Movie Review # 506: The Batman (2022)

Everyone, today, we are going to be reviewing the first of a few superhero films that were made by Warner Bros., and DC Comics, and will be coming out over the course of this year. Not only that, but apparently today’s movie review subject is the first that was released by Warner Bros. to ONLY get a theatrical release, and not be released on HBO Max simultaneously. Yes, it will stream on HBO Max 45 days after being released in theaters, but still. Hopefully, even then, it will be in theaters for a little while longer. Well, regardless, let’s talk about the newest Warner Bros., and DC Comics film, which was just released on March 4th, 2022, the one, and only, The Batman.

Plot: When a criminal by the name of Edward Nashton/the Riddler (Paul Dano) begins to wreak havoc on the fictional Gotham City, it is up to Bruce Wayne/Batman, lieutenant James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright), and female fighter named Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz) to solve riddles of his, in order to hopefully catch him, and bring him to justice once and for all. Will they succeed, or will the criminal mastermind disappear into the shadows forever?

Well, definitely not quite one of the best Batman films to be released, but still very good nonetheless. First of all, Michael Giacchino’s score is fairly good, most notably when it comes to the action sequences of this film. Additionally, the characters are very well thought out, especially the Batman, Catwoman, and the Riddler, along with some of the side villains in this film. It’s surprising how much main characters Batman, and Catwoman especially grow as this film continues to progress. Also, it’s interesting how this film can seem to act like both an action film, and a mystery detective type of film, and surprisingly work well. Not sure how often that has seemed to work with other films. But hey, at least here, it manages to do so. In addition to all of this, how could you not appreciate elements like the costume designs, and sound effects? First of all, Catwoman has a cool design when she’s wearing her superhero suit. Additionally, Batman’s vehicle is most likely a little more unique than in previous Batman movies. Oh, and the noise that the Riddler makes from time to time is a really cool noise too. Oh, and how could you not like even other vehicles like the motorcycles, for instance? Oh, and the way that Batman flies around on occasion was very impressive too. Don’t believe me? Again, see the movie for yourself!

Now, all of this sounds like the movie is perfect so far, does it not? Still, I have to tell you all that this new Batman film is probably not quite one of the best to be released as of recently. First of all, even though Giacchino’s score is good at least during the more epic moments, it can also cause the movie to feel a little too sad, and depressing, particularly around the middle to end of the film. As for the acting, it was good for the most part too. However, Robert Pattinson, who played Bruce Wayne/Batman this time around, he was okay as that character. Here’s the thing, he does better when he’s running around being the Batman. However, when he’s just being Bruce, he seems a little too serious, almost seems to talk, and act like he did when playing Edward in the Twilight movie series. His acting didn’t seem quite as bad in this case, but his performance still seemed to feel a little too mediocre. Again, he seemed to have done a better job in the 2020 film, Tenet? Yeah, where was your better acting there, Pattinson? Oh well! Overall, I’m sure that many of us can agree that Pattinson seems to lack the same amount of delivery, and charisma that actors like Christian Bale, and Ben Affleck had for more recent Batman films. Oh, and another thing! Why was the movie around three hours? Okay, I get that this film needed to have room to develop the characters, story, and the world of Gotham. Still, couldn’t they have done that in a somewhat shorter amount of time? That is especially since certain fighting scenes may have dragged on a little too long, and the story seemed to drag at a few points too, you know? Finally, the ending was alright, but there were parts of it that didn’t seem to make sense all that much. I won’t give anything away as to why, but let’s just say that the ending could have maybe gone through one, if not two more rewrites.

And that’s my review for 2022’s The Batman. Yes, even there are some areas where this film could have been better, it is still an o really fun time. The action is good, many of the characters are great, and the film does try to be a different type of Batman film, even if it sometimes fails. I would say still definitely go see it if you haven’t yet. Even if not quite one of the best films out there, it’s still worth seeing. Again, go see it, and see what you think!

Final Grade: B