This one has been a long time coming, the last time we saw Batman on the big screen was in 2017 for Justice League and Lego Batman. Technically we did see Batfleck again in Zack Snyder's Justice league last year but that not on the big screen, either way its been quite the journey and we are finally here and was it worth it? Umm yeah I guess so.
The Batman is pretty good but it aint perfect and has some issues both conceptually and as a movie. First the positive, the movie has a great atmosphere to it and is very down to earth. The MCU has escalated to dealing with Cosmic and Multiverse level threats, The last we saw DCEU Batman it was with the Justice league dealing with a Cosmic threat. Even the shows like Peacemaker or more street level MCU stuff exist in worlds where aliens are a thing. The Batman is very much a return to that street level/city level that we last saw in Nolan's Trilogy and while there is a conspiracy at play here especially with the main Villain being the Riddler, what we end up getting a movie where the focus is on the details of the crimes, the city and Batman actually doing detective work.
Another thing that works well is the characters, Rob Pattinson is a pretty good Batman, the Vengeance stuff can be a bit cringe but the whole Batman is his actual persona/it's his therapy sort of thing works. The Bruce Wayne persona has not really fully formed yet so we see him as a bit of recluse and that shows a bit in the Batman Persona where he is occasionally a bit awkward especially with Cat woman.
Zoe Kravitz Cat woman is pretty good, she has a lot going on and that Selina Kyle side ends up being the more interesting part of her. Movie does a pretty good job of keeping her and Batman mostly on equal footing. Paul Dano as the Riddler, he does a good job at being menacing and playing that serial killer but with riddles and conspiracy thing. Though there are some issues the way the movie was marketed, we knew Paul Dano was the Riddler and there was a conspiracy at play so either we would see him and know its him or he would be a more hidden villain and he ends up pretty hidden through most of the movie. Jerry Wrights James Gordon is fine but it does feel like he gets away with quite a bit in terms of letting Batman into crime scenes and what not. Colin Farrell as the Penguin works, he is not crazy Danny Devito but he disappears into the role as one might expect.
The Batman is a pretty long movie and can be a bit of a slow burn at times but it is that pacing that leaves room for the details and more opportunity to flesh out Gotham. We get to see quite a lot of the city and in keeping with the whole conspiracy thing audiences are taken for a ride as the Riddlers plans unravel. The strongest parts of the movie are during the middle point as things unravel, these are not the most flashy set pieces but they are tense and executed pretty well.
While The Batman works for the most part I felt the movie does loose it a bit in the end. Once we know what's going on we have this set piece and its feels very reminiscent of the Dark Knight and the Dark Knight rises but the stakes seem a bit lower. It ends up being a bit of a worse version of what we have seen from Nolan's trilogy and when things are done with it feels a bit underwhelming. Which is kind of the big issue I have with the movie is that the Nolan Trilogy exists and for the most part and its been there done that better. The movie is still good, performances, visuals etc and I think this movie does touch on those batman contradictions of rich guy beating up criminals to work through childhood trauma better than previous films, it still does not change the movie from feeling like a bit of a rehash.
There are so many Batman movies and WB is gonna keep making them so there are gonna be similarities here and there. The Batman is pretty good, loved the atmosphere, the details, Rob Pattinson is pretty good and im interested in seeing what's next but yeah there are better Batman movies out there.