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Editor’s Note: This is your formal warning for mild spoilers.
The highly anticipated “The Batman” film by director Matt Reeves is set to arrive in movie theaters March 4, but it has already surpassed all expectations, including my own. Being another remake in almost 60 years, it is a top contender for being one of the best.
With actor Robert Pattinson taking on the lead role as Bruce Wayne/Batman, this is a darker direction for the already established hero and seems to have paid off. The film filled with a star-studded cast including Zoë Kravitz (Catwoman), Andy Serkis (Alfred Pennyworth), Colin Ferrel (The Penguin), Paul Dano (The Riddler), and Jeffrey Wright (James Gordon) making it a movie you want to see.
Having so many remakes, I feared the well-known storyline would be repeated, which has caused much failure in the past.
The film is set in a different Batman universe compared to Ben Affleck’s “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” but remains about Gotham City being overrun by crime and is now being tormented by The Riddler.
Pattinson, who faced backlash for being cast for this movie, was able to portray Batman with great ease, which seemed almost natural to him. His version of the character is darker and more realistic than its comic-like predecessor and allows for great storytelling.
Chemistry was noticeable with the entire cast, specifically between Pattinson and Kravitz as their romance was perfectly depicted in the film. It was neither forced nor forgotten as it can sway either side in superhero films. Both portray their roles with great ease and complement one another throughout the film.
Other great assets to this film are Colin Ferrel and Paul Dano, with their portrayal of the villains of this film, The Penguin and The Riddler. Dano creates an unsettling feeling when it comes to The Riddler, as if it is realistic and could be some psycho off the streets. Ferrel allows for such character development in the film, especially since The Penguin is not the main antagonist of the film.
In a movie as dark as this one, both visually and emotionally, humor seems almost impossible, but the subtle humor allowed it to feel natural. From the sudden clothesline, Batman endured to The Riddler’s sly jokes, it kept the movie multi-dimensional.
Being almost three hours long, I stressed the film would not live up to the standards of other movies that were just as long. This movie, however, seems to keep you on your toes, and right as you think the movie ends, it pulls the audience further into the plot.
It is the storytelling done by the writers that allow this comic book adaptation to come to life in such a realistic way. It never becomes over the top and ridiculous. Rather, it is as if Gotham City could be only mere hours away.
Batman fans will be in for a real treat by the acting skills of everyone on the cast, the films’ direction, the storyline, and the quick cameo of a favorite Batman villain. Fans now hope that Pattinson continues his portrayal until the end of what should be a series of films. Pattinson and the entire cast fit their respected roles perfectly, which without them the story would have fallen through ten minutes in.
Ultimately, the film has allowed me to give DC comics and their films another chance as it has won me over as a viewer with Pattinsons’ portrayal. This could easily be my favorite Batman, if not for Christian Bale’s performance in “The Dark Knight.” It is however, the best Batman portrayal in the past 10 years, and it deserves all the credit.
It is worth seeing more than once. I give it 4 out of 5 stars, solely because I wish I could have seen Pattinson play Bruce Wayne a bit more than he did, but that could be me just being greedy and wanting more eye-liner Bruce Wayne.
Itzel Giron is the audience engagement editor and may be reached at [email protected]; @by.itzel.giron on Instagram; @itzel_anahi_16 on Twitter.
