With The Batman now officially streaming on HBO Max, having already grossed $700 million worldwide, one can only wonder how it compares to other Batman films.
Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (2008) is undoubtedly a great film; in fact, it ranks number three on the Internet Movie Database’s (IMDb) list of the Top 250 movies. The Dark Knight offered a level of realism never before seen in superhero movies largely thanks to Heath Ledger, who perfectly played the mannerisms of a psycho clown. Ledger’s legendary performance as the Joker, paired with the film’s accurate depiction of organized crime, made Gotham City come alive on the silver screen.
The Batman’s director Matt Reeves—who brought filmgoers Dawn of the Planet of the Apes in 2014 and War for the Planet of the Apes three years later—must have known his movie would be compared with Nolan’s, so, to put his fingerprints on the film, he went darker with a motion picture that largely ignores the public life of Bruce Wayne and instead delves into the tortured psychology of Wayne’s crime-fighting alter-ego.
Twilight star Robert Pattinson plays Batman, who focuses on beating up petty thugs in shadowy alleys and on subway platforms, until the main antagonist of the story—the Riddler, played by Paul Dano—appears. The Riddler, also an orphan with a dark psychology, is focused on exposing the corrupt white-collar criminals who have made Gotham into the crime-ridden city it is. After the Riddler’s gruesome murder of the mayor of Gotham, Batman realizes he must become more than just a vigilante in order to save his city and prevent the Riddler from murdering more political figures.
While Pattinson appears awkward attempting to portray the extravagant life of Bruce Wayne, his performance as Batman more than makes up for it. “I am vengeance,” he proclaims in the film, and Pattinson projects a brooding presence that’s captivating throughout the film’s nearly three-hour runtime.
The usual cast of Batman characters is present in Reeves’s film: Barry Keoghan plays the Joker, Colin Farrell plays the Penguin, Andy Serkis plays Bruce Wayne’s butler and father figure Alfred, Jeffrey Wright portrays police commission Jim Gordon, and Zoe Kravitz plays Catwoman, another vigilante character who avenges women who have been wronged by Gotham City’s criminal element.
Much like Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, The Batman channels the fears and frustrations of our current political setting, while simultaneously presenting a crime saga that’s a mix of gangsters and violence. However, the two films differ slightly, as The Batman delves more into the cruel, violent and gritty nature of Gotham City, presenting more vivid action scenes depicting the retribution Batman wishes to enact.
But it’s not just the action scenes that make The Batman a standout film. A crucial part of the movie is the visible darkness, which helps convey its grim thematic content and Reeves’s vision of urban blight. Additionally, The Batman focuses less on the double life of Bruce Wayne and Batman, and focuses more on Pattinson’s role as a dark vigilante.
Despite the differences between The Batman and other Batman movies, it is undeniable that the grim and dark film is a great cinematographic work, and, while it may not merit as high a ranking on IMDb’s list of greatest films as Nolan’s The Dark Night, it’s a compelling movie that entertains and engrosses viewers for nearly three hours.
