Review: ‘The Batman’ Starring Robert Pattinson

The Batman Robert Pattinson
ROBERT PATTINSON as Batman in Warner Bros. Pictures’ action adventure “THE BATMAN,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release (Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures & © DC Comics)

The Caped Crusader returns to the big screen to fight criminals in Gotham City and hunt a serial killer in Matt Reeves’ reboot of the Batman franchise, The Batman. The film begins with a rain-soaked Gotham City and a voice-over by the Batman himself, Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson). He wonders if he’s really making any kind of difference in eliminating crime, yet he still feels compelled to try to honor the memory of his parents who were gunned down in the city they helped build.

In this entry in the franchise, Batman’s already a trusted ally to Lieutenant Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) who calls him via the Bat-Signal to the scene of the vicious murder of Gotham City’s mayor. While investigating, Gordon and Batman find a note addressed to the Batman from the killer who calls himself The Riddler (Paul Dano). Leaving cryptic clues and a cipher, along with a message written on the duct-taped mayor’s head reading “No More Lies,” Batman’s hunt for the sadistic killer leads him to the underworld of Gotham. There, he’s forced to deal with the city’s crime lord, Carmine Falcone (John Turturro); his right-hand man, The Penguin (Colin Farrell); and a slinky cat burglar named Selina Kyle (Zoe Kravitz) who could prove to be a worthy ally.

As the Caped Crusader continues to investigate and hunt down The Riddler, his search leads him deep into the corruption hidden within Gotham’s city limits. Tracking clues may lead back to his parents and the truth behind why they were murdered.

Dark and gritty, The Batman is an overly long, ponderous, neo-noir mystery thriller that has more in common with films like The Crow and Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow in style and pacing than previous Batman films.

Robert Pattinson dons the cape and cowl in this, his first outing as the iconic superhero, and he makes for an effective Batman. He embraces the tone and moves slowly and deliberately while glaring at the criminals he’s about to fight.

The Batman
ZOË KRAVITZ as Selina Kyle and ROBERT PATTINSON as Batman in ‘THE BATMAN’ (Photo © 2021 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc)

Robert Pattinson has solid chemistry with Zoe Kravitz as Selina. Their shared scenes on rooftops simmer with sexual tension sprinkled with distrust. However, Pattinson stumbles as Batman’s alter-ego Bruce Wayne. His Bruce is a moody, brooding emo instead of a dynamic and charismatic billionaire playboy. Sadly, there’s really no difference between Batman and Bruce except for wearing the batsuit.

Zoe Kravitz delivers a strong performance as Selina Kyle, the street-savvy cat burglar who’s on her own mission but ends up being part of The Batman’s investigation. She can’t help finding herself being drawn to the mysterious vigilante and wanting to help him when she can. Kravitz portrays Selina as a strong and clever woman who at times is a little more vulnerable than other Catwoman incarnations seen on the big screen.

Colin Farrell delivers a fantastic and scenery-chewing performance as The Penguin. Almost unrecognizable under all the make-up and prosthetics, Farrell plays The Penguin – the up-and-coming crime kingpin of Gotham – with gusto and underworld flare. He’s a crass and loud Al Capone-type and Farrell nails it.

Paul Dano’s The Riddler seems to be modeled after the serial killer Zodiac, with his character taunting the police and Batman to try to catch him and leaving clues and ciphers for them to follow and solve in an effort to stop him before his next killing. At first effective in creating an eerie and chilling vibe to the character, as the film slowly moves forward the character becomes more obnoxious and annoying than mysterious. Dano does deliver a solid but at times over-the-top performance as the menacing murderer.

The film’s pacing is painfully slow, with crime scene investigations that have the characters moving through them as though they were walking through molasses. The early scene with Batman taking on a group of clown-faced thugs on a subway platform is a painfully lumbering build-up to the Caped Crusader’s appearance.

Gloomy and somber, The Batman is a gritty detective story/crime thriller that sadly loses its tension and suspense due to its sluggish pacing.

GRADE: B-

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some suggestive material, drug content, strong disturbing content, strong language, and strong violent content

Release Date: March 4, 2022

Running Time: 2 hour 56 minutes