Dark, corrupted and filthy, that’s how director Matt Reeves showed Gotham City in his latest film The Batman, which is typically how it looks in comic books.
The movie is set in Gotham City, the home of the superhero Batman (Robert Pattinson) who faces the Riddler (Paul Dano), a sadistic serial killer who begins murdering key political figures in the city. The Batman, then, is forced to investigate corruption in the city.
Batman returns with this mask and with his short and cold sentences that hide more inside the character than what is revealed.
Of course, the movie has a lot of similarities with Christopher Nolan’s trilogy Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), and The Dark Knight Rises (2012), but Reeves’ Batman is different. As we always see Batman as a superhero, in this latest movie, we see him as a great detective who is trying to investigate murders incidents and reveal the reasons.
Batman here is not concerned with his public image nor his identity as Bruce Wayne, but he does what he can only to continue his father’s legacy as he believes he was morally upstanding. He is still dark and hold on to his childhood trauma – as he lost his parents in a brutal murder in an early age.
He says: “Our scars can destroy us, even after the physical wounds have healed. But if we survive them, they can transform us. They can give us the power to endure, and the strength to fight.” The quote stands out and explains the inner feelings of the Batman.
The Batman movie is not an ordinary family superhero movie but a psychological thriller with a lot of crimes, blood and intimidation.
The action scenes are exciting as Batman appears strong and able to fight with many people at the same time.
One of the best performances in the movie is that of Zoe Kravitz as Cat Woman. She has all the wit, but, like Batman, she also carries weakness while at the same time convincing us of her unquenchable need for revenge.
Also Paul Dano, the Riddler, is one of the best Batman villains since the Joker by Heath Ledger. Dano portrays an insane but at the same time genius killer with terrifying realism.
So, Matt Reeves manages to create a Batman movie that’s completely different from the other earlier films about the same character, but with faithful imitation of Gotham’s lore.
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