The Batman

Starring: Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, Colin Farrell, Paul Dano, John Turturro, Andy Serkis, Peter Sarsgaard

Director: Matt Reeves

After Gotham's mayor is found murdered on Halloween, James Gordon (Wright) enlists the help of Batman (Pattinson) to help solve the crime. Left at the crime scene is a riddle, which leads Batman all over Gotham, only to discover new clues that need solved. When things lead back to local crime boss Carmine Falcone (Turturro) and his right hand man Oswald Cobblepot (Farrell), Batman gets some help from Selina Kyle (Kravitz) who has an in with Falcone. As Batman digs deeper and deeper, he uncovers the seedy underbelly of Gotham that leads back to his alter ego Bruce Wayne and the death of his parents when he was a young boy.

After Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy, any new attempt at bringing DC's Caped Crusader to the big screen is going to be met with skepticism. Throw in Pattinson, who unfortunately hasn't been able to shake his Twilight persona from some people, and one might be inclined to expect the worst. I actually know people who refuse to see the movie because "they don't want their Batman to sparkle.” It’s an unfortunate mindset and those people are missing out on the best Batman film to grace a movie screen. And yes, I liked it better than Nolan's Batman.

The movie has two secret weapons: Director Matt Reeves and Pattinson. Reeves (Cloverfield, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, War for the Planet of the Apes) has a clear vision of what Gotham should be and the universe it is set in. This Gotham, very much inspired by the movie Seven, is dark, rainy, and violent. He and cinematographer Greig Fraser have created a visually sumptuous Gotham to accompany the twisted story they are telling. Yes, the film is over three hours long but I honestly could have sat through 6 hours and never been bored.

Pattinson is a force to be reckoned with and anyone who had doubts that he could play Batman will put those to rest the second he steps out of the shadows in the cowl. His Bruce Wayne/Batman isn't the confident playboy we are used to. Instead he is searching for a purpose, only a few years into becoming Batman. This is also the most amount of time an actor has spent in character as Batman, with Pattinson only being Bruce Wayne for one or two scenes. This allows his Batman to be detective Batman for the first time that I can remember (I haven't seen any of the animated shows/movies). I think this is the aspect I most enjoyed about the film: Batman is trying to solve a mystery. His chemistry with Zoe Kravitz is electric and their relationship also takes a good chunk of the movie. Hopefully she returns for the inevitable sequel because there are many roads their relationship could travel. And as good as they both are, Colin Farrell steals every scene he is in as Oswald Cobblepot aka The Penguin. He is simultaneously over the top yet menacing in a glorious and almost indescribable way. While he doesn't have a huge part, he makes the most of his screen time and is clearly having the time of his life.

As I previously said this is a murder mystery first and foremost. However when the action does turn up, it is downright thrilling. You've already seen parts of the best action scene in the film where Batman chases Farrell's Penguin. It culminates with a brilliant shot of Penguin’s car flipping down the highway from the perspective of the Batmobile and followed by an incredible shot of Batman walking towards the Penguin upside down.

While I can freely admit we didn't necessarily need another Batman movie, I was blown away by this adaptation. I can't wait to see what Reeves and Pattinson do next in this universe.

Grade: A-