This article contains spoilers for The Batman.
The Batman’s opening weekend has revealed the world was incredibly hungry for plenty of Bat-action, however, any new entry or take for the character comes with the reminder that the superhero is a man of many layers. And thus, among the few early criticisms directed either at Matt Reeves or Robert Pattinson is that their caped crusader is too one-dimensional.
That assertion is not without merit as throughout the almost three hours ofThe Batmanaudiences get to see less of Bruce Wayne than in any other iteration, and when he’s on-screen they’re left with something that is nothing like the billionaire playboy he’s been made up to be in pop culture. So, why is that the case? And most importantly, does Batman really need Bruce Wayne to thrive in a movie?
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13 Going On 30, Batman Edition
Reeves’ defining decision when he wroteThe Batmanis without a doubt making a movie heavily inspired by theYear Twocomics, which featurethe world’s greatest detective in his early days. This means the Bruce that Pattinson is playing is around 30 years old and barely starting to figure out his double life, which in turn means he barely has any time left to live the normal part and is instead “trapped” asThe Batman.
This is obvious to Alfred, who’s constantly chasing Bruce all the way down to his makeshift batcave in order to try to convince him to do anything that is not vengeance-related. Anyone would be forgiven for thinking this Bruce Wayne doesn’t even shower because he looks, talks and handles himself like a man with a one-track mind.
While Christian Bale’s Batman had hints of this behavior, Pattinson exhibits the type of obsession that almost always lies at the heart of any great success, this Bruce is still learning the ropes and the wounds that caused him to become Batman are still fresh, probably just anesthetized rather than healed. The audience is provided with little context of Bruce’s past, and it’s very likely a future sequel will be when we see a more thorough explanation of how he mixes his two personas.
Robert Pattinson Understood The Assignment
The biggest fear many fans had when Pattinson was cast as Batman was the possibility that his performance would be too “emo”, however, that skepticism in rendered quite empty within the context ofThe Batman. By choosing to omit Batman’s genesis story there is simply no need to give exposition to what makes Bruce tick because he’s reached the point where he himself is completely disinterested in that facet.
There’s an argument to be made about whetherGotham City itself is the true protagonistin Reeves’ movie because its corrupt institutions and history are what everyone is obsessing over, even supposed villain The Riddler. Pattinson does a fantastic job portraying what Reeves’ asked him to, a Bruce that really can’t fit non-Gotham problems in his life, hencewhy Batman seems broken or crazy at timesas he’s unable to fully cope with the weight of the burden he willingly took.
The Batmanis heavily inspired by films likeChinatown,Se7enandZodiac, and those are not happy movies. In the process of creating the detective movie he wanted to make,Reeves’ world has no room for nicetieswith most humor being delivered through sheer irony due to the terrible state things are in.
From Darkness Comes Light
To keep up with its general theme,The Batmanends on a bittersweet note - on one hand, The Riddler is caught even before the execution of his master plan and Gotham is saved; on the other, the villain still manages to build a cult following and cause extensive casualties and costly damages to the city. Most notably, Bruce (not Batman) also experiences a revelation that could get him closer to becoming the character seen in his other movies.
The desire for vengeance that apparently fueled his journey as Batman fades away as he learns his initial path was erring despite his good intentions. In that regard,The Batmanis not that different fromThe Dark Knight, where Bruce takes the blame for Harvey Dent’s actions. His epiphany may be what drives the hero to live more of his Bruce life in a way that allows him to do some good as a civilian, much like his father wanted to.
As a disturbed man himself, The Riddler points out for the audience that Batman is who Bruce really is, that the billionaire orphan is the true facade. Nevertheless, the very journey now seems to ask of him to become something more.
Some critics have pointed outThe Batmanis a terrible moviefor current times due to how grim it is, but this assertion is wrong. Gotham’s decayed society is a symbol for worst-case scenarios, one that is present in many corners of the world today.
An eventual sequel will probably allowPattinson to display more of his fantastic rangeas an actor, what happens here is a symptom ofThe Batmanliving up to the premise first put forth in Christopher Nolan’s scripts - This Bruce Wayne is both the one Gotham needs and deserves, and he has no reason to smile.
