The story of the Dark Knight just got much darker. Directed by Matt Reeves, “The Batman” movie entered theaters and welcomed a fresh take on the vigilant life of Bruce Wayne.
The role of Batman in the newest rendition was played by Robert Pattinson, most widely known for his role in movies from the series “Twilight.” Although his previous role made some people question whether he would be able to accurately portray Batman, Pattinson easily proved them wrong.
The movie is set in a well known to DC fans city of Gotham, where crime is at an all time high. At night, Bruce Wayne takes on the role of a vigilante superhero known as “Batman.”
Wayne belongs to the city’s higher class, being a son of the city’s legacy family that grew comfortable with old money. Unfortunately, in his case, money doesn’t buy happiness.
Following the death of his parents, Wayne lives mostly alone and doesn’t seem to plan to change that. The only people seen at his residency are people working for him, with his butler Alfred being the only one he has a genuine bond with. No one besides Alfred knows about his double identity.
Pattinson’s character struggles with being an orphan and doesn’t lead the typical life of the rich. Instead, he uses his money to fund the equipment he uses to fight crime as Batman.
At the beginning of the movie, Batman is already established as one of the biggest fears of the criminals around the city, making some paranoid and wary of his presence. That kind of a reputation is what starts trouble in the first place.
The city of Gotham is paralyzed by fear when a serial killer starts to murder important city officials. The only traces left are cards addressed to Batman himself, each one containing a riddle for him to solve to get to the next clue.
Pretty early in his investigation, he is joined by none other than Selina Kyle, or Catwoman, who has some personal motivations to help him. Portrayed by Zoë Kravitz, Catwoman is a fierce woman whose life experience and personal tragedies shaped her into someone who knows what she wants and who will certainly take what she wants.
Reeves’ new take on the story of Batman is the darkest one yet. Although it is far from the level of gruesomeness found in 2019’s “The Joker,” it shares that tough, realistic tone found in that movie.
Having the runtime of 2 hours and 56 minutes, fans were initially worried about how the movie is going to keep them engaged. That quickly changed following the premiere, as the movie didn’t fail to keep fans guessing and speculating about what is going to happen next.
With the movie being set in a universe so far completely separated from any of DC’s previous movies, it has set a strong foundation for new takes on other well known DC characters to be introduced into it, as it has successfully done with not only Bruce Wayne, but also Catwoman.
Zoë Kravitz brought back Catwoman as a girl who had to fight for everything she has and it is what separates her character from any previous portrayals of Selina Kyle. Her confidence combined with intelligence and sneakiness have made her a serious threat to anyone who crosses her.
Pattinson’s spin on the Batman is truly unusual and he does a fantastic job of exploring his character. Haunted by the death of his parents, Pattinson’s Batman clearly struggles with not only that incident, but also what his role in the world is. That dark twist is what Batman needed to finally add some new depth to his story.
Glimpses seen at the very end of the movie hint at what direction the next movies could go in, but so far nothing is known about Batman’s future. The movie’s premiere has been a major success for the franchise and is a must see.
