Since his official announcement in 2017, The Batman is an important project for Warner who has for many years divided his community, or rather that of DC films lovers. With the artistic failure of Justice League and Snyderverse, many actors have dropped their arms around the projects that were to flow behind. Jared Leto of course, but also Ben Affleck who had to take care of embodying and realizing this Solo Batman movie, and who finally thrown the sponge in 2017. It was Matt Reeves who was called to the rescue, which he who was noticed with Cloverfield in 2008, let me enter in 2010, and who is none other than the remake of the MORSE movie (Look Morse by the way, it’s a great film, the Swedish version huh, but if The American remake is not so bad), and the last two episodes of the planet of the monkeys, the confrontation and supremacy. Very quickly, the project The Batman is growing, already because we learn that it will be a movie that will not be part of the famous DC Universe, which today has no reason to be Moreover, and then because we learn in 2019 that the role of the bat man has been entrusted to Robert Pattinson.

If most cinephiles rejoice that an actor of his quenching will resume the iconic role of Batman, for those who see only him the Edward Cullen of the 5 Twilight films, it’s a bad choice. And clearly these people did not follow the career of Pattinson who proved many times that he was a very big actor. Water for elephants, Cosmopolis, The Rover, The Lighthouse and the Devil all the time are movies that I advise you if you want to have a nice overview of its actor performance. And if his roles have always been very confidential after Twilight, The Batman will allow him to access an international new renown, since the general public will discover it in another register, far from the vampire lover a little fragile that we have discovered 15 years ago. There he camps a very young Bruce Wayne, who has about twenty years, which is still very traumatized by the death of his parents and above all, he is in his second year as a masked vigilante. And that’s where the Batman’s role approach is interesting, we explore a new facet of the character, who does not yet have the superhero stature that the inhabitants of Gotham City adult.

In this film, no one really respects Batman, neither the police who considers him as a freak that disguises himself and who does not have the legitimacy of walking on his platforms, we see several times that he is rejected by The forces of the Order, whether they are senior grades as a simple police officer in the performance of his duties. And on the side of the citizens of Gotham City, we do not consider Batman as the savior of the widow and the orphan, and there is this scene at the beginning of the film where Batman intervenes to save a guy who is attacked by thugs. disguised. Once Batman got rid of it, he approaches the guy who became mistaken by the guy, and himself is afraid that Batman attack him. He implies it not to tap it. This is where we realize the complicated situation in which Bruce Wayne is, who still needs to win to be considered at fair value. And this notion of nice jigger, he can not really have him since we discover a Bruce Wayne tortured, who is still seeking, who does not master his emotions and especially who has a rage to defeat, which translates into shots that are really violent. Whenever he intervenes, we feel that he makes a personal affair. And precisely, this unknown facet of Batman and Bruce Wayne, it’s something that Pattinson manages to very well transcribe on the screen. Moreover, for the little anecdote, know that Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson were inspired by Kurt Cobain, the singer of Nirvana, to propose this version of Bruce Wayne / Batman, he who was tortured, but very confident publicly, but in Reality full of crafts and fragility. A guy reclux on himself, who is drugging, that’s how they shaped the batman of 2022, a kid with rich who lost his parents, his benchmarks and who lives like a paria and his only therapy, It was becoming Batman. It is no coincidence that one of the main themes of the film is something Something in the Way of Nirvana, song Ultra Dark in his musicality and words.

Moreover, a note on the music of Michael Giacchino who delivers a percussive, very dark, very recognizable theme from the first notes. And it was not won when we know that it is more accustomed to more playful music like Tom Holland’s Spider-Man trilogy, many Pixar like up or coconut. Besides, he takes care of the next Thor Love and Thunder. But no, he gives us there a superb performance. What I liked as well as Robert Pattinson as Batman was that he did not need to look for that very serious voice that has always characterized the character. We remember that Christian Bale forced in the grave when Ben Affleck used a device to transform his voice. There Let’s say that Pattinson plays on a calmer, more posished attitude, which goes well with the tone of the film, which is a Batman centered more on the investigation, which is a facet that had not been well explored in the films.

Precisely, by talking about the fact that we are on a detective batman, Matt Reeves takes the time to put the frame, the stakes, to develop each of his characters and that is the great strength of this Batman, who is clearly more dark than the others. I remember last summer, at the first screen-tests, we talked about the movie like a horror movie, with an ultra-flipping riddler thanks to Paul Dano’s interpretation. And indeed, this sensation of horror movie, we have it from the beginning of the film with the first murder that we could see in the trailers, this guy who ends his face bandaged with a big site scotch. The way the riddler will scrutinize and attack his victims, it’s a mix between The Zodiac and Saw. The Zodiac for its way of playing with the police with complex puzzles, but not impossible, and Saw for some unhealthy murders.

Paul Dano is good, very good, but that, we already knew and his choice to embody a riddler to the antipodes of the character we have always known in the comics or in the film via Jim Carrey’s wishing performance is for the least relevant. Relevant because during the whole movie, it will be hidden, with this latex SM handmade ultra freaky and flipping and when it will be unmasked, we will be dealing with a guy with Lambda physical, that of Paul Dano what, who is the character well Du Lambda guy who is scary only when he is in his Riddler costume. Since we are in the performance and speaking of the bad guys, that of Colin Farrel in the role of the Penguin is very successful. We must congratulate the teams in charge of prostheses and makeup, because it is impossible to guess that it is Colin Farrel under the features of Oswald Cobblepot. Then in the film, it is only the man of hand of Carmine Falcone, but again, we are on the beginning of the character, and besides, we see his hold to be drawn as and when the History advance. Zoe Kravitz matches well also in his role as Catwoman / Selina Kyle, with a raised role that is quite interesting and different from what we had with Michel Pfeiffer and Anne Hattaway. There is on a more tortured character, with a liability to the osmosis with this glaucous atmosphere of history, where we do not hesitate to display the bisexuality of the character, who has always been present in the comics elsewhere. So it’s not really a revelation.

In truth, the real great character of the film is Gotham City. We are on a beautifully filmed city, mix between this contemporary side, very anchored in reality, a kind of new new York, with rubbish everywhere, which bathes in corruption and crime. It rains all the time, for 3 hours, he floats without stopping, and this atmosphere did not mention the Seven of David Fincher. We really feel like never being safe in the movie. And then on the other, we have this Gothic side that lacked the last films. This baroque representation, it feels in its buildings, including the Wayne Tower, in the cemeteries visited, but also a little in the character of Alfred too, played here by Andy Serkis, really credible in the role. No, there is a real design work job throughout the movie, it’s quite surprising, just like the Batmobile who had the heavy task of spending after all the others, including the Nolan trilogy tank. And well, we are on a vehicle that worries, who makes a flipper, like what Batman is debut, it scares everyone, even to the citizens of Gotham.

There is the same, the first time Batman goes up in it, he makes the engine grumble, with this flame coming out of his seant, I felt like seeing Christine from John Carpenter. And what makes the film visually powerful and impressive, it is that everything is done in Practical, there is not a lot of cgi, a little in some scenes yes, but everything is really filmed in the old, Even the race-continuation between the Pengouin and the Batmobile, it’s real, concrete. On the other hand, they added a little post-prod traffic, but the waterfalls are real and that, it feels on the screen.

Spoiler, the only one we decide to approach

Before finishing, we would like to talk to you in a particular character in the movie, and it will be our only spoiler time of this review. So if you never want to know anything, stop here, because we will talk about a scene that takes place towards the end of the film, once the riddler has been taken prisoner in the cells of Arkham. While the Riddler is farting a lead because his plans have been countercar by Batman, a man in a cell next to him begins to talk to him. A man who does not distinguish his face, but whose laughter is obviously going to deceive any1. We want to talk about the joker embodied by Barry Keoghan that we have seen in Dunkirk of Nolan but especially in one of the last Marvel, Eternal, where he camps the role of Druig. There were rumors about his role when he had been announced to the cast, a certain Stanley Merkel, a Gotham City police officer, an invention of Frank Miller, elsewhere in the Mini-Series Dark Knight Returns and Batman. Year one.

The character is Jim Gordon’s first partner, his best boyfriend, whose face never appears in the work of Miller, systematically off-field or against day. And that’s exactly what happens in the movie. We never see it, just at the very end, in his cell. And clearly, by putting Barry Keoghan in this role is that there is an intention to develop his famous borough that Matt Reeves has confirmed recently, or at least one sequel. A suite that will stage the Joker, as Nolan did in his time. Will Barry Keoghan be up to height? It emerges something with its physique that is interesting for the character. The only thing that sits us, that we thought there would be a cross-over between the batman of Pattinson and Arthur Fleck of Joaquin Phoenix; Obviously, the choice of Barry Keoghan ains the thing. But in the end, it’s not bad. The Joker of Todd Philipps does not need to continue, it is self-sufficient.

To sum up, we are dealing with an excellent Batman movie, the best since the Nolan trilogy, with an unprecedented story where the detective version of the Dark Knight has never been explored. Matt Reeves takes his time, 3h with the credits we remind you, with a post-generic scene, which is useless but who has the merit of existing. It emerges from this movie a truly particular, darker, darker atmosphere, with characters that have been really well worked. It’s a Super Batman. Is it better than those of Nolan? It’s hard to comparable, as it is different, but clearly, it feels good to see that a superhero movie can address as strong and serious topics and I think only Batman can do it.

** Our note: 9/10

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