Why ‘The Batman’ Is The Best Batman Movie Ever: A deep dive into what makes the Matt Reeves’ 2022 Batman reboot starring Robert Pattinson as The Caped Crusader the best yet.
After multiple delays and much anticipation, Director Matt Reeves’ The Batman has finally been unleashed upon cinemas, giving audiences a new Dark Knight, this time with actor Robert Pattinson inhabiting the role of Bruce Wayne and his crime fighting alter ego.
After so many films and actors who have played the Caped Crusader, it wasn’t surprising to have some skepticism for another Batman film, especially in the shadows of Christopher Nolan’s widely lauded Dark Knight trilogy.
It begged the questions: Did we really need another Batman movie? Could an actor best known for playing a sparkly vampire pull off the role of a tortured superhero? And could a filmmaker best known for sci-fi properties like the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise and Cloverfield offer a new vision of such an iconic character?
I recently got the answer to those questions when I watched The Batman earlier this week, and to say I was pleased was an understatement. It perfectly captured the psychological underpinnings of the best superhero ever.
And that’s no small feat. I have been obsessed with all things Batman since I was 4 years old. I have watched every Batman TV show and film and have devoured thousands of Batman comics. I’ve been obsessed with Batman all my life.
But I have a specific version of Batman that I like, and there has been no definitive interpretations that has ever fully met my expectations. The Tim Burton films promised a darker, more serious Batman film, but even his entries were basically an inkier, more nightmarish version of camp Ala the 60’s Batman series and film.
The less said about the Joel Schumacher films the better, which is what made Christopher Nolan’s trilogy such a palette cleanser, with Christian Bale inhabiting the character, surrounded by an all-star supporting cast, including a performance for the ages by the late Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight.
But even those films, which were the best so far, had issues; Bale’s Batman voice was sometimes unintentionally comedic, and with the exception of Batman Begins, the other films in the series seemed less interested in Batman than with his Rogues Gallery, with him disappearing from view for long stretches.
Indeed the domination by villains has also effected many earlier films, in particularly Burton’s and Schumacher’s, who seemed much more interested in the colorful baddies than the straight man protagonist.
As for Ben Affleck? I personally thought he did a sturdy job. He just had the misfortune of being in some messy films while also going through a personal crisis at the same time. He never really got a fair shake.
So that brings us up to date. And after ingesting so many Batman movies over the years, to varying degrees of quality, it’s time to give my verdict for The Batman: it’s the best of the bunch.
Pattinson is a revelation in the role, and Reeves has offered a Batman take that is somehow both more traditional yet more radical than all the films that have come before it.
It’s not just because of Reeves’ assured direction, or Pattinson and co’s performances. It’s not simply the fact that it’s the most gorgeous looking Bat-film to date (thanks to cinematography by Greig Fraser), or Michael Giacchino’s excellent noir score (speaking of music, the inclusion of Nirvana’s Something In The Way is another nice touch).
It goes deeper than that.
That doesn’t mean it’s a perfect film. There are some pacing issues, it could have been shorter, and the plot is at times overstuffed. Not to mention a teaser towards the end that I feel the movie would have been stronger without. But it’s still the most Batman Batman movie that has ever graced the silver screen.
Here are 3 reasons why The Batman is the best Batman Movie ever made:
1. It’s A Detective Story
Any avid comics fan knows that in addition to being nicknamed The Dark Knight and The Caped Crusader, Bruce Wayne is also known as The World’s Greatest Detective, and many of his best storylines revolves around him solving crimes that no one else can. Trade in Sherlock Holmes’ cap and pipe for a cowl and a Batarang, and you pretty much have it.
But that sleuthing skill has been a surprising omission in most of the films. Keaton hinted at it, but he was more concerned with his romantic interests, and Bale mainly depended on his Wayne-tech and allies to do his investigative work for him.
Not so in The Batman, which draws not just on the detective element from the comics, but also drawing influences from classic detective noir films from the 40’s, 70s neo-noir like Chinatown, The French Connection, and The Conversation as well as David Fincher’s 1995 serial killer thriller Se7en, and his underrated 2007 investigative drama Zodiac.
There’s also a horror movie vibe to much of the film, drawing comparisons from everything from Halloween to Saw.
We get to see Pattinson flex his sleuth muscles, working alongside Detective Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright, who is not yet Commissioner) and Selena Kyle/Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz) to deduce the Riddler’s (Paul Dano) bizarre clues he leaves at his murder scenes, all of which hint at a conspiracy of corruption at the heart of Gotham Society.
In addition, Batman explores the criminal underworld where he looks into the off-the-books activity of gangsters The Penguin/Oswald Cobblepot (Colin Farrell) and Carmine Falcone (John Turturro).
In the end he finds all of those threads are intertwined, leading to a satisfying twist.
While the Cat and the Bat interplay is more sparse (Kravitz steals every scene she’s in), Batman and Gordon have a fine Holmes/Watson thing going, mirroring their relationship in the comics.
In this way, The Batman is more of a police procedural than an action blockbuster (not that the film lacks in spectacle: The car chase is just one amazing example).
So for Bat-fans who have longed to see a Dark Knight Detective tale? Your time has arrived.
2. Batman Is The Focus
As good as Turturro, Dano and Farrell are at being villainous (excluding Catwoman here as she is in anti-hero mode), they don’t top Heath Ledger’s Clown Prince of Crime. But they do their job of being menacing enough (Dano is often terrifying), while not detracting from the star of the show, which is as it should be.
For the first time since Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne’s alter ego is the film’s primary focus, appearing in nearly every scene of the film. And Pattinson channels the dark avenger in a way not seen before in films, tapping deep into the comic source material to give us a Batman that is truly distinctive from all that came before.
For some, this may be a negative, as Wayne is as you have never seen him before, a Howard Hughes-like recluse drowning in grief and nihilism.
But that also gives us a Bruce Wayne that is unique, not mustering the mental energy to pose as a care-free trust fund kid (at least not yet; at this point in the series he’s still honing his skills, both crimefighting wise and social).
This cements the comic based premise that he is Batman first and Bruce Wayne second.
In fact, the film also serves as a commentary on the price of being a vigilante and how that fits into our perilous present. Batman has always been a character that adapts to the times, and in an era where institutions are being degraded, truth is in short supply, and societal harmony is in stark decay, its a worthy examination of the cost that being the Batman has on both Wayne and Gotham City.
By spending so much time inside Batman’s head, we really get a grasp on his tortured soul, as well as his crime fighting techniques, learning curve and burgeoning detective skills. And it gives us plenty of time to acknowledge that while Bale and Keaton may make for more appealing Bruce Wayne’s, Pattinson is the ultimate Batman.
3. It Feels Like A Batman Comic Book Brought To Life
I’ve heard several reviews refer to The Batman as the closest a film has come to capturing the feel of the comic. I had the same sensation, so I wondered, why? Then it dawned on me: the VoiceOver.
The Batman is the first live-action film to feature the hero’s spoken narration throughout the picture. On the one hand, it mimics hardboiled detective film noir.
On the other, it also is a callback to the comics, most specifically Frank Miller’s Batman Year One and The Dark Knight Returns, where Batman’s inner monologue shines a light on both his psychological state and his deductive reasoning. In the absence of a partner like Robin, it also eliminates the need for a character to talk to himself.
By emulating comic writers’ narrative techniques, it draws us further into Batman’s world, keeping us captive, just as it would if we were thumbing through the pages of a comic.
In addition, the film has a more localized feel, unlike some past Bat-films like the Nolan trilogy, which featured plenty of globetrotting, or Zack Snyder’s films which dealt with extraterrestrial threats.
This makes The Batman fall in line with the self contained Batman stories of the comics, which feature a small, recurring cast of characters.
Gotham City also feels very comics accurate: more than ever before it feels like the same dismal, decrepit hellscape from the printed page. With never ending rainfall, buildings that look ready to topple and a general sense of decay, it’s almost a supporting character in the film.
Even more-so than Burton’s gothic landscape, Gotham has never felt more immersive, and as much I tire of pop culture lingo like “world building” (along with “tropes”, “IP” et all), it applies here: this is just as evocative and atmospheric as the dusky backdrops of Blade Runner of The Crow.
And another comic book element? His fighting style.
Whereas Keaton could barely move in his rubber suit and Bale’s fight scenes were often cut too frantically, here Pattinson’s Batman is an adept bruiser, ruthlessly efficient at taking down villains. It’s extremely satisfying to watch.
In Conclusion
Now all fans of Batman films have their personal favorites, with the two most popular being The Dark Knight and Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman film.
Now maybe, The Dark Knight is technically the better film. It’s a very close call. Certain characterizations, like Alfred and Gordon are slightly stronger in Nolan’s film, and pacing and structurally it’s tighter than The Batman.
And as mentioned above, Ledger is untouchable in the villain department.
But this is by far the best film ever made about Batman. It’s the ultimate character piece that does him justice and offers more dimension to him than any film before.
The Dark Knight and (the underrated) Batman Begins were my former favorites. I still love them. And truthfully I never thought they could be topped. Until now.
The Batman is currently in theaters.