I've seen The Batman, more like The Badman, am I right? No, just kidding, it's actually really good! A few minor details that aren't really critical to the quality of the film to begin with - I'm delighted to report that we don't see the Waynes being murdered for the millionth time here. Their murders are mentioned at the beginning of the movie, and that's literally all the reminder anyone needed. Also, while I'm not 100% sure on this, I don't believe that Batman causes anyone's death either directly or indirectly in this movie, which would make this the first Batman movie since 1997's Batman and Robin to have him not be a killer, which itself was the first Batman movie since 1966's Batman to have him not be a killer. On the negative side, I'm sorry to say that the scene of Batman casually wading through a stream of concentrated gunfire entirely unfazed is not a dream, a hallucination, or an unreliable narrator's account of fighting him. It's presented entirely as-is, meaning that this Batman is essentially bulletproof. And it's not even consistent, because when Batman fights in hand-to-hand combat, he visibly reacts whenever he does take a hit. How in the world does a punch hurt this guy when a hundred bullets at once don't even make him twitch?
But like I said, none of those are really substantive strengths or weaknesses of the film. The soundtrack is nice and portentous without going into Hans Zimmer "BWAAAAA" territory. The action is fast-paced and appropriately brutal - this Batman has a rough, scrappy fighting style that I really like, and the one big Batmobile scene is a joy to watch. The movie looks fantastic; I'd go so far as to say that it's one of the best-looking capeshit movies ever. The cast is great, and Pattinson in particular shines in the lead role, making his gloomy emo version of Batman compelling where a lesser actor would have just made him thoroughly unlikable. The story is a bit different to what we've seen in previous Batman movies, as this time our hero is primarily trying to solve a mystery. The inspiration - the very, very obvious inspiration, to the degree that one might even call this movie an homage to it - is the film Se7en, and just like with Joker and its riffs on Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy, I'm not sure if leaning so heavily on this inspiration will really invite many positive comparisons. Is "it's like [insert classic here], but with capeshit!" really a good selling point? In any event, it's good to see Batman do something different every once in a while.
I do still wish that Reeves had decided to go in another direction than gritty realism. We had more than enough of that angle with three Nolan movies, and in general it feels like such a dull, "safe" route to go down with the franchise after Snyder's movies crashed and burned. "Oh shit, guys, our attempt at a Batman who lives in a world of magic and aliens didn't work out! Let's go back to what Nolan did; everyone loved those movies!" I say this knowing perfectly well that it wasn't a studio mandate to go with this take on Batman, but something that Reeves wanted and fought for. It was a genuine artistic decision, but it feels like a boring corporate decision, you know? I'd love to see a good filmmaker one day take on a Batman who isn't strictly realistic, one who lives in a world where he might one day have to fight the likes of Clayface or Poison Ivy, but it looks like that won't be happening any time soon. Speaking of tone, though, the movie isn't really as grimdark as the marketing and reviews have played it up as. It's about as dark as the Nolan movies, certainly nowhere near as miserable or cynical as the Snyder ones.
One more criticism, and it's a minor one - this movie really could have done without the extended Joker tease at the end. Personally, I'm a little burned out on the Joker in general, but I get that he's a big moneymaker, so they want to use him in the inevitable sequel, and so they tease him in the first movie. Okay, but don't show him! Have the Riddler be slipped a note from him or something. And if they insisted on showing him - don't show him for so long! Have him just appear for a second, or say just one line. But no, the scene he's in goes on for over a minute, and he has several lines. It's way too early to be doing this. Wait until the fucking movie he actually has a substantial role in comes out! Giving him an inflated cameo like this just reeks of desperation. Talk about shooting their load early.
So yeah, I liked the movie! Go see it!