Wri/Dir: Matt Reeves | Cast; Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Collin Farrell, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Andy Serkis, Jeffrey Wright, Barry Keoghan, Jayme Lawson | US thriller, 175′
This ninth live-action thriller is a Batman film for modern times with its themes of female empowerment and white male supremacy in a Gotham City of corrupt politicians falling prey to serial killer, The Riddler (Dano is surprisingly scary in meltdown mode). John Turturro provides the villainous subtext as Carmine Falcone aka The Rat, and is also father to Catwoman (Kravitz as Selina Kyle). Robert Pattinson makes for a gorgeous floppy-haired Gotham superhero still in his formative years flexing his muscles but also quivering his lips for universal appeal as Bruce Wayne, son of the city’s leading family who are not pulling their weight according to Jayme Lawson’s mayoral candidate. The chemistry with Zoë Kravitz’ sizzles nicely as The Cat and The Bat take it in turns to ‘save’ each other. Some scenes are almost poetic, the dark figures striking a pose or flitting delicately against the incandescence of Gotham City by night. The BatMobile doesn’t disappoint either with rip-roaring chase scenes set to Michael Giacchino’s thundering score riffing on Mozart’s Funeral March to add to the gloomy tone throughout. Matt Reeves juggles an eclectic cast of 129 actors but you’ll never guess who Colin Farrell plays. This Batman is certainly entertaining but an hour too long. MT
OUT ON FRIDAY 4 MARCH 2022