The Batman

Matt Reeves' The Batman might be the most faithful-to-comic-book adaptation of the titular superhero done till date. Doesn't mean it's the best, but it's the most faithful. All you need to see this truth is the exquisite introduction of Gotham City under Bruce Wayne's narration. The darkness, the rain, the wetness, the grim and dingy corners; everything you've seen on the comic panels are brought to life via Greig Fraser's lens that showers the screen in red with black as contrast. The mood and atmosphere are extremely palpable! And The Caped Crusader isn't introduced right away. Criminals are afraid he might be lurking in the shadows. They have no idea where he would or could emerge from. And when he actually does after said brilliant set up, accompanied by a hair-raising score by Michael Giacchino that always lurks behind him never leaving, you know you're in for a never-before-experienced treat!

Batman has many names, and one of it is 'The World's Greatest Detective'. It's smart of the writer-director to capture this one crucial aspect that makes this superhero the superhero he is, and use it to form a distinct live action Batman film identity. Clearly inspired by the Zodiac killing, the plot revolves around a series of murder committed by none other than a rogue-gallery-favorite, The Riddler. How Batman and Bruce Wayne goes about investigating said crime that spirals deeper and deeper into personal ramifications is the crux.

Coming fresh off the successes of Dawn of and War for the Planet of the Apes, expectations are sky high for a Matt Reeves' offering! We do see his staple here, especially his simplicity. From the tactical hand-to-hand combat, character designs, vehicles etc., this is as grounded as a Batman film will ever be, and it fits this universe that the team of makers have created, including the cosplay-like costumes which seemed iffy in the previews but no longer a problem once we drown in this version of Gotham; it just fits! They've gone as far as making sure the hammer Riddler uses is shaped like a question mark!

The screenplay is clean and steady. Each scene follows the anatomy of storytelling to the T before transitioning smoothly to the next. Every single aspect we know and love about the titular character is treated like a revelation, with the Batcave and Batmobile being instances. Severed thumb as thumb-drive, rat maze, collar bomb blast riddle threat in a funeral, discovery about Thomas Wayne's dirty laundry that needs addressing, Bruce Wayne being the target that victimizes Alfred, the eerie horror visit to the old orphanage and the connection of bird riddles surrounding Falcone and Penguin are some of the most amazing clue-deciphering related events! Action sequences such as the Batmobile chase with Penguin that ends with an upended shot of Batman walking towards said villain, police headquarters' mask-unveiling struggle that ends with Batman fleeing the place with his transformed suit, night club shootout in absolute darkness with the gunshot flashes being the only light source to show us Batman taking out the mercenaries plus the climactic brawl that results in him saving the people while bearing a torch are goddamn fantastic and poetic in many ways!

Batman goes through an arc, which is truly appreciable since it is hard to pull off one for an iconic character the world knows in and out about. When he starts off this rampage of hunting down every single criminal in the city, he does it out of vengeance. When he realizes that he has been inspiring the criminals to do the crimes they do using the exact same 'vengeance', he realizes he has to be more than that. He needs to do this for the people and be a beacon of hope for them. While the part where he cuts himself off to drop into the water that cleanses his old self is symbolic of that internal change, scenes like this need to be explicit / physical / external enough to convey that. Overall, his internal change could have been expressed much more vividly in the external plot, especially in the mid-section to make us see the arc destination much sooner rather than only becoming clear at the very end verbally, instead of visually thus emotionally. The way the Gotham City Police Department treats him like shit is a bonus delight! While we do not get much of Bruce Wayne, for a man who expresses clearly that he doesn't care about the business and his vigilante work is his sole way of protecting the family legacy, he does go through a small yet significant learning about his father. Hopefully we'll see more of him in the sequel.

The Bat and The Cat sure has a special ring to it, and they have a steamy romantic tension between them to show for it, whether when they are working together, throwing hands, disagreeing, flirting or agreeing with each other. What begins as a collaboration to find clues about the murders and murderer (with the 44 Below spying scene as one such instance) gradually turns into an affair with high personal stakes for both the characters, particularly involving one of the story's major antagonists, Carmine Falcone. The connection of 'birds' between the names of Penguin and Falcone are sweet blind spot revelations, which goes to tell the same about the connection of 'orphans' between Bruce Wayne and Riddler.

Riddler is a terrifying villain, with Paul Dano shouldering the character with utmost sincerity and lunacy. From the very first shot as you hear his muffled breath stalking over Gotham City's Mayor prior to the ambush murder, the story shifts gear quickly! When he is eventually caught and threatens Batman over his identity, you get the ultimate dread that this is over for the Dark Knight - the truth is going to leak that Bruce Wayne is secretly Batman. While the seven bombs across the city plan might have jumped in abruptly for that mandatory big spectacle climax for a blockbuster flick, we see his insanity in full vigor with his own echo army before ultimately revealing one of Batman's rogue gallery favorite - The Joker.

Performances are outstanding as all the actors did their parts really well, but major praise definitely goes to the unrecognizable Colin Farrell as Penguin and Robert Pattison when he's under that leather skin. Dialogues are mostly awesome but some of it could really use some extra work, certainly that 'white people' line that has nothing to do with the film's content but inserted as a request from the top floors of Warner Bros. Pictures.

The use of technology such as the recorder lens is astute and the sound design overall is sharp, deep and clear. Probably the biggest and only flaw is the third Act's pacing, and it most likely has to do with how it's edited together. It often feels like the runtime screeches to an ending... before resuming another one. And it persists this way until we reach the final conclusion. Then again, this isn't the fault of the writing as all of the dramatic questions raised are solved adequately with steady patience. Like aforementioned, this pacing issue is most likely due to the way it's stitched together. Also, the fact that the city's important figures discussing the murder case details in the night club right when that is the exact information needed by the protagonist is definitely convenient.