An eerie soundtrack, lots of black makeup, and a lonely billionaire. All of these perfectly describe Matt Reeves’ new film “The Batman,” starring new superhero Robert Pattinson.
In this film Pattinson dons the famous bat suit; however, his portrayal of this iconic character differentiates itself from past adaptations from the beginning. Foregoing his playboy persona, Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne hardly exists since he immerses himself into the life of the Batman instead.
It is clear that the Batman takes precedence over Bruce Wayne in this origin story, but over the 3 hour span of the film it was still shocking that Pattinson spent a majority of the time behind the mask. After the release, fans have been calling Pattinson’s Batman one of the best portrayals of the Gotham vigilante.
So what makes this Batman so entertaining?
Obviously there is an appeal to Robert Pattinson playing Bruce Wayne/Batman on the big screen. However, compared to previous Batman films, Pattinson’s character was not overtly sexualized.
Both Christian Bale and Ben Affleck, previous Batman actors, filmed shirtless scenes of their character working out at some point in the franchise. In each of these scenes, nothing is added to the story except to convey that Bruce Wayne trains a lot to be physically fit as the Batman.
On the other hand, ” The Batman” only displayed one scene with a shirtless Pattinson during one of his lowest points as Bruce Wayne. This small detail emphasizes a major element of Matt Reeves’ vision for his Batman films: Bruce Wayne isn’t cocky. He doesn’t need to flaunt his muscles in an exercise montage of pull-ups and push-ups.
Despite Bruce Wayne not being sexualized, he does engage in a relationship with Selina Kyle played by Zoe Kravitz. Within their characters’ first interaction, it was obvious that something romantic would occur between the bat and the cat.
Kravitz and Pattinson exude chemistry on screen and create a compelling character dynamic that makes sense for this Batman. Selina is reckless and passionate whereas Bruce is disciplined and vengeful; it’s these traits that ultimately bring these two characters together as partners.
From the beginning of the film it was obvious that Bruce had nobody else in his life besides Alfred whom he cared about. This made his newfound friendship with Selina even more enticing because he had found another person to lean on. Likewise, Kravitz’s character brought out an emotional and intimate side to Pattinson’s Batman that was severely lacking.
Although Selina was not established as Catwoman in “The Batman,” her character is set up well for a transformation into the beloved DC Comics badass. Kravitz explores a richer backstory for Selina in this adaptation with information surrounding her affinity for cats, family, and Gotham connections.
She even has sharp nails in the film which emulate a cat’s claws; multiple times in the film her assailants are covered in scratch marks— just like a cat.
Although her character is emotionally guarded, it is interesting to witness how she develops this personal connection to Batman through their investigations in Gotham. Additionally, within their investigations, I appreciate how the writers incorporate dialogue and action that acknowledges the sexualization of Selina by seedy criminals.
Furthermore, I love how Selina was in control of herself throughout the entire film and not attached to any male character. Even when she interacted with Batman, it was evident that she wasn’t his sidekick or an amateur bandit. Selina is shown as an equal to Batman, which makes their romance much more enthralling.
So far there has been no information regarding a sequel to “The Batman” but with its box office success and raving reviews we will no doubt see Pattinson and Kravitz back in Gotham soon.