This Friday, March 4, Robert Pattinson surprised us all in his role as Batman in the latest Warner movie about the famous superhero. The film is sweeping the world’s box office. After watching it several times, I think it’s hands down the best DC character introduction adventure to date.
Matt Reeves seeks in this film seeks to take his protagonist to another level. The film maintains an intensity comparable to the Dark Night trilogy directed by Nolan.
Not that Gotham has ever been a model city, but its level of corruption goes much further in The Batman. It is like a world apart, giving the feeling that there is nothing beyond. The appearance of a psychopath is understandable in this corrupted city. Paul Dano’s Enigma seeks to do justice in a way that reminds the SAW saga.
That leads to Batman exercising more like a cross between detective and vigilante than a superhero. In the first part of the film, he proves to be intelligent and clever when carrying out his investigation. During the second part, he does not hesitate to be brutal when dealing with crime. Reeves reflects an outstanding fight performance that makes the spectator feel the hate and power of the characters.
Batman highlights from the first appearance executing a group of violent people who were assaulting a poor citizen of Gotham. All this fits with the approach to the character made by an inspired Robert Pattinson, very taciturn and still dragging the family trauma that is an essential part of the story.
The film doesn’t look like a superhero movie. Not so much because it has a more realistic approach but how crude its portrayal of a city inspired by New York is. From there, there is more suspense around Enigma’s motivations and what exactly he wants to uncover.
The film is overwhelming as a visual spectacle that matches perfectly with the narrative engine that keeps the viewer immersed in what happens.
Batman is a very long movie. It is the third-longest superhero movie to date. But it never becomes heavy. It wasn’t until its final stretch that I began to notice that it was longer than other similar titles. There it is essential to have someone like Reeves behind the cameras. He has had the possibility of taking the character to territories not explored until now on the big screen. Perhaps he lacked that last push to achieve everything he sets out to do, yes. And it is one thing to play with the depressing and another to be so openly.
‘The Batman’ is a very good movie that proposes something different from the DC superhero. It is not complete, but it is fascinating in many aspects and absorbing in its proposal. It is also a compact work that does not depend on later re-assemblies to bring to the viewer what those responsible for it are looking for.
