USA 2022
Opening March 3, 2022
Directed by: Mark Reeves
Writing credits: Mark Reeves, Peter Craig, Bill Finger
Principal actors: Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, John Turturro, Paul Dano, Jeffery Wright
The debut of the superhero Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939, and we have grown to love this legendary superhero ever since. We have seen many versions of Batman which include his sidekicks Robin and Catwoman. But the film The Batman has truly emerged with a completely new and refreshing look that is both realistic and technically viable spotlighting all his superhero antics. The dark chaotic city of Gotham, while being visually aesthetic, reveals a city in despair where crime constantly occurs on a daily basis just around the corner. The film is a follow up of Netflix’s five seasons of Gotham. In the television series we follow Detective James Gordon, a new recruit, who is assigned to investigate the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne, and we first have a glimpse of their young son, Bruce, who stands to inherit the legacy. He has other ideas and makes the decision to become a crusader of justice with the help of his guardian, Alfred Penn.
Director Mark Reeve’s opening scene of The Batman is the murder of a politician. Detective James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) brings Batman alias Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) to the scene of the crime. It’s clear from the first moment on that he is unwanted and feared by the police force. The atmosphere of the city portrays a gritty, dark, mysterious place where the cinematography reaches new heights with each scene displaying a very tight choreography. As we watch Batman in action, we have a special view into his super abilities that are easily explained by wild technology. Bruce takes a closer look into his family history and finds that he must forge many new alliances like with the wonderful cat burglar Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz) while trying to unravel the Riddler’s (Paul Dano) clues which are placed along the way. It is the classic superhero story with a new contemporary look. This action-packed film has dynamic scenes of superheroes combating crime and politicians’ abuse of power, and Batman’s unwanted naïve self-reflection going up in smoke. Who would have guessed that this would become a masterpiece reflecting our own struggles with corruption and violence which we see in our current world of politics? ()