Written by Cameron Geiser

The Bat is back with Matt Reeve’s latest iteration of the long-lived character in The Batman. One part of why I enjoy the medium of comic book characters being translated to film is that they can be reimagined as many times as you can imagine them. It’s in the very nature of comic books as a storytelling medium. Some things can change for these characters over time, but they almost always return to their baseline defining traits and familiar story beats. With this latest version of the caped crusader, we take a look at a Batman, and subsequently Bruce Wayne, who’s already established as the Dark Knight and has been hitting the streets of Gotham for two years by the time we meet him. Robert Pattinson’s Batman is young, meaner in fights, and fully embracing the fear he instills in thugs and criminals. Though he’s still got a lot to learn about how his actions impact Gotham and how he should proceed as “Mr. Vengeance” as he’s taunted by Colin Farrell’s gangster Oswald “Ozzie” Cobblepot, better known as the Penguin.

Speaking of the Penguin, the villains of this film feel authentic both as themselves and to this new version of Gotham City. The Riddler (Paul Dano) is especially disturbing this time around as he leaves clues behind with his victims, often with perplexing ciphers and intricate riddles littered with dark humor. Though the most fascinating turn was establishing Mob Boss Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) as an incredibly powerful force to be reckoned with in Gotham’s underworld. As for Gotham itself, it’s never felt more accurate to its comic-book counterpart. In this Gotham, it rains most of the time. It feels as though it’s a place removed from time, like early 1980’s New York City, but with all of the modern technology we know and recognize. Gothic architecture is everywhere, the subway is covered in graffiti, trash is piling up on the street sides, it feels as disgusting and despondent as it should. Matt Reeves and company have clearly taken inspiration from the great noir films of cinema’s past.

That doesn’t just translate to the world-building, but also to how the story moves and flows over it’s three hour runtime. This is the first Batman movie to really laser focus on the fact that he’s the world’s greatest detective. He’s got a journal with voiceover dialogue and an eagle eye for spotting distinct clues that could lead to tracking down the Riddler. In that vein, this film has more in common with David Fincher’s Seven than it does any other superhero film. In fact, the film teams Batman with the latest, and arguably greatest, version of Jim Gordon put to film yet. Jeffrey Wright’s Gordon has already established a working relationship with the Bat over his first two years, signal-in-the-sky and all. Though this Gordon is depicted more as an active partner in solving the Riddler murders. Even Alfred (Andy Serkis) gets in on the puzzle-solving with the few scenes we get of Bruce out of the suit. Though Bats does gain another partner in the emergence of Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz) when Batman slugs his way into the Iceberg Lounge to grill the Penguin for information. Which eventually leads to an absolutely thrilling car chase with the new muscle-car version of the Batmobile and Penguin.

Perhaps the best part of the film as a whole is that it’s working with a smart script. Every character has their own motivations and reasons for doing what they do. No one is there for fluff, and everything fits together like clockwork. Though I must note that the cinematography by Greig Fraser and the score by Michael Giacchino are two of the strongest aspects of the film. These two portions alone do a lot of the work in crafting the film’s atmosphere, immersion, and sheer entertainment value. Surrounded by corruption, new emerging villains, and uncovering long buried secrets, Robert Pattinson’s Batman earns his place in superhero cinema by the time the film’s credits roll. The Batman is genre cinema as it’s finest, and personally, I hope they continue to make more films within this new Gotham and it’s Dark Knight. It’s downright thrilling!

Cameron Geiser is an avid consumer of films and books about filmmakers. He'll watch any film at least once, and can usually be spotted at the annual Traverse City Film Festival in Northern Michigan. He also writes about film over at www.spacecortezwrites.com.