[FILM REVIEW] THE BATMAN Review (2022)

January 11, 2023January 11, 2023 Dave Alex Ferns, Alex First, Andre Nightingale, Andy Serkis, Barry Keoghan, Charlie Bentley, Charlie Carver, Colin Farrell, Con O'Neill, David Griffiths, Gil Perez-Abraham, Greg King, Hana Hrzic, Jack Bennett, Jacqui Hammerton, Janine Harouni, Jayme Lawson, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Jospeh Walker, Kosha Engler, Lorraine Tai, Luke Roberts, Mark Killeen, Matt Reeves, Max Carver, Oscar Novak, Paul Dano, Peter Craig, Peter Krausz, Peter McDonald, Peter Sarsgaard, Richard James-Neale, Robert Pattinson, Rupert Penry-Jones, Sandra Dickinson, Stella Stocker, The Batman, USA, Zoe Kravitz

Summary: Professor Albus Dumbledore must assist Newt Scamander and his partners as Grindelwald begins to lead an army to eliminate all When a sadistic serial killer begins murdering key political figures in Gotham, Batman is forced to investigate the city’s hidden corruption and question his family’s involvement.

Year: 2022

Cinema Release Dates: 3rd March 2022 (Australia), 3rd March 2022 (Thailand), 4th March 2022 (UK), 4th March 2022 (USA)

VOD Release Dates: Available in all regions now.

Country: USA

Director: Matt Reeves

Screenwriter: Matt Reeves, Peter Craig

Cast: Jack Bennett (Travis), Charlie Bentley (Officer Brown), Charlie Carver (The Twins), Max Carver (The Twins), Paul Dano (The Riddler), Sandra Dickinson (Dory), Kosha Engler (Mrs. Mitchell), Colin Farrell (Oz/The Penguin), Alex Ferns (Commissioner Pete Savage), Janine Harouni (Carla), Hana Hrzic (Annika), Richard James-Neale (Glen), Barry Keoghan (Unseen Arkham Prisoner), Mark Killeen (Vinnie), Zoe Kravitz (Selina Kyle), Jayme Lawson (Bella Real), Peter McDonald (Kenzie), Andre Nightingale (Ritchie), Oscar Novak (Young Bruce Wayne), Con O’Neill (Chief Mackenzie Bock), Robert Pattinson (Bruce Wayne/The Batman), Rupert Penry-Jones (Mayor Don Mitchell Jnr.), Gil Perez-Abraham (Officer Martinez), Luke Roberts (Thomas Wayne), Peter Sarsgaard (District Attorney Gil Colson), Andy Serkis (Alfred), Stella Stocker (Martha Wayne), Lorraine Tai (Cheri), John Turturro (Carmine Falcone), Joseph Walker (Young Riddler), Jeffrey Wright (Lt. James Gordon)

Running Time: 176 mins

Classification: M (Australia),G (Thailand), 15 (UK), PG-13 (USA)

OUR THE BATMAN REVIEWS

David Griffiths ‘s The Batman Review:

Gotham’s caped crusader Batman has taken on many different personas on screens over the years. From the campy Adam West years in the 60s through to the more serious adaptations brought to the screen by directors Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan. Of course actors George Clooney, Val Kilmer and Ben Affleck have had less successful attempts at wearing the famed black mask, but now star Robert Pattinson (Twilight) has teamed up with director Matt Reeves (War Of The Planet Of The Apes) to bring the darkest adaption of the famed comic book hero to the screen.

Reeves takes the story of Batman right back to where it began in Detective Comics way back in 1939. In The Batman Reeves portrays the character as a troubled young man determined to not only bring peace to Gotham City but to solve the mystery of his parent’s murder.

Batman (Pattinson) questions whether or not he is making a difference to the crime rate in Gotham, he has two allies in his butler Alfred (Andy Serkis – The Lord Of The Rings) and Police Detective James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright – The French Dispatch).

Batman/Bruce Wayne jumps straight onto the case to unmask The Riddler but soon finds himself in the underbelly of Gotham – a place ruled by the likes of gangsters like Oswald Cobblepot (Colin Farrell – In Bruges) and Carmine Falcone (John Turturro – Barton Fink). Clouding his judgement even more is the arrival of Catwoman/Selina Kyle (Zoe Kravitz – Mad Max: Fury Road) who seems to be friend one moment and foe the next.

What Reeves has done with the world of Batman is nothing short of spectacular. Sure it may not be the cinematic masterpiece that Nolan’s The Dark Knight was but here Reeves makes Gotham look the way fans of the early comic book series have always imagined it. Here Gotham is a dark, Gothic styled city where it seems to constantly rain. For once a filmmaker seems to have captured the essence of Gotham that so many comic book artists have drawn on the page over the years.

That tone seeps right through The Batman. From amazing shots of rain soaked city through to scenes that take the audience into the darker side of the city. Instead of being other-worldly comical villains Reeves always the criminals here to be natural looking gangsters and that completely changes this Gotham from anything we have seen on the big screen before.

Likewise as a filmmaker he turns his back on some of the cheesy adaptations of Batman as a character that we have seen over the years and instead makes him a troubled young man who is confused at whether or not he is a making a difference. Here Batman is not only a caped hero jumping off rooftops but he is also a gifted young Detective who knows how to piece together the clues. To be blunt The Batman feels more like David Fincher’s Se7en than it does any other superhero film that we have seen in the past.

Of course the question that everybody wants answered though is what Robert Pattinson is like as Bruce Wayne and Batman. People have been unfairly harsh on Pattinson over the years, largely due to his portrayal of Edward Cullen in the Twilight franchise. Since then though Pattinson has put in some worthy acting performances in films such as The Lighthouse and Remember Me. Pattinson brings that A-Grade acting to his role here. His portrayal of the troubled and deeply depressed Bruce Wayne adds to the Gothic style of the film, while he also handles the action sequences with enough skill to make you believe that he plays a pretty decent Batman.

Zoe Kravitz is also a standout as a more believable Catwoman but the stars who steal the limelight here are Colin Farrell and Paul Dano. Dano portrays the crazed Riddler sensationally well just look his portrayal of the killer in Prisoners, while Hollywood’s forgotten man, Colin Farrell, is unrecognisable in his role of The Penguin.The Batman is perhaps the closest visual representation of the early comics that we have ever seen on the big screen.

Over the past few years we have seen TV’s Gotham move away from the super-hero vibe and capture a more ‘gangster’ element to the franchise and Reeves takes that notion and makes it even more dark, foreboding and cinematic. The Batman is pure cinema magic from a visionary director who has just made his mark on a long-running franchise.

Dave’s rating Out Of 5

Alex First, Greg King, Jacqui Hammerton and Peter Krausz’s Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore Review:

Alex’s rating Out Of 5

Greg’s rating Out Of 5

Jacqui’s rating Out Of 5

Peter’s rating Out Of 5

Average Subculture rating Out Of 5

Other The Batman Reviews:

You can read our review of The Batman that appeared in The Phuket News here – https://www.thephuketnews.com/batman-back-in-black-83313.php

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