The Batman is back and available in Blu-ray, DVD, and every digital format thinkable, and in the hands of Robert Pattinson, pulling double duty as Bruce Wayne and the Dark Knight, this is a Batman flick that rocks on every level. The first thing that producers did right was hiring Matt Reeves (Planet of the Apes movies) as its helmer and co-writer. That is a storyteller who knows how to intermingle enormous action set pieces and an emotive string between the audience and the magic glowing off a movie’s screen.
For over two decades now, the entity that is Batman has been the most prolific of cinematic endeavors. Since the arrival of Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989, audiences have been treated to Burton’s Batman Returns in 1992, and director Joel Schumacher put his own stamp on 1995’s Batman Forever and Batman & Robin two years later in 1997.
Then, a filmmaker known for making highly cerebral cinema (Memento) was tapped to craft a trilogy for Warner Bros. and DC Comics, that firmly brought the masked vigilante that befits the dark and alarmingly real-world sense. The Christian Bale starring films of director Christopher Nolan dominated its theatrical and home video run and won several Oscars along the way, including a posthumous Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for Heath Ledger (who sadly perished before he could grasp that little golden fellow) for his mesmerizing turn as The Joker.
Nolan’s films landed in 2005, 2008, and 2012 and it took merely a few years to recast the role last held by George Clooney. It was a controversial casting, but in this critics’ opinion, Ben Affleck was impeccable as older Bruce Wayne/Batman in a manner that wholeheartedly embraced what creator/director Zack Snyder envisioned when he set his Justice League landscape into creative possibilities with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016 and he would appear in the 2016 hit Suicide Squad with a blink and you’ll miss it appearance and then of course in the pop culture phenomenon that has become Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
Then news started circulating that they were bringing The Dark Knight back, for what Warner Bros.’ hoped would be another Nolan-Like successful trilogy, both critically and of course, financially. Enter Reeves, whose uncanny ability to take an established product (Apes) and not only breathe life into the franchise but invigorate it in ways that one never knew The Bat even required it.
The Batman’s Wayne has been dabbling in The Bat-based persona activities for years. It’s become his evening workout, ever something that is different, markedly different, in that he and his alter ego are very much a product of the time when the film actually was made available to be seen by the masses.
He, through his well-established routine and staying out of the limelight, has helped grossly drop the impenetrable, the crime way in Gotham City.
Thing is, someone who is wickedly intelligent and has a deep vendetta against the wealthy superhero with no superhuman skills (no, the other one—who actually came first when The Bat debuted in Comic Book form in May of 1939.)
Reeves has created a film in The Batman that plays more like a who-done-it thriller. Right down to the players involved, who could do something about it but are painted as… well, keystone cops. Yes, it’s dark… but do we want our Batman to pass out flowers after tragedy? No!
The supporting cast is brilliant, of course, led by Zoe Kravitz’s fierce feline portrayal of Selina Kyle (Catwoman). Jeffrey Wright leaves quite the footprint with his turn as The Bat’s connection to the city’s police force, Lt. James Gordon. Colin Ferrell is unrecognizable as Oz (aka, The Penguin) and brilliant. It is also well documented how earth-shattering Paul Dano’s makeup-costume time was, coupled with his definition of perfection of performance.
Several thespian vets fill out the cast, both equally important to the narrative as a whole. John Turturro as Carmine Falcone—a Gotham gangster, Andy Serkis (from the Apes movies) as Master Bruce’s right-hand man, Alfred, and finally Peter Sarsgaard as a friendly (or is he?) DA, Gil Colson.
Being that this is a highly anticipated film, coupled with the fact that Batman films have always had a bevy of bonus features with each release. That is no different with the arrival of Matt Reeves’ The Batman.
Vengeance In The Making is the most comprehensive of the bonus features that clocks in with more than 53 minutes of killer content. Many of the stars, the crew, and those responsible for The Batman seeing the light of day get to chime in about the production, how they zeroed in on the story we all see in the finished product as well as a bit on casting.
Want to know how one even begins the process of bringing one of the world’s-if not the—most well-known superhero, Batman: Dive right into The Batman Genesis. The helmer and The Title Character discuss that very inquiry. Reeves and Pattinson share their own experiences and perspectives on the process of casting the star of Twilight and its subsequent sequels, and Nolan’s Tenet, not to mention his short but unforgettable turn in the Harry Potter franchise
Next up, The Movie Mensch recommends taking on Looking for Vengeance. Retribution may be Bruce Wayne’s middle name, but exactly how does one extoll said revenge. Fight choreographers Rob Alonzo, Reeves, and Pattinson painstakingly break down the training style, what occurred on the screen is detailed through behind-the-scenes footage. Keep an ear (and eye) ready for their brief, but supremely awesome discussion of Batman’s chaotic street-fighting style.
Still in that neighborhood, Vengeance Meets Justice is a nice, eight-minute- dissection of the relationship between The Riddler and Batman. It is to suggest that the Dano character and the one embodied by Pattinson are kindred spirits, aka two sides of that same old coin.
Speaking of scene-stealers, Kravitz gets her much-deserved spotlight in Becoming Catwoman. This eight-and-a-half-minute bonus feature deeply examines the motivation and everything that drives the woman that is Selina Kyle and her alter ego, Catwoman.
One of the better car chases that Batman has endured occurs during The Batman. Besides the fact that Dark Knight is behind the wheel of the most muscular of muscle boatmobiles in Batman history required a slew of below-the-line experts to chime in and add how they built the car and that killer car chase. Special effects supervisor Domonic Tuohy, Pattinson, Wright, producer Dylan Clark, production designer James Chinlund, director Reeves, and a few other crew members add their two cents about their incarnation of the Batmobile as well as its place in history. That chase between Batman and The Penguin is alone worth the price of bringing home The Batman. You can’t believe the sound, the effects, and the stakes involved.
A remarkably similar featurette arrives with Anatomy of The Wing Suit Jump. Did you know that Batman carried around such a device in case he needed to leap off of tall buildings? Well, in Reeves’ story, this is a pretty unique Q creation that aided our hero, complete with one of two drones that sit in Batman’s stash.
As we mentioned earlier, you will not recognize Ferrell as one of Batman’s most iconic foes, The Penguin. Curious how they did that? Well, the answer lies in the featurette A Transformation: The Penguin. The too-short featurette illustrates the use of makeup and prosthetics to alter a handsome person into a waddling villain.
Reeves and DC are keenly aware that as soon as The Batman dropped there would be those who compared what they accomplished versus what others had done with the character. Unpacking the Icons is a super-sweet extra that speaks to the unique tone and the role that costume design added to filling out the thespians’ characterization.
Lastly, there are two deleted scenes that you do not want to miss due to the priceless introduction by Reeves himself. He speaks to why Joker/Arkham and Selina Gets a 44 Below Keycard instantly clues the viewer into the headspace of a helmer making the umpteenth million superhero movie about a guy who is a little too cool with bats.
Through these extras, one’s appreciation for what Reeves and company did with The Batman, with many of us reserving a spot on their year-end top ten for the Pattinson-Dano-Kravitz-Ferrell-Reeves astounding achievement.
Film Grade: A
Bonus Features: B+