MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY FILM INQUIRER

By Liem Jones with illustrations by Elli Tsadila

Spoilers? Less than in one of the trailers

It’s been nearly ten years since a standalone, live-action Batman film has hit screens. In that time, the hero has appeared in several questionable efforts that have left a sour taste in many viewers’ mouths, including my own. So when I heard that Matt Reeves was directing a new take, I was rather doubtful that it would be any good. After watching The Batman, I’m glad to have been proven wrong. 

In his second year of fighting crime, Batman delves deep into Gotham City’s underbelly when a sadistic killer leaves behind a trail of cryptic clues. 

Without going into too much detail so as not to spoil anything, the story is engrossingly reminiscent of films like Chinatown, an inspiration acknowledged by Reeves, and other 70s neo-noirs. Watching Batman cold-heartedly collect clues from the victims of Riddler’s plan leaves you to question whether he’s truly solving it for those around him or himself. Another point that I’m glad of: Reeves and co-writer Peter Craig do not redo the same origin we’ve seen too many times, or tie it into DC’s messy cinematic universe.

Let’s talk about Bruce Wayne himself. When a friend first told me they were recasting Robert Pattinson as the vigilante, I thought he was joking. Why would they pick an actor best known for his role as an angsty vampire from Twilight? Well, again to my pleasant surprise, Pattinson somehow has turned the billionaire playboy into a man who looks like he’s seen his parents die as many times as we have, and I love it. You can tell Reeves has taken much inspiration from Batman: Year One and Batman: Ego to sculpt a depiction of an unsettled caped crusader. But what makes this variation truly stand out is that he’s a detective first, and a hospital-sender second, not the other way around as usual in film. It helps tremendously considering that the main antagonist is one well-known for bamboozling Batman with his puzzling plans.

The rest of the ensemble haven’t changed much from their previous iterations, with a few exceptions: the Penguin, aka Oswald ‘Oz’ Cobblepot, is now presented as a New York mob boss (with no penguins sadly), and (to my further disappointment) Paul Dano’s Riddler no longer looks like Annie Lennox in tight green spandex, resembling something more akin to the Zodiac Killer. However, these new updates to the characters’ designs are still true to their identity, and the actors behind them give convincing performances.  The only gripe I have with the casting is picking Andy Serkis as Alfred. Sure, Serkis is a fine actor, but he doesn’t quite fit into his role, which leaves him sticking out like a sore thumb throughout the film. I guess his work with Reeves on the recent Planet of the Apes films may have contributed.

Composer Michael Giacchino has meanwhile yet again done a fantastic job creating a doom-laden score: from classics like Ave Maria and Nirvana to original compositions, it is never excessive and gives great tonal variation.

Cinematographer Greig Fraser pulls the same magic trick that he brought to his work in Dune (2020): through the pouring rain and red neon lights, he gives weight to his imagery. The atmosphere and setting are somewhere between Burton’s and Nolan’s Gotham City: the bleak and grungy aesthetic, highlighted with uneasy warm tones, giving the streets of Gotham a rather haunting ambience — a perfect playground for the good, bad, and their minions alike. 

The Batman tells a solid new Batman story, one with gorgeous aesthetics, disquieting twists, and a fresh Dark Knight that sits distinctively among the rest of the World’s Greatest Detective’s live-action catalogue.

The Batman can be seen in cinemas now.