Is Batman bullet-proof? He is now. For a movie that was supposed to be grounded, The Batman is guilty of making its protagonist, or his suit, damn near invincible. Apart from the bullets that do not do any real damage, there is also a bomb that goes off a feet from his face. As a non-superpowered individual, you would expect that to do some damage to Batman. He gets thrown back and is unconscious for a while, but then recovers and escapes from police custody. Batman's absurdly high durability in this movie is disappointing because had that been taken care of, this would have been the best iteration of Batman to date.
Once we accept that Batman's armour is made of some new, high-tech, indestructible material, we can look past that and at the movie. Director Matt Reeves delves into the psychology of the caped crusader and shines light on his scars. This seems like what Batman would have been had he existed in real life (except for the durability, of course). A boy who had to watch his parents get murdered is going to have a tough time coping. No amount of wealth is going to help the healing process. Grief and rage have to run its course. This is brought out well and this younger version of Batman is very different at the end of the movie compared with who he was at the start.
One of the best decisions in the entire movie was to skip the parts which have already been shown over and over again in past movies. So, we meet Batman two years into his crime-fighting career. He is unsure whether he is making a difference and there is still much he does not know about Gotham's criminal underworld. We get to learn with him and this offers us a unique insight into the city. There is no montage showing the death of the Waynes. This is also refreshing. And, the movie actually shows a lot more of Thomas Wayne than you may have expected. There are questions regarding Wayne Sr's character and allegations against him.
The fighting is good. The choreography of the hand-to-hand combat is arguably better than it was in Christopher Nolan's trilogy. But the action overall may be weaker. We see very little of the awesome new Bat Mobile and in the one sequence where it gets screen time, the premise is weak. (It really should not have been so difficult for Batman to chase down and capture the Penguin.) Also, Robert Pattinson does not look strong enough to pull off a lot of the feats of strength that we see (including pushing a giant table inside his house); it is easy to judge because we see him shirtless, a lot. But, the choreography, Pattinson's intensity and the visceral nature of the fights help.
One aspect which the movie has really explored is Batman's investigative skills. The world's greatest detective has been underused by past movies. Here, we see him visiting crime scenes and collecting evidence with his contact-lens camera. The entire movie is more similar to past serial killer movies like Zodiac or Seven than it is to Batman movies. In fact, Paul Dano, who plays the Riddler, compared his character to the Zodiac Killer. The darker version of the Riddler is a definite plus. So, is the characterisation of Selina Kyle. James Gordon is not too different from the past iterations of the character. The rest of the supporting characters, including Carmine Falcone and the Penguin, are also engaging.
The performances are generally good. Pattinson steals the show, especially when Batman/Bruce Wayne has to be emotional. Zoe Kravitz is arguably the best Catwoman ever. Dano is brilliant, despite the fact that he is masked for most of the movie. Jeffrey Wright as Gordon and Andy Serkis as Alfred are convincing. Among the rest of the supporting cast, Colin Farell is unrecognisable as the Penguin and his performance deserves a special mention. But, John Turturro as Falcone is at times a tad disappointing. The creative choices, such as the way the movie is edited and the camerawork, is aimed to ensure that the attention remains on the performances.
In short, The Batman is darker, and arguably, better than earlier iterations, despite some issues. And had a few flaws been corrected, this movie would have been quite special. The fact that these problems, like bomb-proof Batman, were not that difficult to tackle makes it all the more irritating. But the movie is still a must-watch for Batman fans and is well worth a watch for others, too.
Movie: The Batman
Director: Matt Reeves
Cast: Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, Andy Serkis, John Turturro, Colin Farell
Rating: 3.5/5
