Matt Reeves’ The Batman was an absolute fever dream of a movie. From Gollum being Alfred to the actual singing of Ave Maria by Paul Dano of “Prisoners” and “There Will Be Blood” fame, there was no shortage of interesting moments on the big screen. “I’m Thomas Wayne, and I approve this message!”
Hearing “Something in the Way” twice had my Nirvana-obsessed self silently freaking out in the theater, and then seeing the Joker’s carved smile had my friends and I whisper shouting theories about whether it was Joker or Two-Face (confirmed Joker here!) I totally didn’t realize that was Colin Farrell, one of my fave actors (you guys, his accent, okay?!) under that makeup and fatsuit. The movie hit the highest-grossing movie in the box office during its opening week and has grossed $250 million in the domestic box office. Overall, it was a hugely enjoyable movie, especially the finale. But I’m not here to give away spoilers!
In discussing The Batman (2022), it is impossible to escape from the discourse surrounding it. While most people are there for RPatz and our beautiful Catwoman, Zoë Kravitz, some haters are out there. I mean, come on, that photoshoot? They just have so much chemistry! Although, it sounds like he really loves his current girlfriend (stream “Cellophane” by FKA Twigs), Suki Waterhouse, with who he saw The Batman. Personal gushing aside, the movie was really good! Aside from some corny or slow moments, the plot was interesting, the performances were fun to watch, and it held my attention for the long runtime.
“Being a woman of color and being an actor and being told at that time that I wasn’t able to read because of the color of my skin, and the word urban being thrown around like that, that was what was really hard about that moment…”
Nolan’s famous three-movie trilogy had come up in social media conversations quite a bit even back when the newest movie to join the DC franchise was announced. He cast Catwoman as Anne Hathaway. Zoë recently revealed in an interview that a casting director told her she was “too urban” to be considered for the role of Catwoman. I’m happy she was cast in a movie that she shone in, rather than playing alongside Christian Bale. Her Catwoman is a complex, motivated character, and she performs it perfectly. To me, there is no comparison to be made with Nolan’s past movies or the past Batmen and Catwomen who have graced the screen before this iconic cast. This Gotham exists in a separate, wonderful bubble, and it feels like a self-contained, new universe. Reeves’ take on Batman stands on its own, and it has the plot, cast, and numbers to back it up. There will be an HBO Max series, but whether Catwoman will appear has not yet been revealed.
Even if you’re not a DC fan, or even if you don’t normally watch superhero movies, this film has something for everyone! See it in theaters while you have the chance and experience it with friends on the big screen!