The Batmanhas finally arrived. Matt Reeves’ epic three-hour film, showing the Caped Crusader as he battles a derivation of murders with the Riddler seemingly at fault. Robert Pattinson stars as Batman alongside Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Colin Farrell, and Andy Serkis.
Anticipation was high for this film, and based on the reactions of many critics and fans, it seems it’s possible thatThe Batmangoes down as one of the best of the comic book/superhero genre. Fans seem to love this new take on the character and the broader Gotham city around him, particularly with the grounded approach that they’re going for. It feels more akin toSe7enorZodiacthan it doesBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, highlighting just how different this new film is. The movies it’s more similar to are often held in high regard, and many were in the conversation for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Given this, it seems possible thatThe Batmancould be the best superhero film to gain awards attention and recognition.
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While it would be wrong to say that the creative voices behindThe Batmanmade the film the way it was to garner awards attention for their exploits, it’s clear they decided to go a more artistic route with it, a direction that usually gets the attention of the Academy and other top prizes anyway. Interestingly, it’s a direction that isn’t always common in comic book movies these days. The MCU, for example, is the most successful franchise at the moment and has had a Best Picture nomination, but Kevin Feige and co. at Disney clearly go into each project with a more general, mainstream approach that is greatly different from what Matt Reeves does inThe Batman.This isn’t to say that one approachis superior to the other, as it’s amazing to have this level of variation in direction in the comic book sphere and they both bring unique takes that elevate the genre significantly.
This approach is seen in the casting, too. Very few of the cast had ever appeared in a superhero project before, a rarity these days it seems. Many fans and critics have pointed out that the film’s cast seems like that of an A24 movie than a superhero project, with Robert Pattinson and Paul Dano and their work in recent years a particular example of this. Pattinson,best known for theTwilightfranchisebefore his role as Batman, shifted far away from vampires and werewolves in the years since, choosing indie projects with interesting directors that allow him to show his acting skills that some wrongly doubted because of his role as Edward Cullen.
Matt Reeves himself seemed very aware of this as he recently citedGood Time, a fantastic and underrated film from Josh and Bennie Safdie, who also madeUncut Gemswith Adam Sandler, as a key reason for the casting of Pattinson as Batman. This performance inGood Timewas truly excellent from Pattinson, and indeed garnered some awards buzz that ultimately resulted in not as many nominations as it could have. Still, it’s arguably Pattinson’s finest work in his career, and one that has helped relaunch his career into this new direction.
Just as the cast of the film seems more like an indie film, the movie itself has a similar feel to it. It’s extremely character driven, firmly centered on Pattinson’s Batman and takes its time with everything. It favors intimate talking scenes over loud explosions and creepy silence over a CGI battle. Again, both methods have their uses and their moments to shine, but with a character like the Batman, this seems to be the right direction. It’s also the method that is more akin to a film most likely to be recognized by the Academy.
It’s not exactly common for a high-budget, special effects-heavy film to get nominated for any major award, especially if it’s using such well-known existing properties like Batman and his side characters. However,The Batmanfeatures surprisingly little CGI throughout its nearly three-hour runtime, something that seems to be down to Matt Reeves favoring realism over a heightened hero world. Rumors also suggest that the film has a production budget less than $100 million, meaning that it’s far from the $200 million+ Marvel team-up films.
Speaking of realism,this is another aspect ofThe Batmanthat might make these prestigious awards shows take notice. There’s no Superman, no Wonder Woman or Aquaman or the Flash, and no character in the film has powers of any kind. Batman’s suit isn’t made out of a fictional material, but instead consists of various metal parts put together. Everything on the suit has a purpose, and none of it is there for show. Batman’s cape can transition into a wingsuit for when he has to make a quick escape from a tall building, as he does in the film. Even the bat symbol itself can be detached from his chest to turn into a sharp knife/tool.
The Riddler is not a heightened, light green wearing chatterbox, but rather a deeply disturbed killer. Catwoman is simply a person who has some stray cats in her apartment and seems to have an affinity for these animals, but it goes no further than that, andPenguin is just a mobsterwho acquired his nickname from his appearance, not because he lived with them a la Danny Devito’s incarnation. Again, this isn’t to say that any of these heightened aspects seen in past Bat films are negatives, but going into this direction it’s clear that this is a move that could garner awards attention rather than another method.
Ultimately,The Batmanis a filmthat has received excellent responseso far. As such, it’s possible that it could be the next superhero film to be recognized with a major awards nomination.
