The Batman — A Review

26th April, 2021.

It has to be said: when I made that video … ?

I had a couple of movies lined up.

And was unsure of which one to watch.

Last Night in Soho sounded good.

Spider-Man: No Way Home sounded fun: and has three Spidermen in it.

Titane, Godzilla vs Kong, and Man Bites Dog?

Equally as attention grabbing.

Eventually?

I went for the recent Robert Pattinson vehicle, The Batman.

I think it’s worth watching: provisionally, at any rate.

I’ll tell you more, tomorrow.

~≈🦇≈~

27th April, 2022.

The Batman opens with an unnamed watcher with binoculars: spying on a little boy playing in a lavish room in a family mansion: the family mansion of Don Mitchell, the mayor of Gotham City who shoos his son out go his office, while he makes an important phone call.

Once that call is done?

We see that the unknown watcher has noticed the easily accessible skylight windows at the top of the Mayoral mansion.

A skylight that allows the masked intruder to get in: and kill the mayor.

Before beginning to go to work on the Mayor’s body.

In a shift of scene … ?

We hear the voice of Bruce Wayne/Batman (Robert Pattinson), filling in his diary: and find that this is a Thursday, in an unknown year.

A Thursday near Halloween.

We see many of Gotham’s citizens in Halloween costumes as we hear more of Bruce’s diary* entry about his night’s work: telling us of the two years he’s been working as Batman.

We hear this voice over?

As a hooded Bruce, not yet in costume, wanders the street looking for crimes to prevent.

Eventually finding a helpless commuter being attacked by a gang of youths in clown make-up.

It’s only after the gang are dealt with?

That our hero sees the sign he’s arranged with Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) light up the night sky.

The signal … ?

Is there, partly to scare criminals … but also to let Batman know he’s needed.

Something … ?

Is up.

~≈🦇≈~

Now … 

What did I think of The Batman?

Good, bad, indifferent?   Smoothly beautiful art piece, or or the sort of snot not even Troma would make?

The Batman’s not that bad!

But what I think we have?

Is possibly a lot of things.

The plot — hunting for a serial killer version of the Riddler that owes as much to the Zodiac killer, as it does to anything in the DC comics — is well done.

The Riddler’s victims are all corrupt city officials: he’s killing them during a mayoral election, to show people how corrupt Gotham’s become.

It’s a well done, if a little long, thriller: one that turns its central DC supervillain into a realistic figure.

A villain that’s well played by Paul Dano: the character’s final cell scenes — against Pattinson’s Batman, and with an unnamed prisoner played by Barry Keoghan — are well done indeed.

Pattinson, himself, on the other hand … ?

I’m not sure what to make of Robert Pattinson’s performance, to be frank: I know he built up a fan base in the Twilight movies, but never saw them.

I don’t think I’ve seen anything else with him in it, either.

So?   I know little of his capabilities.

Yes: he knows the basic craft.   Yes, he has a great supporting cast.   And yes: I’ve seen none of his other performances.

As good as a basic performance as he gives, Pattinson seemed a little too robotic for my taste.

Time — and more films in this part of the DC franchise — may improve his performance: but I still think Christian Bale made for a better Batman, and Ben Affleck, a better Bruce Wayne.

As things stand, Pattinson seems to alternate between a robot, and a spoilt Emo teen.

Moving to the supporting cast … ?

Something I know that Gotham — the TV series that explores the life of the young Bruce Wayne — did?

Was explore the Penguin: casting Robin Lord Taylor as a version of the character who runs a shady nightclub.

Taylor gave a performance that most — me included — saw as superb: ranging from politely camp, to psychotically unhinged: and seconds away from heaving off and clumping you.

I think Farrell’s managed to give a performance that’s as good.   Calmer, but JUST as nasty!

The rest of the supporting cast Jeffrey Wright, Zoe Kravitz and Andy Serkis — Lieutenant Gordon, Catwoman/Selina Kyle and Alfred, respectively — are all equally as good: although I felt Serkis was seriously underused.

There’s also early scenes of Batman getting around Gotham on a motorbike: wearing a motorcycle helmet with a darkened visor.

In that sense?   The sense of interesting additions to the background universe, and good supporting cast?

The Batman is a good film.

~≈🦇≈~

What else can I tell you … ?

The Batman is a bit of a hodgepodge.

Or, more accurately, a bit of a cake.

Any movie is, I think.   It’s a mixture of plot, character, acting, scripting, stylistic influences, jam, cream and outright references, outright ‘Look what I can do moments,’ that eventually get turned into a Victoria sponge.

Or Battenburg.   Or Stollen.

What have you.

There’s a lot going in, there.

It’s those references — or potential references — that got me.

I think that director Matt Reeve, and writer, Peter Craig, wanted to show off.

At least, I think that’s what they’re doing.

As one example?   The Batman’s opening monologue takes the form of of a diary entry form Bruce Wayne/Batman, himself: one that immediately reminded me of Rorschach, from Watchmen.

Something I felt Reeve and Craig would know?    Is that Watchmen creator, Alan Moore, has said he created Rorschach to explore how a real world Batman would work.

Some of the music seemed very reminiscent of The Godfather: there’s a four note motif played whenever Carmine Falcone appears, that seemed similar to the opening notes of The Godfather Waltz.   And, as if to confirm that Godfather link?

The film plays Al Martino’s I Have But One Heart, when Bruce Wayne goes to met Falcone.

You couldn’t make the link more explicit, could you?   It’s very knowingly done, I feel.

There’s other things lurking in the background, too.

The Riddler’s habit of playing with his victims reminded me of the Jigsaw Killer from the Saw franchise.

The Riddler’s sending video clips?   Got me thinking of Heath Ledger’s cut of the Joker: although, again, could easily have been lifted from Saw.

Another of The Riddler’s victims?   Has a cage clamped to his face: with rats in a part of the cage.   As someone who’s read 1984, several times, I can’t help but wonder where the producers got that.

One scene — of the Batman jumping from a higher landing to a lower one, with his cape spread — got me thinking of a similar scene in the Tim Burton 1989 version of Batman.   Another — of Batman using a grapnel to fly up a stairwell — reminded me of another scene in the ’89 film.

Minus Kim Basinger.

There’s other minor points.

The opening scenes include Batman’s confrontation with a gang of Joker look-a-likes.   One — a new member, we assume — had only half his face painted.   That reminded me of Prince’s makeup in the video for Partyman.

In another, later scene?   We see Alfred  reminiscing about his time in ‘the Circus.’   From what Wikipedia tells us, his version of the character is supposed to be ex-military.

Although using the phrase, ‘the circus,’ when attempting to decipher something … ?

Had me looking to Le Carré’s Smiley novels.

It’s Le Carré’s term for MI6’s headquarters, after all.

It does stand for Military Intelligence, after all.

~≈🦇≈~

With all that said?   Or possibly waffled?   You’re going to be asking one thing.

“Paul,” you’re going to ask, “what did you make of The Batman?”

“Is it good, bad or indifferent?”

“Paul,” you say, “How was it?”

I have to say, The Batman is a good film.

It’s a well made, well written thriller: that — with the possible exception of Pattinson’s performance — is well acted.

And watch-ably entertaining.

It’s just not necessarily the best Batman film in the deck.

I still think that’s 2008’s The Dark Knight.

The Batman.

★★☆☆

*        This immediately reminded me of an early line from Rorschach, in the original Watchman comic;

“The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up around their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout ‘Save us!’… and I'll whisper ‘No.’”