Film Review – The Batman (2022)

There’s been a lot of Batman on film recently, with the caped crusader recently released from his Ben Affleck phase for director Zack Snyder with last year’s “Justice League” reconstruction. Not much time has passed, but a new year demands a new Batman, and Robert Pattinson steps up for “The Batman,” which presents a fresh start for the franchise, with director Matt Reeves (“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” “War for the Planet of the Apes”) in charge of a different vision for the same Gotham City misery. “The Batman” has all the ingredients the fanbase expects, dealing with villains, crime, and costumed heroism, but Reeves successfully shakes things up with his noir-ish take on the brand name, turning the picture into a brooding detective story that pays careful attention to character and atmosphere. It’s a lengthy endeavor (175 minutes long), and you’ll feel it, but the reward for such an extreme run time is full immersion in the mental health war that is the Batman experience, with Reeves nailing the brutality and awakening of this complicated dark knight. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com