The Batman (2022) - Dystopian Fantasy Spectacle with Several Minor Flaws - 7/10 (15/03/22)

The market has not only been saturated but flooded with superhero movies of divergent quality over the past decade and a half. Apparently, people just can't seem to be getting enough as The Batman has received much praise as reviewers already claimed it to be the greatest film of the year only two months into it. Is this massive hype justified? As usual, the truth lies somewhere in between the extremes.

As a matter of fact, The Batman is certainly one of the better superhero movies. Does it have the quality of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Night? No, it doesn't. Can it equal the excellent performances in Todd Phillips' Joker? No, it can't.

However, there are several positive elements worth to be pointed out. First and foremost, the movie oozes with sinister atmosphere from start to finish. The movie uses excellent lighting techniques to enhance these vibes. The sinister locations with at times claustrophobic vibes blend in splendidly. The fact that most parts of the film take place at night or during rainfall completes the perfect picture here.

The movie features several intriguing characters portrayed by convincing actresses and actors. Robert Pattinson convinces as more emotional, fragile and haunted superhero who is easy to sympathize and even empathize with. Jeffrey Wright convinces as gritty, honest and loyal Lieutenant James Gordon. Zoë Kravitz is introduced very interestingly as clever, mysterious and passionate Selina Kyle who is looking for a missing friend.

This film features several impressive special effects. This includes car chases, hand-to-hand combats and explosive shootouts. These elements are not overused to give the movie a dystopian but realistic vibe. It's refreshing to not see the titular hero flying around and using his supernatural capacities all the time.

However, the movie certainly isn't without its flaws. First of all, The Batman is a little bit too long and features some minor lengths in the opening third as the different characters are introduced. The same could be said about the closing scenes that desperately try to set the table for upcoming prequels, reboots and sequels.

Some character development is shallow and lacks realism. The connection between Batman and Catwoman for instance evolves much too quickly and their reciprocal romantic feelings seem to be pulled out of thin air. That element also doesn't add anything to this movie. The same could be said about the development of the antagonist. He turns out to be an unstable psychopath without a credible agenda who nevertheless goes to extreme lengths to cause harm. The addition of the Joker who appears out of nowhere in the movie's conclusion is disappointing as that character has been overused in the franchise while other interesting ones have barely been exploited.

Another element that needs to be pointed out negatively is the story. It isn't plain bad but certainly not brilliant either. It's overall very predictable, exchangeable and by the numbers. That lack of quality decreases the intensity and tension of the movie. Instead of ending on a high note with a satisfactory closure, the conclusion of the movie tries to cram as many elements hinting at a possible sequel into this movie as possible.

As you can read, the Batman is an atmospheric and entertaining fantasy blockbuster with great actresses and actors and a strong dystopian but realistic vibe. However, the film fails to walk off the beaten path as it features several lengths, is based upon a weak main plot and includes too many predictable and unnecessary references. At the end of the day, The Batman is a very good film for genre fans but occasional fans or possible newcomers should rather start their discovery of this franchise with The Dark Knight or even Joker.