In a time that is decidedly oversaturated with superhero movies, The Batman, directed by Matt Reeves, provides a very different experience than other movies by focusing on a story that is more grounded, realistic, and dark than other superhero movies that are popular right now. The Batman follows Bruce Wayne in his second year of acting as the vigilante Batman, inexperienced and full of rage. A mysterious serial killer has begun killing people in positions of power and leaving little notes and clues for Batman to find the next victim. The riddles and detective elements were a part of the movie that were done excellently, and what I believe to be a part of Batman that is frequently overlooked, especially in the more action centric Dark Knight trilogy. It was very refreshing to see Batman tap into the detective side of his character that is rarely explored in a movie setting.  

The performances of all the characters were also spectacular, better than I expected. Jeffrey Wright had a very good performance as Jim Gordon, a young cop in a corrupt department, and his relationship with the nearly silent Batman was actually funny at times. Paul Dano also did an excellent job at playing the Riddler, a serial killer that truly did seem genuinely unhinged every time that Batman interacted with him.  And of course, Robert Pattinson was incredible as Batman/ Bruce Wayne. I’ll be honest and say that when I first saw that Pattinson had been casted as Batman I was skeptical. It was hard to believe that the pretty boy who had played a sparkly vampire in Twilight would be able to pull off a dark, brooding, emotionally unstable Batman. However, my fears ultimately led nowhere because Pattinson was genuinely the perfect actor for the role. He captured a troubled, lost Batman very well, and his portrayal of Bruce Wayne was very solid as well, despite having minimal screen time and not being developed much.  

As a comic book reader, I liked this movie a lot, because I feel that it is the best portrayal of Batman in any live-action media. Unlike Christian Bale or Ben Affleck’s Batman, Pattinson’s Batman refuses to kill anyone, directly or indirectly, and refuses to use guns in any way, both incredibly important parts of Batman’s character that Bale and Affleck’s portrayals of Batman failed to represent accurately. This iteration of Batman was also less aloof to civilians, and was shown to be a kind vigilante who only criminals had to fear, which is another very important part of Batman’s character. He is not meant to scare everyone, just those who need scaring. Overall, The Batman was an excellent movie, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes Batman, superhero movies, or just movies in general. It doesn’t require any significant comic book knowledge coming in, and is just such a good movie that almost anyone could enjoy it.