Entertainment

The Batman: The Film That The Superhero Needed

The new film, starring Robert Pattinson, is a refreshing and successful formula. Will it be the start of a popular franchise? This is our review of The Batman.

Frame from the movie 'The Batman'

Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures

LatinAmerican Post | Ariel Cipolla

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Leer en español: The Batman: la película que el superhéroe necesitaba

The Batman has come to light. Directed by Matt Reeves and starring Robert Pattinson, this is a new film that seeks to serve as a "reboot" for the story of one of DC's most iconic superheroes. Precisely, this film is aware of its immense legacy, which is why it opted for a "facelift" that resulted in a great success.

Take for example the earlier Batman saga, known as the Christopher Nolan trilogy, starring Christian Bale. This series of films showed us the origins of the villain, with the already popular murder of Bruce Wayne's parents. Then, the main plot focused on the action facet of the character.

Well, in The Batman the tone is different. Mainly, because it gives a much more faithful representation to that of the comics, where Bruce Wayne takes advantage of his resources to solve criminal mysteries. Knowing this, we will explain why this movie is one of the best adaptations of the DC Comics hero.

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The Batman: Why His Tone Is a Real Success?

The first thing to say is that The Batman knows what viewers were looking for in a new movie. After all, we have seen many interpretations of the batman, all successful, to a greater or lesser extent. So, Matt Reeves' decision was clear: his film should change the tone and differentiate itself from all other works.

We can see that because The Batman is a movie of pure suspense. It is understood as a police officer who drinks directly from influences like Se7en or Zodiac. More specifically, from all the work of David Fincher, who is one of the masters of the genre. However, Reeves puts his spin on it, as at times The Batman becomes a horror film.

So, what are the great virtues of the entire film? First, keep the viewer's attention on the screen. The Batman is almost 3 hours long, but it could well go another half hour, thanks to its excellent pacing. All the characters are well used and the script gives justification to all the actions since there are no filler scenes.

In the same way, the great thing is how clues are planted about the main conflict of the film, which is none other than the murders by the Riddler. Played by a fabulous Paul Dano, he is one of the best antagonists in Batman history, to the point of directly competing with Heath Ledger's Joker.

The madness of this character scares the viewer, who fully understands the reasons for his actions, despite disapproving of his actions. It is precisely that one of the great successes of this film is that the villain is not bad "just because", but the entire production seeks to delve into the past mistakes of the Wayne family and the future repercussions.

And that is where the interpretation of Robert Pattinson fulfills its mission. The actor, questioned when he had been chosen for the role, puts himself in the shoes of a completely introverted Bruce Wayne. Conversely, when he puts on the Batman suit, he makes a resounding change of personality, losing the fear of expressing himself and reacting.

All of this makes Batman more human than ever. Previous adaptations depicted a much more martial arts-trained Bruce Wayne with the League of Shadows. Here, on the other hand, he is not as skilled at fighting, so he feels the pain of each blow and is aware of his limitations.

Thus, the film becomes completely dark from its tone, with a dirty aesthetic in Gotham that demonstrates the problems that the city has. In addition, the riddles that we must solve to understand more about the mystery of the murders work very well, since it immediately hooks the viewer to discover the culprit.

So is this a necessary reboot? The answer is yes because it would have been a mistake to follow the same successful formula of past editions. By giving it a detective feel, this movie works even without being part of a superhero universe, making it ideal for those who aren't comfortable with the genre.

At the same time, it is also a great proposition for those who are already saturated with the structure of the previous Batman. After all, here we meet the superhero after his second year as a Gotham vigilante, so the film assumes that we already know some information and focuses on developing the following.

Finally, this new installment aims to become a franchise. There are a few "secrets" revealed about the ending that shed a lot of light on the future of one of DC's most beloved heroes. Therefore, we are waiting for the confirmation of a possible sequel. Do not miss it!

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