Photo: Warner Bros.
By: Nick Gambino
Batman has seen many screen iterations over the years, starting with black and white serials and progressing through Adam West campiness, Michael Keaton awesomeness, George Clooney nipples, and, of course, the genre-defining Christopher Nolan trilogy.
The last time we saw the caped crusader suit up on the big screen was when Ben Affleck donned the cowl in the various Justice League-directed Snyder films. While Batfleck was solid, the movies were a bit wanting. Despite these perceived missteps, the notion of the actor also writing and directing his own solo Batman film was intriguing. Alas, it was not to be.
This latter concept of creating a new solo Batman film eventually landed in the lap of writer/director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes). With his success with the Apes movies, I was stoked at the concept.
It’s been five years and a global pandemic since Reeves grappled his way onto the project. Now, we’re finally able to see his vision of the greatest detective in the world. The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Colin Farrell, and Paul Dano, focuses on a unique phase in the Gotham hero’s formative journey – his second year as a crime fighter.
If you thought the Dark Knight films couldn’t get any darker than what Nolan gave us with his trilogy, wait till you settle in and lay witness to this nearly three-hour grip fest. The story sees Batman doing what he does best, investigating, and more specifically, he’s investigating murders perpetrated by a serial killer – The Riddler (Dano).
Everyone knows a Batman movie lives and dies by its villains and casting Dano and letting him do his thing is an inspiring choice. An unrecognizable Colin Farrell as the Penguin and Zoe Kravitz as a no-BS Catwoman are also big draws. Throw Jeffrey Wright, Andy Serkis, and John Turturro in there and I’m sold.
Andrew Tropeano and Trevor DeSaussure sat down with Trent from the Geek Peak Podcast to discuss how they think The Batman will hold up against the pantheon of critically lauded movies that came before it.
The endless barrage of trailers leading up to this cinematic event may have tampered Trevor’s excitement about the film, but it did little to deter Andrew and Trent from throwing their weight behind it. Guess it’s time to find out who’s right.
The Batman is in theaters now. It’s a close to three-hour runtime, so plan accordingly.
