Robert Pattinson’s Batman breathes new life into the dark knight

Back in 2019, when the world was told that Robert Pattinson would be the new Batman, there were mixed opinions. Many, including hardcore DC fans, questioned the casting. Back then, Ben Affleck's Batman had already failed to live up to the expectations set by Christian Bale's role as the Caped Crusader.

And with Pattinson set to take up the cape and cowl, people were worried that the Gotham hero's reputation was about to be tarnished further.

Then came the DC FanDome Teaser in 2020, and we were introduced to Pattinson's Batman in a two-minute long clip. And as he uttered the words "I am vengeance", fans were sold.

Matt Reeves' The Batman is gloomy, action-packed, and dark. It brought out the humane side of Batman, and portrayed him not as a superhero, but as a man on a mission. You can easily tell that this movie gave room to Bruce Wayne's detective side, something fans will really appreciate.

Robert Pattinson knew what he was doing, and made the role his own. Pattinson gave off an 'emo' vibe throughout the duration of the movie, which suited the character and his emotions perfectly. I am almost certain that even the most hardcore Batman fans will appreciate the effort he put into the character.

Zoe Kravitz's Selina Kyle/Catwoman was wonderful, too. Almost like she was born to play that character. Her chemistry with Pattinson deserves a lot of praise, but on her own, she was just as captivating, and demanded the audience's attention throughout her time on screen.

The rest of the cast moulded into their roles well enough. Among them, Colin Farrell's Penguin, and Paul Dano's Riddler stood out the most. Overall, no one can complain that the casting was in any way poor or unplanned.

The movie, as a whole, did not disappoint.

Rarely did the fight scenes feel forced. They were well choreographed, often bringing forward that humane aspect of our favourite caped crusader that I talked about earlier. And despite that, not a single action sequence felt dull.

The cinematography deserves praise too. One of the reasons the action sequences felt so realistic was because of the camera work that went into them. Most of the establishing shots in the movie were either aesthetic, or representative of the character's internal monologue. Either way, they managed to transition into the subsequent scenes perfectly.

One thing that I personally loved about this movie is the new Batmobile, and I am almost certain the others in the theatre with me loved it too. See, when Batman first appeared on the screen, there was a decent scream from the crowd. Same was seen when Pattinson's face was first revealed. And then came the scene where the movie introduced us to the Batmobile, and I swear to God, people blew the roof off the theatre.

This Batmobile has bright lights and flame exhausts. It is unlike the other two Batmobiles we grew up watching in the previous two Batman instalments.

There were, however, a few things that I think deserved a bit more care and attention, but one can look past them, given how the rest of the movie manages to fall in place almost perfectly.

Now, I want to address the elephant in the room – whether or not this Batman was better or equal to Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. To be honest, you cannot compare the two. They focused on two different aspects of the character while making them deal with entirely different circumstances and emotions. And they did their parts perfectly.

However, The Batman is one of the finest Batman movies out there, and it is in no way anything less than what we witnessed in the ones Nolan gave us.

That being said, The Batman is amazing. It is enthralling, well executed, and does justice to the Batman name.