Understanding the Detective
4/5
Spoilers
Batman seems to be a character that draws in film makers, like moths to an especially brooding flame. Although there were earlier screen adaptations, including the classic 1960s TV series and movie, it was Tim Burton's 1989 Batman that seemed to kick off a continual process of reappraisal of the Dark Knight on our screens
For my money, the best of the big screen adaptations has always been 1992's Batman Returns. It was a film that created a particularly frosty, comic book aesthetic, probably one of the most appropriate uses of Tim Burton's style, with a real understanding of how to deal with the rogue's gallery. Batman's villains, when played as grotesque and larger than life, are all broken individuals with serious mental health issues. In that movie, both Danny DeVito's The Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman are strangely sympathetic and compelling, completely outshone in true villainy by Christopher Walken as Max Shreck, a perfectly normal industrialist. This presentation finds its routes in travelling circuses and so-called 'freak shows' and, recently, sees itself updated within Marvel's Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Often, Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy is held up as the pinnacle of Batman on the big screen. It is true that Batman Begins and The Dark Knight are both excellent films. They bought a seriousness to the superhero genre that showed these characters could be something more. A film with a 'superhero' does not need to be all flash and sparkle, it doesn't need an all powerful villain, and it can be treated as a sensible film for adults. But in discussing the translation of the character 'Batman' to the big screen, I personally don't regard it so highly. Yes, the first two films are top draw superhero films (and yes, I am purposefully not mentioning the disappointment that was The Dark Knight Rises, forever ruined by being far too over-the-top and Tom Hardy). But Nolan could have achieved a similar outcome with any brooding superhero figure, even creating a new one to tell this tale. As a presentation of the original character, I don't feel Nolan 'got' the source material as well as Burton did.
DC comics are rather poor at chronology and creating a definitive version of a character. For a long while, they simply didn't care about continuity. Then, when they realised that their universe was making very little internal sense, they collapsed all stories and started again. But then people were unhappy with what had made the final cut, and they let more writers move away from the agreed canon, so they had to start again. This process is now expected every five to ten years in whatever new version of Crisis on Infinite Earths they are peddling. Expect the DCEU films to be wiped out soon as they try to pretend the first few never existed in a similar Flash-led event. The point here, though, is that there is no definitive source for Batman - a director should have freedom to create the one they like best. But there are models for Batman that stand out across his eighty years of existence. Nolan went with a twist on a modern version, Burton worked from the version generally popular in the 70s and 80s. But that's not the one I like best...
Batman's first appearance, as any low-level comic book nerd will be able to point out, was in Detective Comics #27. In fact, even when he had his own title, he continued to appear in the original publication. A core aspect of Batman's persona and mythos, the character trait many writers have returned to, is his role as 'World's Greatest Detective'. He is a character with no powers, just combat skills and gadgets, who uses his intellect to solve problems. The best onscreen adaptation to date is the one version where Batman the Detective was the key to the character. That version was the legendary 1990's Batman: The Animated Series. Although the rogues were colourful and carnival-esque, Batman was solving mysteries each week. He was the detective in a heavily noir inspired serial.
Zoom forward to 2022 and Matt Reeves' crack at the bat. After the failure of Ben Affleck's Batman within the mess that is the DCEU (although, let it be known, commercial rather than creative failure - Affleck put in a strong performance as Batman), Reeves' attempt to start up again with Twilight's Robert Pattinson, of all people, seemed like a project doomed to failure. The pre-release information listed half a dozen big villains, it was described as being "brutal" by early reviewers, and had a promised run time that made me fear for my bladder. Yet, it very nearly took Batman Returns' crown.
Reeves has eschewed the DCEU and MCU set ups, focusing on Batman the vigilante instead of Batman the superhero. He isn't super. He's barely considered a hero. But he is, or at least becomes, a vigilante detective. The film opens with a rather brutal murder and a riddle left (no big spoilers for this turning out to be The Riddler's work). Against the wishes of most of Gotham PD, Lt. Jim Gordon brings the Batman in. Partly for his unyielding honest drive for justice, and partly because The Riddler left a note specifically addressed to Batman.
Thus the film delivers a well structured mystery. Puzzles and riddles are thrown up repeatedly, all wrapped around a conspiracy at the heart of Gotham. Batman and Gordon are racing against time to stop The Riddler, not for a big villain show down but to solve the crimes before more are committed.
Much like the animated series, Reeves makes use of a noir influence in some of his lighting and staging choices. But this is enthused with the feel of 70s gritty detective films - the grime and cold of the city put me in mind of The French Connection. Batman is played as imperfect. He makes mistakes in both the case and in the rather realistic fight sequences, where he takes numerous blows. There's a definite Dirty Harry vibe being played out. Pattinson, as Batman, is surprisingly good, although probably not that surprising when you think of his performance in The Lighthouse. His Bruce Wayne is less convincing, coming across as a spoiled emo at times, but the decision was made to focus on the Bat and not the man. The other downside this delivers is a lack of Andy Serkis' Alfred, an excellent but underused performance.
Key to creating this corrupt crime mystery is the handling of the Batman Rogues Gallery. As aforementioned, the cast list dauntingly boasted Catwoman, The Penguin, The Riddler, and Carmine Falcone. Again, Reeves has not used these as superpowered villains, but as everyday criminals. Zoë Kravitz's Catwoman, a second vigilante, does not even go by the name Catwoman, she simply is a cat burglar with cats at home. The Penguin works for Falcone and runs a nightclub, only having a slight wobble when he walks bought on by a limp. The Riddler is an online extremist, effectively, with a coded name to cover his identity. It's all very realistic and, thus, not overwhelming. The cast is well balanced and utilised well to drive the plot.
As I said, this film nearly took Batman Returns' crown as my favourite Batman film. Unfortunately, the last sequence undermines much of the whole. The carefully constructed crime plot is concluded with The Riddler having planted bombs which blow up parts of Gotham's sea wall, creating a small flood, through which Batman has to fight a slew of skin-head extremists in a sports arena whilst trying to save everyone and the mayor. In short, it all gets a bit out of hand. The delicate threading of the story is blown apart in this larger than life finale. A race to save the mayor would have been a sufficient ending without the theatrics and biblical wash out.
That said, the film held my attention throughout. Any three hour film, unless directed by Sergio Leone, needs some form of time reduction. Here, I think twenty minutes less would have been perfect. A slight trim across the board, but, really, it didn't drag. In fact, aside from avoiding further indulgences in more typically superheoric fare, I hope that the next two follow a similar detective model. If they do, this trilogy has all the potential of being a definitive cinematic rendition of the world's greatest detective.
The Batman, 2022
Director: Matt Reeves
Writers: Matt Reeves & Peter Craig
Composer: Michael Giacchino
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Andy Serkis, & Colin Farrell
Currently showing in cinemas across the U.K.
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