Review of The Batman (2022) by 43In2014 — 20 Mar 2022

The short review: The film is too dark and depressing, has too many characters and a overly complex story. It was tiring to watch. Related media: This is a reimagining of the Batman story, so there is no relation to the earlier films. Synopsis: The story starts 2 years after Batman first appeared in the terribly corrupt and crime-ridden Gotham City. The Riddler starts killing and leaving riddles for Batman to solve, clues that reveal how corruption had permeated many institutions, including one that is close to the Batman.

Positive:

1) It was a relief that it didn't suck after all the rumours about a difficult production and a difficult Robert Pattinson.

2)Zoe Kravitz portraying Catwoman is the best part of the film.

Negatives:

1) The film was overly dark, lighting-wise and tone-wise. The Marvel Cinematic Universe films are so successful because you can see what is happening and they are also almost all fun to watch. I know this is a film about the Dark Knight, but you need to contrast the dark parts with the brighter parts to make the dark parts stand out more. Otherwise, the viewers are just going to be drained at the end of the film. The director may have this intention, but I had felt drained and frustrated. 2) At nearly 3 hrs long (including credits), the film is 1 hour too long. I had looked at my watch far too many times during the film, indicating that I was bored. The story is too complex, there are too many characters to follow and there are too many things happening. There is also one dead villain being repeatedly mentioned but there were no photo or video of him thus making it hard to follow the story. 3) Robert Pattinson gets to act out his emo goth but I did not enjoy watching him. This film has turned me off watching his other films because I think many of them have him acting out in the same way too.

How would the different age groups rate this:

Children: (not rated for children).

Teens: Good.

Young adults: Excellent.

Medium-age adults: Average. Old adults: Poor.

My rating: 3/5 (no half scores). Only worth to catch it on TV.