More of a gripping crime noire than a comic-book-based superhero movie, The Batman (2022) does justice to the mystery genre while not doing so well in others.
It starts off awesomely, Battinson saying a monologue before punching the living daylights out of street punks. The cinematography by the same DOP as Dune leaves no stone unturned. Every angle is nocturnally shot and the beauty is in the details.
Where The Batman fails is in its second act. Catwoman got too much screentime while she isn’t exactly eye candy material. Batman could’ve spent more of his energy solving the mystery on his own. The pacing is really off during the second act.
But the third act makes up for it. Offering awesome visuals, fight scenes, and splendid acting. The best performance was by the Penguin followed by The Riddler and Falcone. All 3 villains stole the show. Catwoman was OK and The Batman was great (see Pattinson in The Lighthouse and you’ll know what I’m talking about).
To end with, if you’re looking for a 3-hour experience that doesn’t feel like 3 hours then The Batman is the movie for you. It’s gorgeous, the villains are maniacal, the cinematography is sharp as a knife and the hero is learning what it takes to be a hero.
This is not the Batman movie we needed but one we deserved.
