Batman is BACK!!!! Again!
What a long way we've come since 1989, and the supreme novelty of seeing the dark knight on the big screen. 3 decades, 9 films and 5 incarnations later, here comes yet another reset, and given how surprisingly but justly enamored fans were with Ben Affleck's take on the character, the odds were heavily stacked against this one. At this point, fans really ought to know better, but I digress.
Writer/director Matt Reeves, fresh from successfully rebooting another pillar of pop culture, set his sights on a vision for the caped crusader that harkens back to Darren Aronofsky's mad, pre-Batman Begins raw idea of a low-tech Bruce Wayne riding around Tokyo in a bucket of bolts with a hokey mask. Because the 20s are all about excess, we can't have something that low-key, but much of what made that idea intriguing translates to Reeves' vision. This is not an origin story - Thank God! - but we are presented with a relatively rookie Batman prowling the streets of a believable metropolis, and though he does take quite a few hard lickings, he does grunt more than your typical Batman. His flip side is a very insecure, younger Bruce Wayne, and as the usual lightning rod for fan scrutiny, our star has a lot to prove. Robert Pattinson slips effortlessly into the part, as do other veterans embodying quite fresh takes on very worn characters. But more on them later.
In this newest of reboots, we get our superhero mythos spliced with the likes of David Fincher's seminal Seven, and lo and he bold, « the world's greatest detective »(TM) actually does some detective work. The crime thriller format allows for the odd scuffle and some inspired stunt-work, but the altered focus is a breath of fresh air, particularly given how well using the Riddler as a serial killer substitute works. His motive and the nature of his eventual followers has a terrifyingly credible, grounded quality to it that makes the stakes feel more real than in any previous Batman film. Paul Dano is surprisingly chilling in the part. At a more cartoony end of the spectrum, an unrecognizable, gleeful Colin Farrell plays the Penguin as a mafia heavy, channeling his inner Goodfella to delicious effect. Sadly, Zoe Kravitz and particularly Jeffrey Wright aren't given much to do but mutter exposition to propel the Batman along his quest, and here comes the rub.
For a film that really wants to be - and then succeeds in being - smarter than previous Batman films, this one seems to often lose faith in its own audience. Many dialogue scenes go on for just a little bit too long, spelling things out for us more than necessary... Which given the daunting runtime does test your patience at times, not to mention your bladder's stamina at the theater. This is the longest Batman flick by quite a margin, and without a doubt, between some dialogue trims and a few endings too many, it could have been shortened by a good 15 minutes. It is, in effect, one good script polish short of greatness.
On the technical side of things, the result is as polished as you'd expect. James Chinlund creates magnificent sets, and cinematographer Greig Fraser - blasting his way to the top of the DP food chain these days - lights and frames the proceedings to perfection. The film's visuals do veer dangerously close to « anamorphic porn » at times, but on the whole, The Batman is a masterclass in how to shoot a modern blockbuster. A quick shout-out to some of Fraser's collaborators, Ukrainian vintage lens refurbishers Iron Glass, for the unique look of certain sequences. The only bum note from key artistic contributors is a truly uninspired score by Michael Giacchino, who basically tries to expand the opening bars of John Williams' Imperial March into something resembling a theme.
It may not be the best thing since sliced bread, but for a superhero film, it is surprisingly refreshing.
What a long way we've come since 1989, and the supreme novelty of seeing the dark knight on the big screen. 3 decades, 9 films and 5 incarnations later, here comes yet another reset, and given how surprisingly but justly enamored fans were with Ben Affleck's take on the character, the odds were heavily stacked against this one. At this point, fans really ought to know better, but I digress.
Writer/director Matt Reeves, fresh from successfully rebooting another pillar of pop culture, set his sights on a vision for the caped crusader that harkens back to Darren Aronofsky's mad, pre-Batman Begins raw idea of a low-tech Bruce Wayne riding around Tokyo in a bucket of bolts with a hokey mask. Because the 20s are all about excess, we can't have something that low-key, but much of what made that idea intriguing translates to Reeves' vision. This is not an origin story - Thank God! - but we are presented with a relatively rookie Batman prowling the streets of a believable metropolis, and though he does take quite a few hard lickings, he does grunt more than your typical Batman. His flip side is a very insecure, younger Bruce Wayne, and as the usual lightning rod for fan scrutiny, our star has a lot to prove. Robert Pattinson slips effortlessly into the part, as do other veterans embodying quite fresh takes on very worn characters. But more on them later.
In this newest of reboots, we get our superhero mythos spliced with the likes of David Fincher's seminal Seven, and lo and he bold, « the world's greatest detective »(TM) actually does some detective work. The crime thriller format allows for the odd scuffle and some inspired stunt-work, but the altered focus is a breath of fresh air, particularly given how well using the Riddler as a serial killer substitute works. His motive and the nature of his eventual followers has a terrifyingly credible, grounded quality to it that makes the stakes feel more real than in any previous Batman film. Paul Dano is surprisingly chilling in the part. At a more cartoony end of the spectrum, an unrecognizable, gleeful Colin Farrell plays the Penguin as a mafia heavy, channeling his inner Goodfella to delicious effect. Sadly, Zoe Kravitz and particularly Jeffrey Wright aren't given much to do but mutter exposition to propel the Batman along his quest, and here comes the rub.
For a film that really wants to be - and then succeeds in being - smarter than previous Batman films, this one seems to often lose faith in its own audience. Many dialogue scenes go on for just a little bit too long, spelling things out for us more than necessary... Which given the daunting runtime does test your patience at times, not to mention your bladder's stamina at the theater. This is the longest Batman flick by quite a margin, and without a doubt, between some dialogue trims and a few endings too many, it could have been shortened by a good 15 minutes. It is, in effect, one good script polish short of greatness.
On the technical side of things, the result is as polished as you'd expect. James Chinlund creates magnificent sets, and cinematographer Greig Fraser - blasting his way to the top of the DP food chain these days - lights and frames the proceedings to perfection. The film's visuals do veer dangerously close to « anamorphic porn » at times, but on the whole, The Batman is a masterclass in how to shoot a modern blockbuster. A quick shout-out to some of Fraser's collaborators, Ukrainian vintage lens refurbishers Iron Glass, for the unique look of certain sequences. The only bum note from key artistic contributors is a truly uninspired score by Michael Giacchino, who basically tries to expand the opening bars of John Williams' Imperial March into something resembling a theme.
It may not be the best thing since sliced bread, but for a superhero film, it is surprisingly refreshing.