Original caricature by Jeff York of Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, Paul Dano, and Colin Farrell in THE BATMAN. (copyright 2022)
In the decades of Batman lore, the Caped Crusader has often been described as “half ninja, half Sherlock Holmes.” Outside of the animated series from the early 90s and its cartoon off-shoots, most adaptations have missed the detective side of the Bat. Until now. This new effort from director Matt Reeves not only showcases Batman’s brain more than his brawn, but it also creates a filmgoing experience for audiences that is as tense and rich as almost any cinematic mystery of the last 20 years. That’s right, at the end of the day this movie is more of a detective story than a comic book adventure. And Batman is better for it.
Reeves not only finds ways to make great hay out of the “procedural” angle here, but he finds plenty of room to put some unique spins on the tried and true tropes of the cowled hero too. Gotham City remains the sprawling mecca it’s always been, but here it’s grungier and meaner, with its buildings (a blend of various cities and CGI) leering downwards over all the corruption going on below. Rain is constantly falling on the city too – it’s as if God is forever mourning this sinkhole of a city that needs scrubbing from top to bottom. And indeed, cleaning this unscrupulous town of its human vermin is exactly what drives Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) to don his cape and stalk the streets at night. He’s there to take out the trash.
Gone, for the most part, is Wayne’s “split personality,” replaced instead by a man on a singular mission. In voice-over narration, Wayne tells us of the turn his career has taken. To him, running Wayne Enterprises is now merely a lark; his true calling has become that of a full-time crime fighter. This Batman is in his second year of vigilantism and he knows what he’s doing and feels good about it. He also knows how to work with the police and one of the better elements of Reeves’ version is that this Bat is more a part of the team than working against it. In fact, here, detective Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright, terrific as always) plays almost like Dr. Watson to Batman’s Sherlock. In a terrific early scene, Batman enters a crime scene as a guest of Gordon’s and proceeds to offer his shrewd assessment of the evidence just as Holmes would in his era.
That crime scene contains a murdered mayor and while investigating, Batman and Gordon discover some conspicuous clues left behind by the culprit, a vicious villain who calls himself The Riddler (an insinuatingly creepy Paul Dano). The baddie favors riddles that taunt the authorities and they even directly are addressed to Batman inviting him to play. As Batman and Gordon soon figure out, the Riddler is picking off those in City Hall who are on the take, two-faced villains robbing the city blind and working in cahoots with Gotham’s underworld syndicate.
The Riddler toys with all of them, sending them puzzles and ciphers, very much like the famed Zodiac killer from the ’70s did. Reeves and his co-screenwriter Peter Craig have designed the Riddler as an homage to the never-caught serial killer both in his penchant for games as well as his taunting arrogance. This Riddler even wears the same style of specs that the Zodiac favored, and he wears them over a hooded face, conjuring the look the Bay Area killer utilized to stab a young couple at Lake Berryessa, California back in 1969. It was chilling then and it’s scary as hell here too.
Reeves revels in masks here and most everyone is wearing one, literally or figuratively. All of the big-wigs running the city are in the pocket of mob boss Carmine Falcone (John Turturro, donning sunglasses day and night like Sam Giancana). Slinky Selina Kyle (AKA Catwoman) likes disguises as well, and as played by an intense Zoe Kravitz, the headstrong young woman uses all sorts of wigs and aliases to go undercover on a mission of vengeance. She’s out to settle the score with Falcone for betraying her mother decades ago, working as a cocktail waitress at one of his clubs. When Kyle’s out on the streets, tooling around on her motorcycle, she likes to wear a mask too. Then, it’s a black ski cap that puckers up at the corners, creating its very own cat ears. It’s a clever homage to those pink, knit caps women wore to protest Trump after his 2017 inauguration. Reeves has sprinkled in a number of clever Easter eggs like that and it gives the film a sly wit.
Yet throughout, Reeves keeps his focus on the detective story of Batman trying to stop the Riddler, and even the B story like Kyle’s ties into it all. Batman figures that out early and even enlists Kyle to help him. (Is she his Irene Adler? Hmmm, the Holmes homages continue…) The Bat and the Cat have sexual chemistry, for sure, but it’s downplayed in favor of them acting more as a dynamic duo fighting to take down the syndicate.
The Penguin shows up too, but he’s not a cartoonish lout as he’s often played. Instead, he’s part of Falcone’s crew, a funny but vicious henchman, played by British actor Colin Farrell under heavy makeup. It’s yet another choice that Reeves makes to ground his Batman story in something more realistic and accessible, and that makes the stakes more relatable and dangerous. That even holds true during one of the big set-pieces when Batman chases the Penguin in the Batmobile zig-zagging through a rain-soaked freeway. Their car chase feels gritty, brutal, and as if death is just a T-bone slam away. It conjures feelings of THE FRENCH CONNECTION, full of kinetic energy and madness. And both the vehicles of hero and villain come out of it much worse for the wear.
There are some killings in the film that could’ve taken place in a SAW movie and it’s hard to believe that such palpable violence didn’t yield an R rating. Thankfully, Reeves doesn’t dwell on the carnage. Instead, the filmmaker invests mostly in his mystery and the characters involved in it, giving every actor a lot of room to shine in the puzzle. In Pattinson, he’s got a more thoughtful and soulful hero than the brawler of past takes. Pat’s Bat is quietly intense, always thinking, occasionally being drolly funny, but overall, giving his superhero a no-nonsense air. When he punches a thug, it’s to take him down. In fact, the fight scenes throughout this film are swift and sharp. This Batman needs to get back to his detective work, and the bad guys in his path are merely a distraction.
Thus, with a strong detective story, more grounded action, and well-developed characters across the board, this Batman film stands out as the best in years, certainly since THE DARK KNIGHT, and perhaps even since the animated THE MASK OF THE PHANTASM back in ’93. It all looks incredible too, with the grungy, dilapidated Gotham coming off like New York in the early 70s. (You might want to take a shower afterward, that’s how icky the city is.) The production design team, headed up by James Chinlund, should be remembered at Oscar time next year for creating such a wreck of a city. (Is it possible to give an award for best performance by urban sprawl?)
Additionally, composer Michael Giacchino adds much to the mix with his score that can be both menacing and poignant. I particularly like Giacchino’s use of clanging percussion, sometimes in the form of church bells, other times an anvil chorus, to drive the bass line. It also serves as a witty accompaniment to Batman’s deliberate and heavy footsteps when he approaches a baddie he’s going to take down.
The film clocks in at just under three hours, and some trimming could have been done, but this film is a riveting one from the first frame to last. Is this Batman the Batman? Hard to know this early, but I’m sure Reeves and Pattinson will be back for more. They’ve accomplished something special here, a Bat with a real brain. It’s great to see him live up to the Holmes side of his personality. And here’s hoping that the next film delves even more into the Arkham Asylum, as teased in the denouement. It’s the perfect place for the Batman to match his brain with the twisted ones caged up there.
