The Batman: Spoiler Review by Mary Rizka
The long awaited film of 2020 has now been released on March 3, 2022.
The Batman is a film that is billed as a ‘Love Letter’ to the superhero character, Batman. Matt Reeves(The Dawn of the Planets of the Apes), as director, takes the audience into the world of Gotham City that never stops sleeping from its crimes. Warner Brothers is rebooting the new Batman franchise after its success with Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight’ Trilogy. Now this DC Comics character is believed to be in the hands of Matt Reeves who also wrote the film script with Peter Craig.
“I Am Vengeance.” A very memorable quote is often used among fans who are waiting for this film to air after the trailer for The Batman comes out. This sentence comes along with the epic opening.
The opening of this film no longer uses the scene of the death of Bruce Wayne’s parents that we often see from the previous Batman films.
This choice is very appropriate by presenting the chaos of the city of Gotham which is full of uncontrollable criminals. Besides that, it really makes the audience understand the meaning of Batman’s signal in the eyes of these criminals. Batman is so feared that the signal is considered a sign of ‘fear’.
Bruce Wayne in Gotham has only been Batman for a year, not seeing many baddies of his caliber like Scarecrow or Deathstroke. Matt Reeves deliberately took inspiration from the comic ‘Batman: Year One’ by Frank Miller and illustrated by David Mazzucchelli.
Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzuccheli
This comic tells the stories of Bruce Wayne’s early days as ‘the Dark Knight’, fitting in with Batman Pattinson’s younger appearance than his predecessors. Robert Pattinson plays a new Batman that is so fresh from the previous actors, Bruce Wayne here is not portrayed as a playboy who is so close to 80s comics but like an emo millennial kid who doesn’t get along too much. This is not negative but makes Pattinson have a strong characteristic of why his Batman is different from the others. Also, it makes sense given the plot written by Reeves and Craig, Bruce Wayne never went to ceremonial events after his parents died.
Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne in The Batman trailer
Robert Pattinson was previously best known for his role as Edward Cullen in the Twilight series. Reeves did imagine Pattinson as Bruce Wayne after seeing him in the film ‘Good Time’ directed by Josh and Benny Safdie.
Pattinson’s journey as Batman did not go smoothly because many DC fans wanted Ben Affleck to return to play Batman. The difficulty in relating the script forced Affleck to
resigned in 2019. However, this choice became the best choice because I as a connoisseur of ‘The Batman’ preferred the writing and demeanor of the Batman character in this film. one of the reasons is because Batman Pattinson doesn’t kill and is the only Batman (not animated) that has that moral.
Zoe Kravitz in Premiere The Batman (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Pattinson himself has Zoe Kravitz as Batman’s love interest, Selina Kyle or better known as Catwoman. Had failed in the audition ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ because it was considered too ‘Urban’ and skin color. Kravitz did not hesitate to appear on the small screen to prove to the casting director and audience that his version of Selina also deserves to be carried with Michelle Pfeiffer who plays Catwoman in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns. Pfeiffer previously also won the title of best Catwoman on screen. Kravitz appeared very charming and charismatic along with Pattinson. Catwoman can also be said to be the best performance by Zoe Kravitz at this time proving his talent and accuracy in Catwoman costumes.
Pattinson and Kravitz have a relationship that is full of romance, as in the comics the two have never really become an intimate partner even though it is full of romance.
Paul Dano as The Riddler in The Batman Character Poster (2022)
I last saw Paul Dano in the movie Swiss Army Man where Dano and Daniel Radcliffe were stranded on an island and a lot of funny things happened that I had not thought of before.
Dano plays The Riddler, one of Batman’s most popular villains. Riddler himself is a character who really likes puzzles, making him a very suitable character in the story of The Batman this time which was inspired by ‘Batman: The Long Halloween’ by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Tim Sale.
Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale
The Long Halloween is a continuation of ‘Batman: Year One’ and tells Batman as a detective who is looking for the perpetrators of serial murders that are carried out every major holiday. The Riddler as a serial killer here is used to the fullest by Reeves.
Riddler makes his opponent even more helpless, is the essence of Riddler himself. when the writers understand what the essence of the most dangerous villain in the plot of this film, making the Riddler a villain that is quite respected.
The puzzles provided are also enough to make me sit on the edge of the cinema chair several times because each time a new information is told the tension in the plot is getting more intense. In addition to Riddler, The Penguin also provides a fluid atmosphere from the film that features “NO HABLA ESPANOL FELLAS?!” became one of the most memorable and most intriguing scenes. Collin Farrell managed to give the audience the confidence to play The Penguin, a performance that exceeded my expectations. Farell always carries a different label every time he appears in his filmographic films and The Penguin proves that he is not an actor who is half-assed in playing a role.
Plus, the costume designers Jacqueline Durran, Glyn Dillon, and David Crossman deserve it too
appreciation because Farell is so unrecognizable here. In addition to The Riddler and Penguin, Carmine Falcone, played by John Turturro, also becomes a white-collar criminal in Gotham, indicating this city is full of corruption so that crime no longer looks fair and anyone will do it to get money.
Falcone is written as one of the henchmen who killed Thomas and Martha Wayne, but it is not known exactly who killed Wayne. Very interesting moments are also found in Falcone and Bruce Wayne’s interactions, showing the differences between the two even though they know each other. Another key moment that I like is also from the interrogation of The Riddler and Batman, when Bruce Wayne and Edward Nashton face each other and are separated by glass. They are both orphans but why all eyes only pity and care for Bruce Wayne? Bruce Wayne was born rich while the other orphans were not so lucky.
The Gotham as a city that also deserves to be a character in The Batman. when Spider-Man has New York and Superman is identical to his Metropolis, Gotham breathes with Batman. Gotham looks very alive and seems to communicate with the audience through billboards installed in skyscrapers. The members of the small gangs, citizens, and police that make Gotham come to be symbols of Batman’s moral compass.
His own courage can also be seen from the writing of Reeves who does not hesitate to drown
Gotham. Considering another iconic Batman character that is equally important, Batman’s best friend and detective partner, James Gordon, played by Jeffrey Wright, also became an instant favorite character. Batman only trusts Gordon from among the other cops, a funny anecdote that has been thrown several times by Jim Gordon makes the audience remember him. Gordon has a unique dynamic with Batman, Gordon is realistic but also loyal to Batman making him even more iconic and Jeffery Wright managed to bring a new interpretation to this character.
Visuals and story telling by Matt Reeves are excellent with dynamic shooting. Especially when Reeves directed the car chase scene, who would have thought ‘the Batmobile’ could become a character that is alive and quite scary.
Michael Giacchino is back to giving Batman a touch of his iconic music after successfully writing and
composed the music for Spider-Man: No Way Home 3 months earlier. Composing the music for these two epic franchises didn’t make Giacchino any weaker, but he brought back music that fans will always remember.
The success of the Batman by presenting the Detective genre and the new Noir style proves that there are still many ‘Dark Knight’ stories that Warner Brothers can touch. The Batman provides something new by making the superhero story scale smaller in the midst of the ‘shared-universe’ franchise that was successfully introduced by the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
This film is not very suitable for audience aged 4-5 years, there are excessive violent scenes as well as more mature themes it may be advisable to bring children with an adult companion.
While Matt Reves emphasized not featuring any other superheroes, it will be interesting to see if there is a potential for story development and expansion of villains or new heroes in The Batman universe.
The Joker
Matt Revees has announced Barry Keoghan as The Joker. In the middle of the end of the third act, the Joker is seen talking to The Riddler. The emergence of theories as to why The Joker has a burning face and whether he has met Batman is very interesting. While not much has been confirmed, Matt Reeves originally wanted Batman to do an interview with The Joker regarding The Riddler. However, the scene was deleted. It seems that The Joker will be the villain in The Batman 2.
Superman, Wonder Woman and Robins
On October 17, 2020, there was a behind-the-scenes photo featuring several supporting players wearing Halloween costumes themed Wonder Woman and Superman. That means, Matt Reeves or Warner Brothers almost made The Batman a part of a world of its own. Speculations such as the existence of Metropolis and other superheroes are one of the fun theories to explore.
The appearance of Wonder Woman and Superman in The Batman movie is not something important for the Batman character, because they are superheroes who can exist without the presence of Bruce Wayne or vice versa. Batman has a very close attachment to Robin, the last time Robin appeared in a non-animated film was in 1997’s The Batman and The Robin.
The longing of fans to see Robin in this feature film is very big and the possibility of having Robin in the next film is also higher. Robert Pattinson said he wanted Robin to accompany his Batman in the next sequel.
One of the potential Robins to be introduced in the second film is Dick Grayson.
Grayson first appeared in Dektektive Comics #38 in 1940, going from Circus to Robin and then Nightwing. Besides Dick Grayson, Jason Todd is also the next Robin candidate. The reason is that Jason Todd is the only Robin to die on the field.
The potential to adapt Jim Starlin and Jim Aparo’s ‘The Death in The Family’ (a comic that came as a result of DC’s election to kill Robin) by Jim Starlin and Jim Aparo is enticing. Batman needs new stories that need to be introduced to the public who are not just fans, because finally every superhero character has an interesting story that can be adapted very well.
Batman: Death in the Family by Jim Aparo and Jim Starlin (1988)
Editor : Nuty Laraswaty
