Composed by Michael Giacchino
Matt Reeves’ The Batman is the latest cinematic reincarnation of the character. It exists separate of the rather messy DC Comics cinematic universe (Ben Affleck stepped down from playing the Caped Crusader so they decided to do their own continuity). Instead of going the opposite direction of Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed Dark Knight trilogy by focusing on the more fantastical elements of the Batman mythos, Reeves opted to double down, creating one of the darkest, grimmest superhero films. Batman (Robert Pattinson) is so wrapped up in fighting crime by night that he has lost his identity of Bruce Wayne. Working with Commissioner Gordon (Jeffrey Wright), he seeks to track down the serial killer Riddler, who murders prominent and corrupt Gotham City leaders and leaves clues behind. As he untangles a web of corruption, he comes into contact with Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz), the Penguin (awesomely portrayed by Colin Farrell), and head crime boss Carmine Falcone (John Turturro).
While I was hoping that the Batman films would go for the more fantastical elements, I have to say that, aside from the need for a little trimming (this movie is three hours long) the first two-thirds to three-quarters of the film is pretty great. It’s one of the only films where Batman is actually focus-and-center and he gets to show off his detective skills. It’s a visual feast as well, being dark while still enabling viewers to see what is going on. However, the last act is underwhelming when the film suddenly decides to introduce an apocalyptic element for an explosive finale. The most consistently great element besides some of the acting performances and visuals is Michael Giacchino’s score. Continue reading
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