by: James A. Barnes

The moment it was announced that Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson were attached to make a new Batman movie, I knew we would be in for an incredible Batman film and that’s exactly what we got.

“The Batman” plays out like a three-hour-long episode of “Criminal Minds” with Batman and Jim Gordon as the lead detectives. Some of my favorite moments in the film were just Gordon and Batman searching for clues at crime scenes together, cracking riddles, and interrogating criminals together. 

The film also took me back to my favorite moments playing “Batman Arkham Knight”, Patrolling the streets of Gotham, investigating serial killers, and cracking the Riddler’s ciphers.

My favorite Batman stories have always been where The Batman had to be the detective to win the day instead of just using his fists and his tech and that’s why The Riddler was the perfect antagonist to face off against The Batman.

Paul Dano‘s Riddler is absolutely terrifying and feels like a mixture of The Riddler, The Zodiac Killer, and Jigsaw rolled into one. I also loved that the Riddler got his inspiration for using fear and focused violence as a weapon against the criminals of Gotham. This served as the moment when Batman realized that he has to become something more than just a symbol for fear and vengeance, he has to become a symbol of hope for the people and for the city.

Robert Pattinson brings so much to this version of The Batman. With a single look, you can see his focus, his determination, his rage, and his sadness all without uttering a single word of dialog. I love the addition of his internal monologue from the comics, and I also love how Robert carries himself as Batman. He walks like The Shape from “Halloween” - slow, but with purpose.

Colin Farrell truly transforms as The Penguin and steals every scene he’s in, and I can’t wait to see what he does in his HBO Max spinoff series as one of the new crime bosses of Gotham. 

Zoë Kravitz was great as Selena Kyle. I thought Zoë and Robert had great chemistry on-screen, and I loved how the script explores how the city of Gotham turned them into The Bat and The Cat.

Overall, The film does an incredible job of bringing Gotham City to life. This is my favorite iteration of Batman to date, The Riddler is terrifying, the stakes are real, Michael Giacchino’s score is amazing, and Matt Reeves and Peter Craig crafted a brilliant crime thriller starring Batman and I can’t wait to see what comes next in the upcoming sequels.