My ‘The Batman’ thoughts, review, rant….
If you’ve seen my posts or read my other “reviews” you may have caught on to the fact that I am 100% undeniably a hardcore fan girl of Robert Pattinson and was so excited for the release for The Batman. I’ve been counting the fucking DAYS to see it in theaters because I knew this was going to be something special….. and oh boy was I not disappointed. I am a self proclaimed movie fanatic, and I hold sacred the act of seeing movies on the big screen. I don’t fathom myself as some snobbish critic and hold standards on ‘Cinema’ as some would say. I enjoy all types of movies. The most entitled tear jerking, awards baiting, pieces of ArT 🤌🏻 that can be overrated, and the silly ass stupid, mind numbing, dick joke type of comedy’s designed to make you forget about the real world and it’s ever lasting problems. I admit, I love and enjoy the fun, overblown, action packed comic book movies that have come out in the last 10-15 years just the same as every other person in the world. Their easy and make you feel good… most of the time. Marvel has dominated the box office for a reason and made something special out of second rate comic book characters we didn’t really know before they showed up on the screen. But to take on The Batman.. a character as familiar as your own family members and as everlasting as any character of the 21st century? That’s the real challenge. What could we possibly see as NEW in the Batman canon. What else is there to possibly explore that we haven’t seen in countless revisions and reinventions. Well Matt Reeves has the answer. I’ve always loved Batman as a pop culture staple. I’ve been watching DC movie characters as long as I can remember and I’ve always loved the dark worlds DC provided these iconic hero’s and antihero’s. Batman is probably my most favorite hero besides Superman. I love them both for different reasons, where my idealistic hopeful and righteous side admires the absolute loveliness of Superman/Clark Kent (who IS the most powerful superhero-No Debate!) I am seduced by the dark, mysterious, somewhat borderline mentally unhinged nature of Batman/Bruce Wayne. He has no special powers or supernatural upper hands… he’s just a man. A deeply sad, distressed, confused but smart, determined and creative man trying to find meaning in the chaos that became his life. He is so relatable not because of what he CAN do , but what he has BEEN through. Even if you’ve never experienced the kind of loss he has, it’s not hard to understand his pain. That’s what Matt Reeves latched onto… the Pain of Batman/Bruce Wayne. And I use the slash because in this movie, there is no distinguishable line between who he is in and out of the cowl. His pain and loss is carried with him no matter the face he decides to show for the day. It was brilliant to start of this new take on the character as not having a “split personality” of sorts to show the fake billionaire playboy and the masked avenger of the night. He isn’t there yet in his life. He wants to create a change in Gotham but isn’t impacting the way he wants… which is something we all see everyday in the real world. Real change is not made by the well meaning… it’s usually by the tragic occurrences that shake the world so bad you have to do something about it or at least attempt to. Robert Pattinson showed the Inner workings of Bruce and his mindset so beautifully without words. I am astonished by the emotions pulsing through his EYES from each scene of his Batman. I was truly blown away and I’m biased I admit but this was beyond loyalist applause.. I was impressed. He slinks through the shadows, a figure of fear, an ever present eye on the criminal element.. as any good Batman should be! But it doesn’t stop them from committing crimes. He can beat the shit out of someone and there will always be another lowlife waiting in the wings. Gotham is such a character in this movie and you really feel this is a fully lived in city that has fallen from grace and every kind of unruly creature is lurking around waiting for their shot at power.
We jump right into year 2 and no origin story needed. We know the tale so well we could imagine it all happening in five seconds of backstory that’s not necessary to film anymore. We get where Bruce is coming from and feel his anger without having to be told he is angry. He shows it. Vengeance he is called, again and again. He believes it too. He only thinks in black and white, right and wrong. No grey areas allowed. But his world gets pulled upside down by the beautiful, morally ambiguous, strong Selina Kyle and the insane, unpredictability, unhinged Riddle that causes all the mayhem in this masterfully set detective story. And OMG does he catch some feels for our new Catwoman! There chemistry is off the charts. The movement and tension between these two lost souls is so delicious you can practically taste the sparks flying off all that leather and rubber covering most of their bodies. The softly spoken words and longing looks makes this the most sexy iteration of the Bat and the Cat in my mind..and Michelle Pfeiffer LICKED Michael Keaton in the Tim Burton film! That was hot but COME ON.. when Rob looks deeply into Zoe Kravitz eyes and caresses the words “look at me”… I almost DIED 💀
Paul Dano as the Riddler is truly terrifying and almost too close to being real. I love the horror elements Matt brought to the film and wasn’t afraid to lean into the sickness and uncomfortable nature of murder and mayhem. Even making you give unwanted sympathy to this villain. Its miles away from the bloodless unreality of the marvel movies I was genuinely shocked to see some hardcore (for a PG 13 film) violence in a “superhero” movie. He really pushed those boundaries and all the power to him. We get so many influences in this movie. 70s crime dramas, horror, noire, subtle dark comedy, comic book references. It’s all there. I feel like this is the kind of film made specifically for someone like me to enjoy. I’ll happily sit through 3-4 hours of a movie and never complain. I want the quiet moments, the stuff you reflect on. The slow burn that leads you to a heart pounding finale that may or may not make you entirely satisfied. I want a flawed character trying to figure it out. Fails time and time again, but never gives up. By the time Batman is so exhausted and close to passing out (as any normal human being would be inclined to do) he pushes himself to give more…more and more and more of himself. All to show his city that he is not just vengeance. He is who they need him to be. The symbol of hope. The protector in the shadows. The knight himself. He sees his hate has caused an impact he never intended, and as anyone faced with their own demons, he has a choice. Give them your pain or take on their pain for them.
The movie is shot so beautifully it’s well deserved that the cinematographer recently took home an Oscar for DUNE, and I’m hopeful he will again for a the Batman in a years time. The score is unbelievable and so iconic I can just see it being played on repeat for Batman fans for years to come. The choice to use Nirvanas ‘Something in the Way’ at the beginning of the movie and the end of the movie is deliberate. He will always be torn in his choice of duty and vengeance. Love and hate. Righteousness and selfishness. There will always be something in the way of Bruce getting beyond his pain and fear. He needs it too much. But he can become something good, at least a little bit for the sake of his city. And the people who need someone to show them the way out of the dark, even if you can never leave the dark yourself. His final scene with Selina drives this home. He wants something with her but doesn’t know what. She can’t understand either but what they both know is that he can’t leave Gotham. He is spoken for. And isn’t that the tragedy of Bruce and Selina? To always want, but never to have.
I cannot wait to see where this series from Matt and Rob takes us over the years. I predicted we would get something weird, and I was right, but not so weird as to alienate a world wide audience. Rob put his whole heart into The Batman and I can’t help but root for as many follow ups as possible. I want alll the spin offs. The HBO MAX shows, the sequels, the inspired fanfiction! This is a world I want to sink my teeth into and drown blissfully in. I haven’t even gone into detail the supporting cast of Colin Farrell as Penguin, John tuturo as Carmine Falcone, Jeffrey wright as Gordon Andy Serkis as Alfred..etc. all amazing and deserving of praise! But I feel we will have so much more content of this Batman/Gotham world that I will have plenty of time to gush on their behalf. I sat and watched this movie twice in theaters and eagerly anticipate it’s inclusion on HBO MAX in a few days, and I can safely say I want to see it on repeat for the forceable future. Matt Reeves envisioned a beautiful world with complicated characters and was brought to life by world class actors. I bow down to his vision and pray we get endless content for years to come. Batman will endure, and he will always be retold. I just hope we get more people like Matt and Rob who show us that there is always something new to be told in a classic tale. PLEASE for your own cinema loving self respect. See. This. Movie. 🖤🦇
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