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Hello Nerdgenic Nation! I’m very excited to review The Batman for you all. I had the chance to watch this film on opening night and decided to share my thoughts with our community. Aaron, our superhero expert will also share his thoughts on your YouTube channel. So if you are interested in seeing that, be sure to view and subscribe to our channel.
I will work to keep my review of The Batman spoiler-free, and at the end of this article, I’ll give you my recommendation on whether you should take the time to watch this film in theaters or if you should wait for it to become available on many popular streaming platforms.
A Different Take On The Batman
I decided to shy away from viewing all of the numerous trailers out there as I didn’t want anything hindering my experience of the film. Going in almost completely fresh I’d have to say at first glance this movie had me hooked with the cinematic look and feel of the film. The Batman feels much more grounded in realism than we’ve seen in other Batman films. This movie feels much closer to Christopher Nolan’s films if I had to give it a more direct comparison. The Batman feels fresh and has an extremely dark tone throughout. You really get a feel for Gotham city as you see crime and corruption spiral out of control.
Matt Reeves does a great job at giving us something new. This film is shot more like an Indie film project similar to the Joker. So if you were a fan of the artistic direction of that movie, then The Batman will be another visual treat for you. The characters, scenes, and world all feel like they could exist in real life. This is an aspect I really enjoyed about this film and helps it stand out in the world of superhero movies. If this is an indication of things to come from DC, then I am truly excited about it.
Lengthy Run Time
The Batman is more of a detective noir story and is filled with Batman searching for clues. The film does try to keep these scenes entertaining, but to be honest at times this movie may have you looking at your watch. This film really should have been about 30 minutes shorter, but the long run time doesn’t take away from the overall story. It was around the 3rd act where I felt like this film was not sure how to get to the conclusion. At one point I thought we were at the end, but the film decided to continue and it’s here where my enjoyment started to dissipate.
The Villains
To keep this review spoiler-free, I’ll talk about the villains we’ve seen in the initial trailer only. The movie is acted very well. I do not have a single negative thing to mention about any of the cast of characters, with the exception of the Riddler. Catwoman is stunning, sexy, and is deserving of more screen time. The Penguin is dynamic and almost has you rooting for him at one point. The Riddler is interesting and can also be viewed as a little annoying depending on your preferences.
You can really tell that all of the cast seem to enjoy what they are doing. Catwoman and the Penguin were the two stand-out performances for me. I was a little worried when I first heard how many villains were going to be in this film, but The Batman handles the story beautifully. You’ll never feel overwhelmed or feel like someone is just in the film for a quick cameo.
Robert Pattinson as the Batman
I’ll talk about our newest actor to dawn the role, Robert Pattinson. Pattinson’s Batman is dark and brooding. I’ve seen criticism online of him being called the emo Batman, and I’d say that sums up his performance as Bruce Wayne. Honestly, I feel like Pattinson does a good job, but with the way, the story is told I feel like almost any actor could have done this role. Pattinson does manage to bring a good portion of pain to the role, but there really isn’t any personality from him in this film. I’ve heard other reviews stating that this is the point of the character, but I did find myself not really caring about what the Batman was doing and at times even asking myself why is the Batman doing this in the first place?
With that being said, I am excited to see how Pattinson’s Batman will evolve with future installments. There is potential for his character to grow depending on the direction the writers choose to take.
Should You Watch The Batman
Now that you’ve read my review it’s time to give you my opinion on whether or not you should go to theaters to watch this film. My answer is both yes, and no. If you are a fan of the superhero movie genre then yes, you should definitely see this film. If you are a casual moviegoer then I’d suggest waiting to stream this movie at home. The Batman is okay, but I think once the initial hype has worn off many reviewers will start to see that this film is good, but not quite the monumental achievement that they’ve made it out to be in initial reviews.
The Batman is good overall, and a solid first step for DC’s new Batman, but its lengthy run time and lack of depth in its main protagonist are a few reasons why I suggest potentially waiting to watch it on streaming services.
Now it’s time to hear from our readers. Are you excited to watch The Batman? Feel free to leave a comment down below and share your thoughts.
