The Batman 2022
I haven’t caught all of the more recent Batman movies, but this one is getting good reviews, so I wanted to see it. It starts with Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne, having spent the last two years going after Gotham City criminals in hopes of avenging the murder of his parents. There is also a race for mayor going on and the incumbant is murdered by a guy who leaves riddles for Batman. This is a very long movie as Batman works almost as a partner with Chief Gordon to try to solve these riddles (which he is very good at; I don’t care for them) and stop the bad guy (which he is not at all good at), which is frustrating and clunky. It works more as a detective movie as Batman figures things out and goes after a series of Gotham crime lords. Meanwhile he also runs into Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman who keeps things a little less grim. Things are still pretty grim for most of the movie, which goes on for entirely too long. It is enjoyable as clues are revealed and a lot of new background is filled in, but it seems a little mechanical. Pattinson is good, but you don’t see much of Bruce Wayne here. When you do see him instead of Batman, Wayne is more of an angry and damaged young man than the confident playboy we are more used to. Ultimately the movie is a little anticlimactic, which is more disappointing given the length of time it has taken to get there. There are still some cool action scenes, some decent intrigue, it looks great, and the cast is good, with some talented actors kind of wasted, including Colin Farrell, who is unrecognizable as Penguin, even though I knew Penguin was played by Colin Farrell. So while the plot is a little gimmicky and the entire movie a little too grim for its own good, it is still enjoyable enough for a B.
Written: 17 Mar 2022
Owned on: Digital