By: Kimberly Grant
When I initially decided to review The Batman, I had low expectations. After all, the film stars Robert Pattinson as the title character. Zoë Kravitz is playing Selina Kyle and Jeffrey Wright is playing Detective James Gordon. The Batman will be in theaters on March 4th.
What could possibly go wrong?
Here’s What Went Wrong
Since the glory days of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight series, there hasn’t been a good Batman. Period. Just when I thought Ben Affleck as Batman was an insult, enter Robert Pattinson. At first, I was in disbelief in his casting since he may play a decent vampire, but not necessarily the iconic Batman. Not to mention, the Batman is usually a lot more muscular than Pattinson.
Casting of a gaunt-looking Pattinson was not the only thing that went wrong with The Batman. Director Matt Reeves decided to make the film a whopping two hours and 55 minutes. Yes, it’s three hours of bad. From the dark, stormy, dirty locations to the grimy looking buildings that are Gotham City, I wanted to take a shower after watching this film. Thankfully, not all of the cinematography is bad. More on that later.
In the writing category I would think that this would be a thinking film since the Riddler (Paul Dano) is the main villain. Alas, even Reeves’ and Peter Craig’s writing (based on the characters created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger) is not very smart. Actually, the writing is kind of bad. This is surprising, considering that Craig also wrote the last two Hunger Games and The Town. Either our Batman is too good at guessing the riddles or he’s not smart enough to guess them. I’m sure that sentence doesn’t make sense. Neither does the writing in this movie.
Lastly, the film just doesn’t feel like a modern film. It feels like it was more so made for TV. In fact, the feel of the film has shades of the first season of the CW’s Batwoman. The storyline is kind of engaging, but not engaging enough to keep interest. There’s so much grit in the visuals that you feel weighed down by it. And, some of the acting talent could be better.
Here’s What Went Right
I’d like to complete this review on a positive note; unlike The Batman. There were some good parts to The Batman. The first is Kravitz gets to kick some major bad guy butt. If there is a sequel to this bad film, I would watch it just to see Kravitz as Catwoman. I would also like to request that Kravitz’s Selina Kyle be fleshed out more so the audience can get to know her awesomeness.
Also in the great actor category is Jeffrey Wright. Anything Jeffrey Wright does will be spectacular. The Batman is no different. Although, I’m pretty sure there were other, better films in which he could have used his talents. And, then there’s an unrecognizable Colin Farrell as the Penguin. Farrell is truly a chameleon.
Cinematographer Greig Fraser managed to get a few good shots in, though. There are a few beautiful scenes of the fictitious Gotham City that help relax the dirty grit of the film. There’s also a scene in which there’s darkness, gun fire, and Batman. That particular scene is visually appealing. Lastly, Batman’s last fight scene is very good. It almost makes sitting through the preceding two and half hours of the film worth it. Almost.
Unfortunately, the above-mentioned scenes only amount to about 20 minutes of a three hour film.
Meeting Expectations
Since I wasn’t expecting much from The Batman, my confidence was already low. I’m happy to say that I am not disappointed, because I didn’t expect a good film to begin with. The good, bad, and ugly aside, The Batman is still worth a watch. Maybe just not a movie theater watch. And don’t bother waiting around for an end credits teaser. You’ll be disappointed with that, too.
Wondering what kind of movie I would like? You can read my review of Uncharted here.
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