’s take on Batman shifted the public perception of who Batman could be. No longer was this Batman turning to the camera and making jokes or goofing around with his villains, but instead using the shadows and training in The League of Shadows to use fear against his enemies. Nolan’s trilogy was much more concerned with the psychological effects of the villains, where the villain of Batman Begins represented fear, The Dark Knight’s represented pure chaos, and The Dark Knight Rises’ represented the social and political movements that were beginning to be popular at the time.

What scriptwriters Matt Reeves & Peter Craig did here looks at Batman and redefines the titular hero as a detective and less of an agent of fear and Gotham City into a place where class conflict and social inequality are an everyday concern. That means that instead of Batman fighting his way out of situations, his first instinct is to patrol the streets of Gotham City for information, then work with Gordon or Alfred to get some additional context for what he learns from the random thugs he encounters.

There’s also more of an underworld to Reeve’s Batman Gotham City. Yes, there are simple thugs that Batman fights that don’t have much to do with the story of the film, but most of the time, Batman is chasing leads up the ladder of the criminal underworld, instead of the villain being revealed in the last act of the film. This makes for a wonderful back and forth between the two sides of the conflict - we get to see what Batman is up to, but we also get to see what The Riddler is up to, which is a much-needed element to this rendition. Too often, I’ve wanted to see more of the villain, only to have to look towards the comics, one of the Arkham games, or those animated DC movies that seem to release every month. It’s a much-appreciated update to Batman, as, for someone whose nickname is “The World’s Greatest Detective” and has one of the most impressive rogue’s galleries in his comic books, it was disappointing to never see that aspect explored in the films.

If I have one issue with Reeve’s interpretation of the Batman universe, it’s in how everything seems to tie back into this underworld. No spoilers, obviously, but I would’ve massively preferred some characters to stand on their own, rather than be tied up in this big corruption scheme. Furthermore, some of the things that have already happened because the story is set in Batman’s second year of crime-fighting as Batman feel like opportunities that could’ve been ripe for exploration in a second film. The history of Gotham City is too far along for me, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it.

Robert Pattinson’s interpretation of Bruce Wayne and Batman is an interesting one. His Batman gets much closer to which persona is the mask - Bruce or Batman? To expound upon that, Pattinson goes even further by creating a persona for every situation. There may be moments where he can go in as Batman and get all the answers he wants, and others where he either needs to watch from the sidelines or step into the spotlight as Bruce. It’s fascinating to see Pattinson ebb and flow between these, as you’re never sure which persona you’re looking at at any given point. If you need a clearer mental picture, imagine Bruce from the beginning of The Dark Knight Rises, Bruce from the middle of Batman Begins, and Bruce from The Dark Knight.

If you were to break down Pattinson’s Batman or make any analogies, he’s closest to how Batman is portrayed in the Batman: Arkham series, taking the cold and calculating manner and detective style from those games, but he also does so much here to make it his own. For example, he has these little quills on his forearms, a taser embedded in his suit, among other gadgets. His Batman also is more brutal than even Affleck’s Batman, beating down criminals within an inch of their lives.

Zoë Kravitz’s portrayal of Selina Kyle and Catwoman was…interesting. Unfortunately, Kravitz’s Selina is unrecognizable from her comic book counterpart or any other version of the character I’ve seen. Here, she serves as Batman’s introduction to the proper underworld of Gotham City, which is true to the character, but Kravitz doesn’t get to show the Catwoman side of herself that often in the film. Furthermore, Kravitz didn’t fit for me, even with the new storyline Reeves came up with for her. Finally, as much as Kravitz and Pattinson interact, their chemistry wasn’t there for me.

Now, onto Paul Dano’s performance as The Riddler. He is fantastic in the role, echoing the same notes from Zodiac for me. Whenever The Riddler is onscreen, my mind always drifted to “Oh no. What’s he up to?” which, for a character seen as one of the silliest characters of Batman’s rogue gallery, is a crowning achievement. There’s not much more I can add to the conversation other than I can’t wait to see his performance again, and I hope he does more in the future with this character.

For the lightning round, let’s cover all the supporting characters. Jeffrey Wright’s Lieutenant James Gordon is an excellent performance from this character actor. The relationship he has with Batman is felt from the first time they’re onscreen together and feels like a natural friendship, rather than the begrudging partnership of previous incarnations. John Turturro's Carmine Falcone is also great. I didn’t think he would work for me, but in several scenes, he frightened the bejeezus out of me. Andy Serkis’ Alfred is also much improved from previous versions. Instead of feeling like the butler every rich person has who just so happens to help Batman from time to time, he feels like Batman’s partner, helping him with details he might’ve overlooked when removing his eye makeup. Another highlight is Collin Farrell’s “Oz,” playing up both sides of the character. He can be intimidating one minute and make jokes the next minute about how much of a rookie Batman is, which was a fun addition to his character.

What can I say about Michael Giacchino that hasn’t already been said? The guy is a genius. He takes the Gothic notes of Gotham City and incorporates them into the score with an emphasis on strings. He also uses this playful motif for Batman that uses drum beats and violins to emphasize Batman’s presence. Some particular highlights for me are “It’s Raining Vengeance,” and “Don’t Be Voyeur with Me,” which hone in on the strings to create a lonely and intimidating soundscape. If you’ve got some good headphones, this is a great soundtrack to sit back and listen to while relaxing at night, as weird as that sounds.

Likewise, the sound work on this film is outstanding. Sound editor Will Files and all the other excellent editors, recordists, designers, mixers, and engineers deserve a massive pat on the back and an Oscar for their work on this film. It’s been a long while since I’ve heard a film with such a full soundscape as this film does. Whether it’s the ruffle of Batman’s cape, his punches, a gate opening, or the Batmobile racing towards its intended target, all of it is spectacular.

Speaking of the Batmobile, if they need an Oscars clip, that chase between “Oz” and Batman should absolutely make the list. The roar of its engine is like a carnal scream from the depths of the soul, intimidating all other cars on the road to get out of its way or reap the consequences—what a pure masterwork.

Greig Fraser’s cinematography is also worthy of an Oscar. The way the camera feels is indescribable, but I’ll try anyway. Its movement is like an onlooker from the shadows, hoping not to get too close to The Batman, lest he feel his vengeance. There’s also this dirty look to the lens that makes the frame look like an oil painting from time to time. One of my favorite shots in the movie is early on when we get a look at Gotham City for the first time. It looks dirty, instead of basically Chicago or New York. One of the other things I loved about the way Fraser shoots this film is in nighttime scenes; the only lighting sources are those that would naturally be there, making the important details stand out, while others might fade into the background.

Speaking of Gotham City, I love how it looks frozen in time from the early 1920s, despite being set in the modern-day. Gotham City isn’t meant to be this beacon of hope like Metropolis is. It’s supposed to look like no matter where you move to in the city, you’ll always be effectively, in the slums. Even Wayne Manor, what is supposed to be an opulent example of wealth and high society, looks rather dingy and grimy. All of it reminds me of the Nighthawk painting from the 1920s. Massive props to James Chinlund and the team!

Likewise, the costume work by the consistently excellent Jacqueline Durran (props on your Oscar win for Dune: Part One!) and company it’s just fascinating. The costumes that come to my mind are the Batsuit and The Riddler’s costume. Pattinson’s Batsuit, designed by Dave Crossman and Glyn Dillon, is what I imagine Batman wearing if he had to build it himself. There’s this stitching around the nose and forehead of the cowl that makes it look like Bruce or Alfred sat down and hand-stitched the cowl from scratch. Likewise, the body of the Batsuit looks like it was fashioned out of stacked armor plating Bruce bought from some tactical gear store, combined with an undershirt and self-made gauntlets. The Riddler’s costume looks like he just went to a few department stores and called it a day. These two costumes exemplify the epitome of who their characters are. One is a billionaire with vast resources, and the other is a guy just like you and me.

I’ll try not to overstate my welcome, but oh my goodness, Mike Marino’s work on The Penguin is fascinating. He (along with a team of other talented people, I’m sure) somehow managed to turn Collin Farrell, one of the most recognizable men on the planet, into an unrecognizable gangster. I’m generally not a fan of transformative makeup, but I love how Marino’s work supports Farrell’s performance rather than subtracting from it. Also, I want to shout out Maria Donne, or whoever did Pattinson’s eye makeup. It’s fantastic. Whenever he takes off the cowl, you can see the sweat laying on top of the makeup. Bravo!

By this point, we all know that about every comic book film has visual effects. Led by Dan Lemmon, who Reeves previously worked with on the Planet of the Apes films, Wētā FX, ILM, and Scanline VFX were tasked with creating the cityscape I mentioned earlier. It all looks fantastic. A lot of it was assisted by the StageCraft technology used on The Mandalorian, and The Book of Boba Fett shows, but those small details like the rain on The Batmobile as it roars through that explosion? That was Wētā’s work. It’s insane how these tiny details come together to fool us into thinking everything we see on camera is real.

One final group I want to give a shout-out to is the stunt team led by Robert Alonzo & Daniel Arrias (among many others, I’m sure). All the fighting felt natural to me, and I felt like the coordinators looked at the Batman: Arkham games and said, “okay, but how can we do this practically?” because the fighting style Batman adopts feels very similar to how the Batman of those games fights. Either way, I can’t wait to see what these two coordinators do next.

★★★★★

The Batman is available in theaters now , available to stream on HBO Max, is available on premium video on demand, and will be available to rent at the regular price as well as on physical media on May 24th.

Until next time!

Thanks to Thomas Stoneham-Judge from Movies For Reel, Shane Conto, Joseph Davis, David Walters, Ambula Bula, and Matthew Simpson for supporting Austin B Media on Patreon!