Language : English
Director : Matt Reeves
Writers : Matt Reeves (written by) & Peter Craig (written by), Bill Finger (Batman created by) & Bob Kane (Batman created by)
Cast : Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, Colin Farrell, Paul Dano, John Turturro, Andy Serkis, Peter Sarsgaard
Genre : Action | Crime | Drama
In Theatres Near You.
My eyes have filled up with tears before during fan service, character deaths and happy endings, but today I teared up at the sight of a journey from hope to vengeance.
Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson have given us the most definitive Batman in a neo-noir thriller with the support from an extraordinary ensemble cast. Be it Penguin, Riddler or Selena, each and every one of them have given a tremendous performance and carved a niche for themselves making comparisons with their previous versions ineffective.
Followed by the cast, next in line would be the killer soundtrack by Michael Giacchino and Something in the Way by Nirvana. Timely placement to invoke goosebumps. From Spiderman No Way Home to Batman Giacchino is on a roll.
Not delving into the plot to avoid spoilers at all, but it would be injustice not to mention the craftsmanship of Matt Reeves to create a grounded story with all comic book elements without going overboard for a second. I repeat the most definitive and the world’s greatest detective Batman.
It is preposterous to expect a popcorn flick from a proper Batman film so fair warning not to keep your eyes peeled for usual peppy superhero sequences. I was sceptical about the pacing however once I entered the Gotham of Reeves’, I kept asking for more of it.
The film clearly shows us what Batman is about . A ballad of benevolence and compassion. Like another version said, it’s not about what he is underneath, but what he does that defines him.
Verdict – 6/7 stars
Brilliant.
Trivia
Robert Pattinson’s screentest (before he was officially cast) took place while he was in rehearsals for shooting Tenet (2020) in Los Angeles in May 2019. Pattinson had to lie to Christopher Nolan about it, but Nolan, who was no stranger to Batman and Warner Bros., immediately figured it out. Pattinson: “It’s funny because Chris (Nolan) is so secretive about everything to do with his movies. And then I had to be really secretive about Batman stuff. So I had to lie to Chris about having to go for a screen test. I said I had a family emergency. And as soon as I said it’s a family emergency, he said: ‘You’re doing the Batman audition, aren’t you?'” When Pattinson was told that he won the role of Batman a day before principal photography for Tenet began, he was surprised that Nolan also knew and congratulated him, although Pattinson hadn’t told anybody about it yet.
Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne is inspired by Kurt Cobain. Writer/director Matt Reeves was listening to Nirvana when he wrote the first act: “That’s when it came to me that, rather than make Bruce Wayne the playboy version we’ve seen before, there’s another version who had gone through a great tragedy and became a recluse. Kurt Cobain had a relationship with fame, where being famous was not his goal. He loved music, but the idea of being famous for music was a double edged sword for him. And that made me think of Rob Pattinson, actually. Because Rob is a very private person himself and doesn’t necessary like the part of being recognized everywhere as an actor.”
Matt Reeves stated that Colin Farrell’s Penguin takes inspiration from the character ‘Fredo’ from The Godfather (1972).
This is the first version of Batman to directly address the black eye makeup under the cowl. In previous versions on film, the makeup just disappeared when Bruce took his mask off. Matt Reeves: “I just loved the idea of taking off [the mask] and under that there’s the sweating and the dripping and the whole theatricality of becoming this character.”
Robert Pattinson revealed while screen testing for the role, he sneakily took a selfie in the batsuit as a memento “just in case it didn’t work out.”
Colin Farrell stated that he went to Starbucks to try out his prosthetics and makeup for the Penguin for the first time. Nobody recognized him despite getting a couple of stares from people.
Zoë Kravitz and Robert Pattinson received the same advice from the predecessors of their respective roles (Michelle Pfeiffer and Christian Bale respectively): make sure you can go to the bathroom while in costume.
The first solo Batman film to be shot on digital.
