--Bruce Wayne, The Batman
Combining the grave tone of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy and the visual flair of Zack Snyder's Batman films Batman v Superman and Justice League (his actual version), all while addressing classism in ways that Gotham City naturally lends itself to, The Batman still manages to present its titular character in new cinematic light by leaning far more into the detective subplots and by not being an origin story like Batman Begins or showing a long-established Batman like Ben Affleck's character. At almost 3 hours long, The Batman is around the same length as the Ultimate Edition of Batman v Superman, and all of it is completely focused on Batman and several of his villains--something having to do with the Riddler that would normally mark the end of a full movie actually heralds in approximately another hour. It is hypocritical for people to praise The Batman for some of the same things they wrongly criticized Zack Snyder's DCEU films for, like longer runtime and darker themes, but Pattinson's introduction as Batman is a great reset for the character and a very promising launch point for either a new Batman-centric universe or an alternate DCEU with its own Wonder Woman and Superman.
Production Values
The Batman is so well-shot and presented that whatever CGI is present blends very well with the practical effects like lighting. At times, The Batman even has more in common with Saw or Se7en than it does with previous Batman movies of different continuities. It leans into the mysteries of its central murderer and his ideological claims quite a bit, which lessens the need for obvious CGI that does not visually match with the actors and non-digital sets. Over and over, there are shots that capitalize on the characters and sets in this way. A shot of Catwoman and Batman standing in the light atop a building, a top-down shot of Batman leading a group of people through a dark, flooded area with a flare, and the multiple scenes where Batman slowly walks out of the shadows are all great examples.
Speaking of the characters, Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, and Paul Dano all give masterful performances in very different roles. Kravitz and Dano get the chance to be more outwardly expressive, though Catwoman is still usually more subtle than him with how she conveys her motivations and emotions. Paul Dano, in contrast, is an extremely expressive actor here in key scenes where he shows the Riddler's methodical planning and large personality. While Zoe Kravitz is never quite this animated, a romantic coupling with her Catwoman and Pattinson's Batman could easily develop in a sequel from the groundwork laid here with the quiet sensuality of their scenes together. Pattinson himself brings Batman from someone bent on inspiring fear to a more optimistic hero, often relying on tormented facial expressions and a voice that, though its volume is rarely raised, expresses inner conflict rather well.
Story
Some spoilers are below.
A murderer who calls himself the Riddler kills a prominent politician (the mayor), leaving behind a cipher and a message for the Batman, who has now been active as a vigilante for around two years and cooperating with Commissioner Gordon. A cryptic clue prompts the duo to investigate the murder victim's car, where they find a USB drive that might connect the dead mayor with the crime boss known as the Penguin. The Riddler continues his murders and begins releasing broadcasts where he suggests that there is some dark secret that Gotham's leadership has been hiding from the public, something that forces Bruce Wayne to reevaluate his family legacy.
Intellectual Content
If this Batman irrationally thinks legality and moral permissibility or illegality and immorality are the same, he is not only incredibly philosophically stupid, but he also hypocritically breaks the very law he wrongly thinks has intrinsic authority by being a vigilante whether or not he kills people. However, despite never killing, he does not verbalize his opposition to killing as often as Christian Bale's Batman does in some of his films, even if there is at least one scene where he specifically stops a character from murdering someone else. It is still idiotic to be universally opposed to killing (it is not the worst act people can inflict on each other even aside from issues like self-defense), but it is even more idiotic to be against killing while actively sending people to prisons where they might still be likely to get murdered by rival criminals or mistreated in worse ways. We will have to see if this Batman ever realizes these things, but he probably will not, as this would be too dark and too precise of a philosophical subject for most directors and scriptwriters to be willing to tackle. A truth The Batman does get right regardless is the hypocrisy of comforting the rich during personal trials while ignoring the poor who need help to merely survive, something that is revealed to be part of the Riddler's objections to Gotham. By the end, Batman, whose identity of Bruce Wayne is treated here as the actual mask for Batman's true self, sees that he could do far more than just intimidate people out of committing murders and assaults, perhaps in part with the desire to end this hypocrisy in mind.
Conclusion
The Batman is a very competent attempt at yet another reboot of Batman storytelling in film that introduces or emphasizes different aspects of the possible ways to handle the character, even after so many other movies have taken their own approach to him. This iteration of Catwoman and the Riddler could easily become iconic across an entire franchise, though a villain brought in near the very end of the film also holds promise. It is no wonder that spinoffs for director Matt Reeves's The Batman have already been announced. Perhaps this time, Warner Bros. will actually not abandon their announced DC projects and will not butcher a cinematic universe with immense potential (many early DCEU films were great at least in their director's cut forms in spite of the studio incompetence). This cast and vision needs to be allowed to make its own distinctive mark on the most-visited corner of DC's superhero properties.
Content:
1. Violence: Little blood or wounding is actually shown, but there are multiple scenes with physical fights or gunshots.
2. Profanity: "Fucking" is uttered once, while "shit," "damn," and "bitch" are used throughout the dialogue.
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