Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Batman.
Among many other things, Matt Reeves’ The Batman has been praised for its refreshing focus on Bruce Wayne. He isn’t overshadowed by a scene-stealing villain, like Heath Ledger’s Joker, or technical components like Christopher Nolan’s IMAX action sequences; everything in The Batman exists to serve Bruce’s emotional journey from a rageful symbol of vengeance to a more optimistic symbol of hope.
This version of Bruce doesn’t bother to keep up the billionaire playboy facade. Instead, he dedicates almost all his time to donning the cowl and fighting injustice. For once, Batman is the most fascinating character in a Batman movie – and many well-crafted scenes reflect that.
The Opening Train Station Brawl
Any Batman fans who feared that Edward Cullen couldn’t convincingly play the Caped Crusader were silenced when they saw the first trailer and watched Pattinson’s Batman mercilessly beat a thug to a pulp and aggressively quip, “I’m vengeance.”
This sequence doesn’t disappoint in the final movie. The Bat ably takes on this entire street gang, but he takes as many punches as he doles out in the early days of his crimefighting career.
Arriving At A Crime Scene With Jim Gordon
Much to the chagrin of Gotham’s other cops, Jim Gordon allows Batman into the scene of Mayor Mitchell’s murder to investigate the evidence and read a note addressed to him from the Riddler.
This scene brilliantly establishes that Robert Pattinson’s Batman is a quintessential outsider. He just wants to bring Gotham’s criminals to justice, but the city’s cops (except for Gordon) don’t agree with his vigilante crusade.
Saving The Mayor’s Son At The Memorial Service
Bruce Wayne is seriously affected by the sight of Mayor Mitchell’s son at his public memorial service. As an orphan who watched his own parents get murdered, Bruce has a lot of sympathy for the boy who had to find his father killed by blunt force trauma in his study.
When the Riddler sends the district attorney into the memorial service in a speeding car, Bruce grabs the late mayor’s son and pulls him out of the way just in time. Whether he’s wearing the cowl or not, he’s always a hero.
Escaping From The Police Station
After an explosion at the memorial service knocks him out, the Bat reawakens at the G.C.P.D.’s headquarters, where the cops are determined to unmask him. Gordon asks for a moment alone with the Bat and secretly tells him how to escape from the building.
As the Bat races to the roof and deploys his flight suit, he’s chased by hundreds of gun-toting cops. They’re just about to grab him when he takes the leap.
Chasing The Penguin In The Batmobile
There’s a hilariously anticlimactic moment at the beginning of The Batman’s big Batmobile set-piece as Bruce fires up an early version of the car, revs it toward the Penguin and his goons, and then stalls it. This gives the Penguin and his henchmen enough time to escape, but Batman takes chase.
This captivating car chase sequence sees Batman pursuing the Penguin the wrong way down a highway, zipping in and out of speeding vehicles and charging through the fiery wreckage of an exploded gas tanker.
The Hallway Gunfight
One of the most stunning single-take action sequences in The Batman sees the Caped Crusader emerging from an elevator into a darkened hallway and being illuminated by gunfire from the automatic weapons of Falcone’s enforcers.
This is an incredibly cinematic action sequence that shows off the advantages of a bulletproof Batsuit and has plenty of fun with the lighting.
Preventing Catwoman From Killing Carmine Falcone
When Catwoman heads to the Iceberg Lounge to kill Carmine Falcone, her sadistic illegitimate father, Batman races down to the club to prevent her from making the biggest mistake of her life and becoming just as bad as him.
Since Batman has chosen to represent vengeance and the movie shows his journey to realizing he should be a symbol of hope, he needs to hear his speech as much as Selina does.
Interrogating The Riddler At Arkham Asylum
While the interrogation scene in The Batman isn’t nearly as instantly iconic as The Dark Knight’s, it does present the Bat with an interesting psychological challenge. He sees more of himself in the Riddler than he’d like to admit.
It’s interesting that he calls the Riddler “a pathetic psychopath” while staring at a reflection of himself. He repeatedly punches the glass between them, but he’s punching his own reflection.
Leading The Survivors Out Of The Flood
During the final battle sequence at Gotham Square Garden in The Batman, the Dark Knight wades through the floodwaters, pulls apart some wreckage, and reaches out to the trapped survivors. They’re hesitant to take the Bat’s hand and even fear him, but the others follow suit after a young boy takes his hand and goes with him.
There’s a beautiful overhead shot of Batman leading the survivors to safety by the light of the Bat-flare. This image perfectly symbolizes the Bat’s poignant realization that he’ll better serve Gotham as a beacon of hope, not vengeance.
Saying Goodbye To Catwoman
In the final scene of The Batman, Batman approaches Catwoman at her mother’s grave and she tells him she’s leaving the city because she believes that Gotham – now flooded and rampant with more crime than ever – is beyond saving.
The two say their farewells and go in separate directions on the way out of the cemetery on their motorcycles. In the powerful last shot of the movie, a heartbroken Batman watches Catwoman leave in his wing mirror.