“The Batman” Has Potential

I waited to watch this film because I found out it was coming out on HBO Max, so I would save some money watching the film at home instead of the theater. But The Batman film has blown me away. It was basically the same length as a Marvel film and I loved it completely. I grew up with superheroes and I always liked Batman. I liked the idea of a wealthy man during the day and a dark vigilante at night. It was a wonderful concept and it still is playing out today in the new films . 

When I heard Robert Pattinson was playing Batman, I was skeptical because we all know him as Edward Cullen, the cringey, sparkly vampire. But I have to say that Robert’s performance was great. He played a really good billionaire who doesn’t interact with people. It had a good awkwardness to it and I loved it. I have seen Bruce Wayne as a playboy who is handsome and flaunts his money but turns into some serious vigilante at night. This trope of Batman didn’t sit right with me but I was adapted to it. Bruce Wayne has trauma; he literally watched his parents get shot in front of him. I would expect him to be closed off not being a playboy during the day and night. Robert showed the trauma Bruce felt by his parent’s murder. He was closed off and showed disinterest in communication. 

In the film, the woman who is running for mayor approaches Bruce and tells him he should be more involved with Gotham because of his family lineage. Bruce looked uncomfortable and disinterested because communication like that is not his thing. I liked this loner and awkward side of Batman, it was like I was seeing a completely different Batman than what I have seen before in the past. 

My dad and I were blown away by the background provided in the film. I have never in all my twenty years of living heard the background on Bruce Wayne’s parents. We were always told that they were gunned down in an alleyway after a theater show. In this film, we learn that Martha’s (Bruce’s mother) last name was Arkham and her family owns Arkham Asylum and she has been in and out of that asylum. We also learn that Thomas (Bruce’s father), as he was running for mayor for Gotham, wanted to take care of a reporter threatening to release upsetting information on his wife. So he goes to Carmine Falcone and Falcone kills the reporter and Thomas lives with that guilt and blood on his hands. 

I say this movie has potential for the Batman series because it showed a completely different side and version of Batman and I like it to be honest. They provide background information we didn't know we would get. They also give Batman a more realistic version of him because he is still affected by the death of his parents and has dejected himself as a person. He has mental health issues and you can see that Robert shows that side of Batman pretty well.  

The aesthetic of the movie was dark. I didn’t like that at first but then soon realized after that it was the whole point of the movie. Gotham is a gloomy and dark place riddled with crime. Batman is a dark hero so the darkness to the movie as a whole was a good move. But if you have a difficulty with watching dark movies then you will struggle with this film. 

The villains in the movie were pretty good as well. I was expecting for them to start off with The Joker because almost every Batman series has. But I liked that they started off with the Riddler. He had difficult riddles in the film that I couldn’t solve because I am dumb. The Riddler was a good start for The Batman film but I hope that down the line of these films, they include other villains Batman has. We have already seen the Joker, Twoface, Bane, Ra’s al Ghul, Harley Quinn, and the Penguin. I want to see Mr. Freeze, Man-Bat, the Mad Hatter, Calendar Man, Killer Croc, and Black Mask. This film could have the potential to explore all these other villains. 

I also liked the deleted scene they had. We see The Batman talking to their version of the Joker. I liked the blurriness of it because it let us know as an audience that we shouldn’t see him yet. I also like the close-ups of his face but it still had the blurriness element to it. This version of the Joker looks as if it had bad effects from his drugs on his face and the iconic cut smile on his lips. 

Overall, this film has POTENTIAL to show other sides of Batman and to also possibly see other villains. I can’t wait to see the next installment of this film.