A compelling noir detective tale
Film
Critic Jason Evans is on a mission to tell you everything you need to know
about movies in less time than it takes to solve a simple riddle. His reviews
are exactly 100 words (not 99, not 101). This is his 100 word review of The Batman.
The Premise – From writer/director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield,
Dawn/War of the Planet of the Apes) comes the latest take on Batman, this time
with Robert Pattinson playing the caped crusader. This film really embraces the
detective side of Batman with him trying unravel the mysteries of the Riddler (Paul
Dano), a serial killer who claims his crimes are designed to reveal Gotham’s legacy
of corruption. Helping Batman along the way are police detective James Gordon
(Jeffrey Wright) and Selina Kyle (Zoe Kravitz), a nightclub waitress who is a cat
burglar on the side. Among the many folks they investigate are The Penguin
(Colin Farrell, under a mountain of makeup) and crime lord Carmine Falcone
(John Turturro).
The 100 Words – It
this really a comic book film? All the characters seem realistic and the action
is more small scale than big set pieces. But that’s fine as the dark, detective
story here is truly compelling. Though probably 20-30 minutes too long, the strong
supporting cast holds your attention and the slowly unraveling mystery makes
for a fun puzzle (despite a somewhat bonkers finale). I would have liked a
little more emotion from Pattinson, but I’m ready to watch where he takes this
character. Though a notch below Christopher Nolan’s films, Matt Reeves has this
Batman headed in the right direction.
Reach out to Jason Evans on Twitter @JasonDukeEvans
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