When Robert Pattinson was cast as Batman in 2019, I felt the casting choice was surprising. I wouldn’t have picked Robert as my first choice to play Batman. I have been skeptical about casting decisions before, but I have always kept my opinions to myself until a trailer is released. Once the Batman trailer dropped, I was hooked. Me and my husband went to see The Batman last week and it was amazing! I’m so glad I kept an open mind because Robert Pattinson is one of my favorite portrayals of Batman to date.

The Batman takes place in the first few years of Bruce donning the Batman persona. He has physically prepared for the job, yet he still has a lot to learn. Batman (played by Robert Pattinson as hinted above) is called to a crime scene by James Gordon (played by Jeffrey Wright). From what they can gather, a serial killer is targeting Gotham’s elite and once he disposes of them, he exposes these individuals as being morally corrupt. This killer has the same goals as Batman but is not afraid to kill. As Batman investigates this killer, he gets entangled with Selina Kyle (played by Zoe Kravitz) as Selina is looking for her missing friend. Batman has to juggle between protecting Gotham, exposing the corruption, and living his double life as Bruce Wayne.

As mentioned above, Robert Pattinson does an excellent job at playing Batman. With Christian Bale’s performance, he capitalized on the “playboy” persona of Bruce Wayne. Robert portrays Bruce as a millionaire in the shadows who seems uncomfortable being Bruce Wayne in public. I felt this was a more authentic take of the character. As Batman, Robert is an intimidating presence along with providing his intelligence in being the world’s greatest detective. Besides Robert, the whole cast in this movie did an excellent job. Zoe’s portrayal of Catwoman was so good. Robert and Zoe’s chemistry was on fire throughout the whole movie. There was flirty banter between them along with a bond being formed after Bruce prevents Selina from killing someone from her past. By the end of the film, Bruce has a growing respect for Selina and seems to miss her as she leaves Gotham. Jeffrey Wright fully embodied Jim Gordon and Colin Firth was unrecognizable as the Penguin. Last, but not least, Paul Dano’s take on the Riddler was realistic as I think the Riddler is often a villain who people make fun of.

The cinematography in this film is haunting. The way Gotham is portrayed as this vibrant city with a criminal underworld. There are several sequences that are shot beautifully. There’s a scene where Batman is fighting several men and the room is completely dark. The only light comes from the men shooting their assault weapons. It reminded me of the Daredevil stair fight scene in Marvel’s Daredevil. From the trailer, there’s a moment where Batman steps out of the Batmobile with flames in the background walking to a flipped car. Seeing this scene on the big screen was so worth it.

The Batman is accompanied by a terrific movie score. The main song used in both the trailer and whenever Batman has a major moment is addicting. I have been listening to the score non-stop since seeing the film.

The Batman was everything I could have wanted from a DC film. The Batman reminds me of the Batman Arkham Asylum video game series in a movie form. Me and my husband can’t wait to see this movie again.