🎄 Brandon ✝️’s review published on Letterboxd:
I can’t believe this movie’s out after being delayed for so long. My most anticipated film of 2022 has finally arrived and it was absolutely worth the wait.
Matt Reeves did an amazing job setting the tone, story, characters and world building. He respects the source material in a unique way.
Robert Pattinson is fantastic as the masked vigilante himself. He certainly embodies the character so much that Bruce Wayne feels like Batman outside the mask. While he’s a freighting and brutal version of the iconic character, he’s also smart and precise as well. I was hoping that the detective work would come into play for the story, and it gladly delivers. It’s so interesting and fun to watch Batman solve riddles, and come up with solutions for the police. Lastly, the suit is probably my favorite suit yet.
Besides Pattinson, the rest of the cast were so good. Paul Dano is terrifying and disturbing as The Riddler, he’s such a great villain throughout. Colin Farrell, Zoe Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, Andy Serkis and even John Turturro were all great in this film.
The tone is very dark and gritty throughout, but it fits perfectly here. It even pushes the PG-13 rating to its limit, and it’s so refreshing for once. I like how Gotham is tainted in a disgusting yet corrupt light. Michael Giacchino’s score is brilliant. It’s both bone-chilling and haunting as it adds a lot to the movie and its tone.
The cinematography is so freaking good. The lighting, camerawork and framing were so visually pleasing to look at. Greig Fraser is starting to become one of my favorite cinematographers out there.
There are so many good scenes, but the one that stood out was the car chase scene. Seeing that scene on the big screen was worth the price of admission alone.
I have a few nitpicks with it. One cameo (I don’t want to say it) feels so forced. The movie does slow down a little in the middle, but I was never bored at least. Some of the dialogue could’ve been better. I wish Alfred had more to do since he’s not in it nearly as much. So, there’s not a whole lot of complaints.
In an era where most comic book films feel the same, The Batman is so different that I’m happy to see something new from the superhero genre. I’m so pumped that we could get a sequel because I want to see more from this universe.
