The Batman Movie Review – How Does it Compare to Past Versions?

Back in February I wrote about why Robert Pattinson’s Batman may end up being the best yet. I did that without actually seeing the film, going largely off of a riveting trailer.

I wasn’t the only one who felt that way, either. In fact, you may want to see where Perpetual Pop’s own Greg Anderson had him wind up in his official Batman actor rankings.

But what about the movie itself? I have that side of things covered – albeit a bit late – as I’ve had ample time to fully digest the latest Batman flick.

With that, here is my The Batman review in the event you haven’t seen it yet (and perhaps even if you have).

The Batman Overview

I won’t get too specific from the jump, but The Batman definitely exceeded expectations. I say this largely because it followed up Christopher Nolan’s impeccable trilogy, and really just blossomed into it’s own creation.

Director Matt Reeves set out to create a brand new world for the Dark Knight, and he accomplished it by giving us a fresh perspective of our hero. On top of that, The Batman dropped us into a grittier, uglier Gotham with a much more realistic and darker tone than we’re accustomed to.

Any review of The Batman at the very least should start out by prefacing that Reeves did it his way, and that he did it beautifully.

Dubbed “Batman meets Seven“, The Batman truly puts the character’s detective cap on, allowing a brooding and borderline emo Robert Pattinson to give us a unique look at Batman’s formative years as a crime solver.

Needless to say, you’re in for a fun time, but let’s dive into some specifics.

Reviewing The Batman Cast

Any The Batman review should spend a little time on the cast.

I’ll get it out of the way; the casting for The Batman was spot on. Robert Pattinson may not be seen by everyone as the best Batman ever, but he absolutely gives a fresh spin on a familiar character and makes it his own.

Pattinson is perfect as the confused and maturing Wayne, and he’s also incredibly intelligent (if also a bit naive) as the learning-on-the-job Batman.

Pattinson gave a stripped down and authentic performance, but he also just had a real presence about him. His slow entrances displayed a thought out and cerebral Batman that carefully surveyed his surroundings and was usually deliberate with his actions.

While Pattinson alone was a home run casting for The Batman, Zoe Kravitz was fantastic as Selina Kyle. She gave us a legit complementary piece next to Pattinson’s Batman, at times giving necessary pushback, but also successfully teaming up with our hero.

Kravitz also had her own narrative that kept things interesting, and she was badass in her fight scenes and more than held her own in dramatic dialogue.

Jeffrey Wright gave us a perfectly stoic and seasoned Commissioner Gordan, while John Turturro and Colin Farrell were brilliant as realistic versions of their mobster characters.

Paul Dano made this movie almost on his own, though. Reeves and co. set out to make The Batman as grounded and authentic as possible, and a big part of convincing us that could work was by making The Riddler an all too realistic psycho.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4BVqNt1upQ

Dano was incredibly intelligent and bordered on poetic, but also pulled off derangement and angst perfectly.

There was also Andy Serkis as Alfred, and he did a solid job while connecting an emotional storyline with Bruce Wayne.

The Batman cast was fantastic from top to bottom, with nobody appearing as dead weight and no role being left to the side.

Tone & Visuals

Next up in my review of The Batman is dissecting the film’s overall tone and visuals.

While the direction, acting, and story made The Batman a success, the tone of this movie is arguably it’s best selling point.

That plays into Reeves’ direction and overall vision, but it’s worth doubling down on the fact that he truly created a Batman movie that fully stood on it’s own.

There were borrowed elements from detective noirs and you caught some David Fincher vibes, but Reeves built his own classic superhero vehicle here and it hummed beautifully.

On top of a dark, brooding tone, Reeves oversaw some amazing action sequences and some elite fight choreography. Batman’s scape scene from the jail stands out as one of the most intense.

It only got crazier from there, as there was also the fiery chase scene with The Penguin, and the movie ended with a flooded stadium and Pattinson leading everyone out of the madness.

The visuals and tone made this movie a really fun watch. Paired with the directing and acting, fans get a methodical burn that twists and turns just right to keep you fully engaged.

The Batman Movie Review Grade

• The Batman Grade: A

Simply put, The Batman gave fans the most realistic and raw rendition the character has ever seen. It is quite possibly the most authentic adaptation we’ve ever seen.

I can’t possibly imagine giving The Batman a poor grade in any of the crucial areas of the film. The casting, the acting, the direction, the tone, the visuals – you name it – was absolutely fantastic.

The only critique at all? The movie’s pacing may not suit everyone. That, and this version of the Dark Knight is admittedly very dark.

If you can’t handle (a really good) slow burn or you prefer to have more humor or a lighthearted approach in your comic book movies, then sure, The Batman may not be for you.

But The Batman hit the nail on the head with what it was trying to do. Needless to say, I can’t wait to see what The Batman 2 offers us.

How Others Are Rating The Batman

While I loved The Batman and delivered a glowing The Batman review, I know I’m not the only source to trust.

I won’t link to every review of The Batman in existence, but here’s a few quick-hitter ratings of the movie:

• Rotten Tomatoes: 85% critic score
• IMDB: 7.8 out of 10
• Common Sense Media: 4 out of 5
• Roger Ebert: 3.5 out of 5
• Meta Critic: 72 out of 100

Overall, it’s fair to say that The Batman was a success.

Almost every major movie critic or movie rating site agreed it was a solid or even great movie. The audience scores at most sites were even better than the critics, too.

I am admittedly at the top of the “The Batman was awesome” portion of these ratings, but even if you don’t get there, I still think it’s worth a watch and certainly a film any Batman fan will enjoy.

Ready for the next Batman movie already? Gear up with a look at which The Batman 2 villains we’d like to see next.