Hello Everyone!

This is Dan here and I'm giving you my review on The Batman (2022) movie!

Now this review does seem a bit late in the game almost two weeks after the movies theatrical release, but I figured I'd give my thoughts on the movie now that everyone has had a chance to see it (hopefully). For those who still have not seen it, spoilers ahead.

I love the setting, Gotham City has been portrayed as this dumpster fire, this hopeless eyesore of a city in all Batman media but I feel that this movie legit brought that despair and doom and gloom gothic atmosphere to the City and this is the best portrayal of Gotham I've seen done this well in live action.

The cast did a phenomenal job in their respective roles in this film. Robert Patterson did a great job as the Dark Knight himself, however I felt his portrayal as Bruce Wayne could have been a little better. Now typically Batman and Bruce Wayne are two different people in Batman media, Batman is this hardcore instrument of justice and vengeance while Bruce Wayne is the charismatic Billionaire playboy. Here there is no difference between Batman and Bruce Wayne, they're both gloomy and gothic like those goth kids from south park minus the smoking. Now granted, this is in the early years of Batman so Bruce Wayne hasn't quite figured out what he needs to be for the City quite yet so I'll give this portrayal of Bruce Wayne a pass.

Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle (obviously catwoman but like Anne Hathaway in the Dark Knight Rises (2012) they never call her that) did a great job in her role. Now i've seen some discourse all over the place about how Kyle and James Gordon is portrayed as African-American, to be honest I have no issue with that. Both actors brought these characters to life in the film and if they can do that, then that's all I need, they can be any race or ethnicity they want. Now if you're a Batman fan such as myself, you'll know Catwoman/Selina Kyle has been portrayed as African-American many times in the past, The Harley Quinn series, Batman Year one (2011), Catwoman (2004), and the live action portrayal in the 60's batman series has actress Eartha Kitt portraying Catwoman in the last couple seasons. Again, as long as they bring the character to life, I don't care about their race or ethnicity.

Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon was awesome, I thought he portrayed the character well. Made him like a real rugged cop on a hardcore case and the way him and Patterson portrayed their characters in the scenes felt like how Batman and Gordon actually interacts with each other with some little sprinkles of comedy here and there to add on their dynamic. Like the scene at the police station where it looks like Gordan is interrogating Batman but is aiding his escape but using head movement to look like he's interrogating him, its funny.

Andy Serkis as Alfred was alright, not really the best Alfred I've seen but not the worst either you know. He wasn't in the movie too much and he did okay though he didn't quite have the wit and charm Alfred is best known for, it was more cynical and depressing to be honest.

Paul Dano as Riddler now that....was Amazing! they loosely based him off the Zodiac Killer which I think works for the Riddler since he loves puzzles and games so this Dark iteration of the Villain was actually refreshing to see instead of the normally quirky and wacky Riddler were use to. I was on the edge of my seat invested into these riddles because they were clever and had some dark humor behind them and his endgame was god damn crazy, it's like he rallied 4Chan and Reddit users to his aid like he has livestreams to his followers which I knew was for like a devious plot but I couldn't help but give a chuckle because it looked like a literal twitch stream it was a bit funny but that's my love for dark humor. And I got real Dark Knight (2008) vibes from the interrogation scene between him and Batman, he figured out Batman's identity and let him in on his endgame plan which Batman still thwarted but the way he made Batman go nuts and banging the window was actually nerve wrecking.

The action in the movie was nuts, well choreographed, each scene was action packed, and I loved every fight scene in this film. This Batman was more hand to hand combat than gadgets like Ben Affleck's portrayal. Even the scenes where the Riddler would murder someone or beat the shit out of them to use them for his cryptic Riddles were brutal and savage.

My criticisms for the movie are minor but still hold it back a bit from being as great as it could be. For example, there is a chase scene between the Penguin and Batman and Batman has his road rage moments where he almost disregards the safety of everyone around him. He may not have killed them like the Penguin did, but he still put them in danger and that seems a bit reckless even for Batman. Then literally the next scene Batman and Gordon catches Penguin and try and solve one of the harder riddles and it feels rushed, like its funny but it still feels rushed and Penguin literally tells them how wrong they are. Like they couldn't let that simmer a bit more? then lastly, the relationship between Batman and Selina Kyle, they started off good as partners trying to help each other out, sure they were real shaky here and there but still came together in the end and solved who the bigger fish to fry was, though them being intimate felt a bit rushed towards the end. It didn't ruin the scenes or the movie, but that's a nitpick there.

the ending was done well, Batman and Selina parted ways, the City was rebuilding itself and Riddler had a little scene with a certain.....funny guy. Overall, I loved the movie, better Batman live action movie I've seen in a while, better than the Affleck movies. I'd definitely recommend watching it and I'd watch it again if I could. I honestly hope we get more Robert Patterson Batman movies in the future but we'll see. I hope that if they do go forward with that, they expand on Bruce Wayne's character and develop him as the charming playboy we all know and love.

I'd give The Batman a score of:

8/10

If you haven't already, go watch the film, you'll have a great time,

Catch y'all next time!