The Batman (PG-13)

Robert Pattinson is the physically nearly invincible but emotionally vulnerable personification of vengeance in The Batman, maybe the best live-action Batman?

Hey, I said “maybe”; it’s been a while since I’ve seen The Dark Knight, which would maybe have been my previous “best” — though I think each of the Michael Keaton through Batfleck versions have had at least some good qualities.It’s been multiple decades since I watched Batman: The Animated Series with its out-of-time 1930s/1970s/1990s all smushed together Gotham setting and its tales of moral compromises and good intentions that curdle in a hard city. But this movie brought me back to that place, stories of deeply scarred people in a corrupt city where the victory is always, like, better governance and the possibility for optimism, as opposed to saving the world.

This iteration’s Batman is barely ever Bruce Wayne (Pattinson), the scion of the Wayne family fortune but not the model-dating society-page anchor of previous versions of the character. This Bruce has almost entirely given himself over to the Batman, as it’s called here, always with the “the.” He sees his role as not just physically fighting criminals but also instilling fear in them so that when they see the bat signal in the sky, they are moved to stop their criminal pursuits and make a run for it whether they actually see the Batman or not. His appearances as Bruce are few and mostly only to Alfred (Andy Serkis), here less a butler and more the only guy keeping the Wayne facade going, while also assisting with some of the Batman’s investigations.

The signal seems to exist mostly as a communication device between the Batman and Lt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright), Gotham’s seemingly only trustworthy police officer. When Gotham Mayor Don Mitchell (Rupert Penry-Jones) is murdered, Gordon calls in the Batman to look at evidence in spite of the sour feelings the police officers have toward the vigilante. Gordon seems to genuinely appreciate his detective skills but also the murderer has some larger purpose that involves the Batman, having left a note with a riddle addressed to him.

As Gordon and the Batman investigate the crime, they discover that Mitchell had secrets, including shady dealings with mobster Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) and his top lieutenant the Penguin (an extremely unrecognizable Colin Farrell). As more bodies of important city officials turn up, the Riddler (Paul Dano), as they come to call the person responsible, uncovers a vast conspiracy linking mobsters, city elected officials and law enforcement not only in the present but reaching back to the days of Bruce’s parents, Thomas and Martha.

Participating, sometimes, in this investigation, though for reasons of her own, is Selina Kyle (Zoë Karvitz), who is never quite called Catwoman but who has some slinky black leather get-ups and can kick butt when needed. Selina and the Batman have Heat in a way that works for the tone of this movie and makes Bruce/the Batman a more human person.

Vulnerability in general is one of this Batman’s defining traits. He can, like so many previous Batmans, get shot multiple times without missing a step, but we do get to see him get knocked out or banged up in a way that a non-superpower person with some really good tech would. And, more significantly, we see him sad, scared, stuck in trauma, angry and, with Selina, kind of emotionally awkward without being quippy about it.

I feel like years of Marvel Cinematic Universe movies (not to mention the various tones of DC’s own extended universe, of which Wikipedia says this movie is not a part) make saying this necessary but: This movie is generally not quippy or light or an upbeat action good time. There are moments of extremely dry humor, but it all serves the “this crime-ridden cesspool” tone about Gotham and the wider world. But still it is a really enjoyable movie with its surprisingly well-paced crime story — I say “surprisingly” because I was afraid that at nearly three hours this would be a slog. Instead, the only time I checked the time I found myself thinking “oh good, there’s still an hour left.” Like a good graphic novel or a binge of those old animated episodes, this movie really pulls you in and holds you in the story with these characters. And though this is our first outing with Pattinson-Batman we don’t have to trek through the origin story with the whole “Martha and the pearls” scene (as the CinemaSins/Honest Trailers-y places call that much-recreated sequence of Bruce’s parents’ death) and Bruce becoming the Batman. We start with him mid-Batman-ing but still figuring out what it all means and what he really wants to accomplish.

Also helping to keep you rooted in this version of Gotham are this movie’s visuals, which also kept calling to mind the animated series, not because it was a live-action copy but because of how it framed people in a scene or used shadow. Similar to how previous Gothams always seemed to have one foot still in a gangster-movie version of the 1930s, this Gotham had elements of 1970s New York (without that The Joker pastiche look) but with just the right amount of elements about modern politics and society fraying (again, not in that awful The Joker way that is all shock, no substance). And points to this score, which is a departure from the 1980s-1990s Batman theme but delivers on setting the noir-y scene.

And then there’s Pattinson, who crafts a very specific Batman — not as weary as Affleck, much more damaged than Christian Bale. I don’t know that it’s “the” definitive Batman but it’s a thoroughly realized Batman who is a compelling character. His partnership with Wright’s Gordon is solid, with them working as much like young-cop/experienced-cop as they do superhero/regular person.

Perhaps most surprising of all the surprises in this movie is that The Batman feels like a different way to do a classic superhero character with well-known characters and story. After so much MCU and a DCEU that often felt more like an answer to Marvel than its own thing, The Batman offers an example how a well-known comic book story can offer familiar plot points and stories while doing something that feels new and fresh. A-

Rated PG-13 for strong violent and disturbing content, drug content, strong language and suggestive material, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Matt Reeves and written by Matt Reeves & Peter Craig, The Batman is — well, look, long, it’s a long movie. It’s two hours and 55 minutes, according to IMDB, 2 hours, 56 minutes according to other sources. But basically you will be in the theater more than three hours, with trailers and whatnot. But for once this doesn’t feel like a knock against the movie. And it is only in theaters, distributed by Warner Bros.

Featured photo: The Batman.