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Movie Reviews

The Batman

Warner Bros, 2022

It seems like only yesterday that Twilight heart-throb turned indie darling Robert Pattinson’s casting as the Caped Crusader broke the internet, inciting Batfleck fans into riots while others rallied around the man. A few years later and we’re finally seeing what all the fuss was about with director Matt Reeve’s gritty, sprawling crime noir: The Batman. And while Pattinson certainly proves the haters wrong with his physically imposing, chill-inducing take on Batman, Reeves’ film struggles under the weight of all the ideas it tries to juggle. Majority of what is here is solid, if not utterly fantastic at times – the stunningly dark visuals of Gotham city, the investigative aspect of the story and Michael Giacchino’s enthralling score – but the epic run-time grinds to a standstill all too often and Paul Dano’s unhinged Riddler performance is wasted on a story that leaves much to be desired in a film that too often prioritises style over substance.

Picking up two years into his crime-fighting campaign as the Batman, we find a tortured and angry Bruce Wayne (Pattinson) relying on fear to quell the rising tide of crime in Gotham City. When a deranged psychopath calling himself the Riddler (Paul Dano) starts picking off important political figures within Gotham, police lieutenant James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) reaches out to his vigilante ally to help prevent the next murder. As their investigation leads them through Gotham’s criminal underbelly, Bruce finds himself besotted with young thief Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz) – herself on a personal revenge mission – and the two team up to determine how mob boss Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) and his right-hand man Oswald Cobblepot (Colin Farrell) fit into this murderous web of deception. As the body count begins to rise, Bruce begins to discover just how important Batman is to the Riddler’s plan for the total destruction of Gotham, setting him on a path from which he cannot escape unchanged.

Warner Bros, 2022

Setting themselves in the same vein as Christopher Nolan’s grounded trilogy of films, Reeves is similarly fascinated with exploring the idea of Batman as a symbol and the impact of that symbol on Gotham. A thrilling opening sequence sets up the idea that this iteration of Batman is one that operates through fear, and in his rampant obsession with being this symbol, Bruce has sacrificed the Wayne legacy and the people around him. Where Nolan’s film’s succeeded in exploring this concept is where Reeves’ largely falls short. Michael Caine’s Alfred and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Rachel were fully realised, emotionally impactful characters that had a very obvious and meaningful impact on Bruce’s life. The torturous choice between the call to justice and the promise of a happy, fulfilling life of normalcy was the driving force of that trilogy. Here we find a Bruce very much committed to his mission and Reeves does a fine job of beating us over the head with this fact, but never fleshes out Andy Serkis’ Alfred (Bruce’s closest companion) in a way that evokes much emotional response from the audience. When he attempts to pull on that thread, it rings hollow; drawing the same cold, detached response from us that this Batman reserves for his enemies.

For their part Zoe Kravitz’ Catwoman and Jeffrey Wright’s Jim Gordon are constantly along for the ride with Bruce, but they rarely coalesce into more than side characters using each other to achieve their own ends. That fits in with the dark, twisted tale of shifting morals and betrayal that Reeves is telling but fails to convey just how their interactions have changed him in any meaningful way. Sure there are the obligatory Batman voiceovers – with Pattinson’s eerily low register working wonders in these moments – but the moral shift isn’t anything that hasn’t been seen before, and is a shockingly small amount of growth in the titular character for a film so massive.

Warner Bros, 2022

This interpretation of the caped crusader falls somewhere in the middle of Christian Bale and Ben Affleck – an angsty, brooding Batman driven by vengeance that is physically imposing without the need for Affleck’s hulking mass of muscle. Pattinson’s Batman is brilliant; you completely buy into the idea of this young man barrelling his way through criminals, stumbling as he learns the ropes. The fight choreography is tight and minimal – a train station fight early on is never topped – and Reeves does a great job of conveying how new Bruce is to all this, never feeling like he makes it out of a fight without taking a beating. It adds tremendous weight to these early bouts, before the third act stumbles into the usual overblown comic-book action finale that unfortunately overshadows these smaller, much more engaging fight sequences.

Where Pattinson’s portrayal falls short is in his decidedly different take on Bruce Wayne; foregoing the traditionally suave billionaire playboy for a moody recluse so deeply entrenched in his mission that he has shut himself off from society. Credit goes to the man for making a choice but it never feels particularly interesting, coming off as brattish and privileged rather than deep. Reeves and co-writer Peter Craig also make a rather strange choice to limit Bruce’s dialogue, barely saying anything that isn’t brushing off people’s attempts to connect or immediately arriving at the answer to one of the Riddler’s supposedly impossible clues. The dichotomy of Bruce Wayne against Batman – arguably one of the franchise’s most defining traits – just isn’t here in the same way as other instalments and that makes the character a lot less engaging. It’s a step backwards for Pattinson, who has carved himself a niche for playing strange, morally ambiguous characters in the years since Twilight. Batman certainly fits into that mould, but here lacks the depth of characters Pattinson has played in films like The Lighthouse and Good Time.

Warner Bros, 2022

A lot has been made of the decision to ground this Batman adventure as a serial-killer chasing detective film. Reeves has cited Zodiac as an influence multiple times and at times the appearance and overall tone certainly manage to capture that unsettling atmosphere, but the constant shift between the Riddler’s killing spree and the tale of mob supremacy make for a tonally jarring, inconsistent film, especially in regards to how Reeves and Craig attempt to stitch it all together. On the detective side of things, Batman too often feels like a passive participant in the investigation; a chess piece moved around key locations to witness important events instead of exercising any actual agency over how things unfold. Sure you could argue that this is all part of the Riddler’s grand scheme but for the supposed “World’s Greatest Detective” he doesn’t do an awful lot of detecting, getting by with a lot of help from the police. The mob-focused story is where Reeves is able to have the most fun, leaning into Batman’s cheesy comic-inspired history with an absolutely riveting car-chase scene, but there is such a constant battle between the two types of story that it never truly coalesces. The third hour is the result: a messy attempt to unite all these threads that culminates in a boring, lifeless battle against goons – the usual modern comic-book finale – that betrays the film’s previously grounded approach to this story.

Where The Batman truly excels above all other films in the series is in its portrayal of Gotham City. From the dreary, rain-soaked streets to the grimy underground, criminal-populated drug dens, Gotham truly feels like the scummy hive of crime and chaos that every Batman film has tried to present, and a living, breathing character in its own right. The production design is truly awe-inspiring; a fusion of New York and Nolan’s Chicago-filmed streets combined with a gothic architecture that brilliantly illustrates the city’s struggle between its crime-filled past and the promise of a brighter future. What makes it truly special is just how brilliantly the production design coalesces with the thematics of Batman’s journey; ruthless criminal gangs stalk the streets, trash is piled high on street corners and even Batman himself claims that he is only one man – and must systemically change the city from the ground up in order to affect real change. Let’s not forget Michael Giacchino’s fantastic score. Fearsome and delicate at once, it is truly impressive how much power he is able to extract from four notes, crafting a theme (alongside an amazing overall score) that will stand the test of time as one of Batman’s most iconic.

Warner Bros, 2022

The Batman isn’t the defining cinematic Batman story that it could have been – that honour still firmly belongs to Nolan’s trilogy – but it does show promise of an intriguingly dark new take that has potential to expand into (hopefully) weirder territory. In trying to tell such an epic, defining story, Reeves ends up with two warring tales of a deranged serial killer and shadowy mob betrayals that culminate in a disappointingly clichéd final act. Still, Robert Pattinson proves himself as the worthy follow-up to Christian Bale (sorry Batfleck fans) and when the story does manage to align with its excellent production design and score it is truly something special. Reeves’ first step into the world of Gotham might not be the definitive Batman film but it is a damn good one when it wants to be.

Warner Bros, 2022

The Batman stars Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Andy Serkis, Peter Sarsgaard, Jayme Lawson & Colin Farrell – In cinemas now.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

7/10

Categories
Movie Reviews

Eternals

Marvel Studios, 2021

With 25 films under its belt, it feels like there is little left that the MCU has not yet explored. Their 26th effort Eternals, from Oscar winning director Chloé Zhao, aims to subvert expectations again with an epic, history-spanning cosmic adventure that introduces audiences to a new team of space-travelling, god-like heroes. But what should be the most vibrant and distinct Marvel film ends up one of the most bland – a cold, strangely emotionless slog that descends into CGI madness. When the most satisfying piece of an almost three hour long film is the post-credits scene, you know something is wrong, and Eternals is one of Marvel’s weakest efforts to date.

While the rest of Earth’s heroes were off fighting Thanos and any number of other threats, a team of 10 immortal space warriors – the Eternals – existed on the planet, tasked by their Celestial (giant space god) creator Arishem (David Kaye) with protecting the species against otherworldly abominations, the Deviants, but otherwise leaving the human race to fend for itself. With the Deviants all but defeated, the team disbanded to live out separate existences until the creatures’ return forces Sersi (Gemma Chan) and Sprite (Lia McHugh) to rally their family of heroes – the Superman-like Ikaris (Richard Madden), mind-controlling Druig (Barry Keoghan), warrior god Athena (Angelina Jolie), leader Ajak (Salma Hayek), Bollywood star Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), speedster Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), super-strong Gilgamesh (Don Lee) and genius Phastos (Bryan Tyree Henry) – to uncover the cause of the Deviant resurgence and save Earth from certain destruction.

Marvel Studios, 2021

That’s an absolutely barebones summary of the giant film that is Eternals; which immediately struggles under the weight of juggling ten main characters, a world-ending, history-spanning storyline and connecting it all the to the biggest shared cinematic universe of all time. That MCU link means the army of writers that contributed to the script go into overdrive from the get-go to explain where the Eternals came from, why they didn’t fight against Thanos and where they’ve been for all this time, regardless of how uninteresting that all is. It’s the first sign that something is wrong, with Zhao’s film taking on a cold, business-like tone; giving the sense that boxes are simply being ticked rather than a meaningful examination of character or the fascinating found family dynamic.

A large portion of the film is devoted to assembling that family – as Sersi and Sprite travel the globe reconnecting with everyone – and this is easily the most enjoyable aspect, with snappy banter and a light tone (apart from Richard Madden’s permanently dour Ikaris) keeping things fun as you come to understand the dynamics of the team. Barry Keoghan and Bryan Tyree Henry are particular standouts, both layered characters with their own demons; with Keoghan’s Druig frustrated at being kept from using his powers of mind control to simply cease conflict. Henry’s Phastos has a much more sobering burden to carry – tasked with drip-feeding technological advances to humanity, including those of a negative persuasion – that forces the guilt ridden god to do some serious soul searching. Never in short supply are the usual quick fire Marvel jokes of course, but they rarely hit as intended, a shame considering the comedic talent in Nanjiani alone. He tries his heart out – Kingo’s other life as a Bollywood superstar makes for some great one liners and a standout side character in his valet Karun (Harish Patel) – but Madden and Chan bring things down by never seeming to know how to respond to his levity.

Marvel Studios, 2021

Despite being the lead characters of the piece, Ikarus and Sersi are woefully underwritten, with Zhao choosing to show their relationship through the ages as well as telling us. It’s a heavy-handed approach made especially worse when the two come together and couldn’t have less chemistry; opposite thematic mouthpieces constantly discussing huge, world-ending stakes rather than estranged lovers that were together for 5,000 years. That’s a problem that is rife almost everywhere you look: over-explanation. Eternals is cosmic sci-fi on a grand scale and the characters are constantly discussing it; throwing in new facts and reviewing assumed knowledge at every turn. Yet you never fully feel that you understand what is going on until the third act devolves into the tried and tested “big CGI battle”. It seems as if Zhao is constantly shooting for thematic examinations of how different experiences shape different responses to life only to be pulled back into familiar territory to reset the pieces for the next Marvel instalment. Sadly ironic that the only scene that seems to fully see out its vision is the post-credits scene teasing a future film.

Audiences have endured Marvel’s bad villain syndrome over the years in more than a few films but Eternals’ might be the worst yet. The Deviants are a thoroughly uninteresting race of dinosaur-like creatures – all tendrils and snapping teeth – that serve as nothing more than glorified CGI punching bags to put our heroes powers on full display. Unlike the endless streams of enemies in an Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy, there is no charismatic leader behind them all. Discovering the origin of the Deviants doesn’t make them one bit more interesting as villains; they continue to crop up only to be thoroughly knocked back to where they came from: rinse and repeat throughout. What should be a bone-shatteringly vicious showdown at the halfway point is undermined by the hazy way Zhao chooses to shoot the action; a combination of a shaky camera and terrible lighting making things almost as incomprehensible as that infamous Game of Thrones episode.

Marvel Studios, 2021

Perhaps it’s Chloé Zhao at the helm fresh off her Best Director Oscar win or the promise of the next great superhero team that makes Eternals feel like such a disappointment. What should be another slam dunk hit from a studio that has made billions out of well characterised heroes and their action-filled exploits feels strangely hollow and devoid of life; a largely humourless affair that feels both universe expanding and inessential at the same time. The fantastic cast is largely wasted, the villains are only that in the most base sense and the plot alternates between an incomprehensible mess and the worst parts of the worst Marvel films. The heroes might live on but Eternals feels destined to fade from the Marvel memory.

Marvel Studios, 2021

Eternals stars Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Harish Patel, Bill Skarsgård & Kit Harington – In cinemas now.

Rating: 5 out of 10.

5/10