There have been a lot of different takes on Batman and his world in cinema. Each one provides something unique while also taking things in its own direction. Matt Reeves' The Batman is no different, featuring Robert Pattinson as the titular superhero of Gotham City.
The Batman features many familiar elements that fans will recognize from other Batman portrayals dating back to Tim Burton's Batman. However, Matt Reeves cleverly crafted a unique universe for his take on Batman that does far more things differently than other movies of the past.
Catwoman Is Not A Villain
Even though previous versions have dabbled into the realm of Selina Kyle AKA the Catwoman not being evil, she is typically a villain. The Batman establishes Selina in her pre-Catwoman phase, and she's not just a thief who enjoys being the world's greatest thief.
Everything Selina does in The Batman is to either help her friend or make Carmine Falcone pay for his crimes. She's more of an anti-hero and Batman actually spends a portion of the film keeping her from transforming into a villain.
Explores Thomas Wayne's Impact On Gotham
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Like with most stories, The Batman does show what Thomas Wayne means to his son Bruce; especially since he's the big reason why he dresses up as a bat. On top of that, however, The Batman also focuses on Thomas Wayne and what the Wayne legacy means for Gotham City.
Thomas Wayne was more than a philanthropist in this version: he was also a politician trying to fix Gotham City. The movie also establishes that even though Thomas Wayne was a good man, he was not a complete boy scout and made poor choices to save his family.
The Most Grounded Batmobile
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Even before the Batmobile was treated as a high-tech tank in the Christian Bale and Ben Affleck versions, the Batmobile has always been a rather bombastic vehicle. Matt Reeves dialed back on that and essentially created an armored muscle car with the strength of a tank.
It has no weapons or fancy design to look like a bat on wheels; it retains the tail wings and a jet engine on the back to show that it is capable of outrunning anything on the streets. Other than that, the Batmobile is a modified car and a powerful one that makes for one of the best Batmobile sequences in Batman movie history.
Mixes Realism And Fantasy
When it comes to the style of Gotham City and how the characters are portrayed, the previous versions went to two different styles. Burton, Joel Schumacher, and Zack Snyder went for fantastical takes on Batman while Christopher Nolan went for the most realistic approach.
Matt Reeves goes for the best of both worlds by having Batman be a bit more grounded but featuring some fantastical elements including the design of Gotham, the villains, and some gadgets Batman uses. Not many storytellers can find that proper balance, but Reeves and his team did.
No Origin Story
The origin of Batman is overdone. Ben Affleck's version of Batman featured flashbacks to when Thomas and Martha Wayne are murdered. Of course, it was to help tell the story of Batman's redemption, but fans rolled their eyes at seeing the origin. Even 2019's Joker managed to include the death of the Waynes.
With The Batman, the movie trusts that the audience knows who Batman is. There is no flashback to that night in Crime Alley, no pearls hitting the ground, and no scene where Batman pays his respects. Instead, The Batman takes place in his second year as a vigilante and acts more like an origin for Batman's career fighting supervillains instead of low-level criminals.
Mostly Batman
Relying on star power, most superhero movies feel the need to have superheroes without their iconic suits for a large portion of the runtime. Both Affleck and Christian Bale spent the majority of their films as Bruce Wayne, saving the Batman stuff for action scenes.
The Batman takes a page from 2012's Dredd and has the titular hero in his superhero garb, one of The Batman's best designed costumes, for the majority of the film. Pattinson only appears as Bruce Wayne for maybe 5% of his screen time. Much of the three-hour runtime features Batman doing his job as a detective and vigilante.
It Doesn't Kill The Villains
For whatever reason, nearly every Batman movie (as well as many other superhero movies) felt the need to kill off a major villain of the mythos. On the flip side, the comics, video games, and shows all understand that villains are not limited to one story and can make numerous appearances with different stories to tell.
The Batman is the first movie where every villain survives, ready to appear again if Matt Reeves decides to bring them back. It will help the Batman mythos as well as Gotham City feel more alive and constantly evolving, similar to the Batman: Arkham games.
A Batman Movie About Batman
A common trope with Batman movies of the past is that Batman himself is more of the side character. Batman is more or less a plot device to keep the story progressing with the villains taking the center stage. Batman Begins was the closest to a Batman-centric story, but it was more of a Bruce Wayne story.
The Batman shows most of the story from Batman's perspective, featuring his own personal arc while villains such as Riddler and Penguin are show-stealers in select scenes. This was a departure from other Batman movies, as The Dark Knight was more about the Joker, Batman Returns focused more on Penguin and Catwoman, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was more about Superman than it was about Batman.
Sets Up A Villain's Spin-Off
Planting the seeds that blossom into a cinematic universe is nothing new, especially with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, The Batman does something a little different; instead of setting up another DC hero or simply events for a sequel, it sets up the Penguin to get his own spin-off.
Events in the film lead to Oswald Cobblepott becoming a crime boss in Gotham City. As a result, this will lead right into the HBO Max series with Colin Farrell returning to the role. Farrell's Penguin was one of the best performances in The Batman, so it makes sense that Reeves wants to take full advantage of him.
It's A Horror Movie
The Batman is a PG-13 film, but it definitely pushes the limits of the rating, especially with the Riddler. Paul Dano's Riddler is a twisted murderer who kills in disturbingly brutal ways. Even when he's simply talking on a video chat, his wild and bombastic way of speaking makes him appear as a mix of Ghostface and Jigsaw.
There have been a lot of comparisons to Se7en and Saw, and for good reason. Riddler even puts his victims in elaborate traps for them to play in his little game. Batman seems to find Riddler disturbing just talking to him behind a glass barrier.
The Villain Partially Wins
Even in the darkest Batman movies of the past, Batman always stops the villains and saves Gotham City. The climax of The Batman actually has Riddler successfully bomb the city and cause it to flood, killing dozens of innocents.
Batman is mostly there to maintain the chaos and stop Riddler's cultist followers from causing any more damage. The ending doesn't magically fix Gotham City but instead leaves it as a no-man's land that needs Batman more than ever. It gives more stakes to Batman's quest while also showing that the villains are more dangerous this time around.
Full-On Detective Story
In most Batman movies, the detective investigation element is sidelined. Another reason why The Batman is compared to Se7en is that other than a few action sequences, Batman spends the majority of the film trying to solve Riddler's puzzles and investigate what he is plotting.
This is one of the few times Batman earns the title of World's Greatest Detective like in the comics. He goes into crime scenes and finds things that the GCPD misses and solves Riddler's riddles better than they can. It makes for The Batman evolving into a captivating crime thriller that forces the audience to figure things out alongside the Dark Knight.
Batman Never Kills
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Even in the Nolan movies that directly establish that Batman refuses to kill, he always ends up killing a villain in every film. Reeves is the only director to properly follow Batman's no-killing rule. Batman is a brutal and ruthless vigilante but the criminals he beats are always alive.
In The Batman, the no-kill rule is only alluded to through Batman's actions and a few lines of dialogue. There are so many moments where Batman could have easily killed, but he didn't. As a result, characters like the Penguin and Riddler are alive to appear again in future Batverse projects.