why i liked The Batman
March 6th, 2022

I saw The Batman last night on IMAX. It had several great moments in it and kept me engaged throughout. Here’s a breakdown of the reasons why I think I really liked this movie:

A Grounded Batman

This movie introduces us to a ‘Year Two’ Batman. Someone who’s not a complete noob, someone who has been doing the vigilante shtick for a while, but is still figuring things out. He still seems very emotional and impulsive which can be seen in his fighting style. This is particularly well depicted in a scene where he needs to leap off a tall building wearing a wingsuit and he is visibly afraid. Also, he is not able to properly control the suit, ending up crash landing. This goes to show he still hasn’t mastered these yet. It was my first time watching this perspective of Batman on the screen and I believed Robert Pattinson did a good job of playing this character.

It was also refreshing to see that he wasn’t heavily depending on gadgets (like the Nolan Batman), the only exception being the camera lens thingy. He rides around on a regular motorbike, his car is just a juiced-up muscle car and he uses his grappling hook gun a lot.

This movie also highlights Batman’s superior skills as a detective, which previous movies have hinted at but not leaned in as heavily as this one. It was great to see him pick up on clues at the crime scenes and be able to easily solve Riddler’s puzzles while others struggled.

Alt Text: Batman standing amdst a crime scene
Alt Text: Batman standing amdst a crime scene

Every Frame A Painting

The cinematography of this movie was incredibly beautiful. So many scenes seemed straight out of a comic book panel. It truly enhanced the movie experience, especially on a big IMAX screen.

Alt: Batman and Catwoman on top of a building
Alt: Batman and Catwoman on top of a building
Alt: Batman walking towards an upside down car
Alt: Batman walking towards an upside down car

I also liked how they had this whole Red and Black theme going on throughout the movie. It wasn’t heavy that it distracts you but subtle enough that you would notice and appreciate it.

Alt: Batman holding a red flare leading a group of people though the flood
Alt: Batman holding a red flare leading a group of people though the flood

The deeper emotional layer

I love it when a movie has this deeper emotional layer to it which it explores with very subtle character moments or dialogues. In this movie, the whole aspect of Batman being an orphan as the underlying and often implied tone was something that I found powerful. There’s a scene at the very beginning of the movie after the death of the Mayor, where Batman locks eyes with the kid of the mayor who has been recently orphaned. No words are exchanged. Just a long look depicting the complex emotion that Batman / Bruce Wayne in this scene feels for the child.

This recurs several times in the movie when Bruce sees the child at the funeral and later rescues at the end of the movie. The heavy conversation between Alfred and Bruce at the hospital also adds a lot of weight to this.

Highlight Scenes

Every movie has a few scenes which just make the whole movie memorable. You feel them on your skin and you get to the edge of your seats. This movie had two such scenes which I believed were beautifully executed and really helped elevate the whole movie:

Batman’s Introduction Scene

This scene was just brilliant. It starts with this great monologue with a few different crimes taking place. The monologue starts with setting the scene of a Holloween night and depicts how there criminals out there doing different things like (robbing a supermarket, breaking into a bank or murdering a person at a train station). Then it starts to focus on the ‘shadows’ that are there in these different places and the monologue says something along the lines of “they’re afraid of the shadow because they think I am in the shadows. But they don’t know I am the shadow”.

What he’s trying to convey here is that he cannot be in all the places at once, but if he’s able to instil enough fear in the minds of the criminals that he could be there in any of the shadows, that fear alone should suffice.

Then he walks out of the shadows at the train station. This mob leader asks “who are you supposed to be?”. Batman beats the shit out of him and replies “I am vengeance”.

Alt: Batman saying I'm Vengeance
Alt: Batman saying I'm Vengeance

This incredible scene sets the tone for the whole movie.

The Batman-Penguin car chase

This scene was incredible. It starts with Batman just revving his care, telling everyone that he’s there. It then devolves into a fun car chase but the key hook here is the sound and music. The sound is designed so well that you feel the shakes and the turns that the car makes (almost like a 4DX experience). The music score just highlights the whole thing.

Alt: Batman's car blowing flames from its back
Alt: Batman's car blowing flames from its back

It ends with Batmobile emerging out of flames and then totalling Penguins car. This is followed by an upside-down Penguin, watching Batman walk towards him (in slow motion). The scene is incredibly well shot and stays with you for a long time into the movie.

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