March 12, 2022 – Batman has come a long way from the days when Adam West played him as a campy, comic figure during the Vietnam War.

In recent years, Batman has become an increasingly serious, tragic figure, wallowing in grief and anger — unleashing his wrath upon all evildoers. Now, during a pandemic which has already killed an estimated 18 million worldwide, 3 million in the U.S., while Russia invades the independent nation of Ukraine and seeks to smash it into submission, we see a new Batman. This Batman, played by Robert Pattinson (of the “Twilight” films) is as dark, depressed and angry as many of those living in these dark, stressful times.

Pattinson's Batman is more reclusive, socially distant, and buttoned down than past depictions of the Caped Crusader, who could pass for normal, as Bruce Wayne, during social occasions. This brooding Batman is aware that his war on crime is failing. The center cannot hold; mere anarchy is being loosed upon Gotham City.

Criminals, including underworld kingpins, like The Penguin (played by Colin Farrell of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”) and Carmine Falcone (played by John Turturro of “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3”) are not Batman's real problem in this story. This time, he is being tortured and manipulated by a murderous mastermind working behind the scenes, The Riddler.

Since the identity of the Riddler is not revealed until final acts of the movie, I won't name him here, except to say he seems to have a lot in common with the villain in the movie “Seven.” The Riddler seems to know everybody's secrets, including those of Bruce Wayne, and he wants to make those secrets known. Like Batman himself, the Riddler also wants to kill those who are evil and corrupt.

This story is not so much a morality play, but a psychological drama, a battle between tortured people with twisted pathologies. Catwoman also appears in this film, (played by Zoë Kravitz of “Mad Max: Fury Road”). There is sexual tension between Batman and Catwoman, but the personal histories of these two characters are also intertwined with the rest of the story in other, deeper ways.

In many superhero movies, the villains are angry because of some wrong done to them in the past, some need for revenge. In this movie, the main villain, the Riddler, doesn't fit that description, but Batman and Catwoman do. In this story, the villain is angry because of government corruption. He wants to expose the corruption and kill those responsible for it. This story turns the tables on the normal superhero story formula.

At almost three hours, this movie seems overlong. I almost fell asleep near the end, but the story is compelling, and well-written, the acting is solid, and the production values are good. It is hard to see what is going on in some of the scenes because they are underlit.

It seems like this movie is pushing the limits of how far you can go with this anti-hero type of story, where the good guys and the bad guys seem to act pretty much the same. This Batman is getting close to the darkness of a Marvel Comics character, “The Punisher,” which is pretty extreme. Even more extreme is a character like Edward Blake (the “Comedian” character in “Watchmen”).

The inspiring thing about superheroes like Iron Man, Superman and Spider-Man, is that they maintain a spine of morality, despite the enormous temptation to be corrupted by their own powers. Once you lose that morality, you are no longer a hero, and you've left me behind. Despite being overlong and underlit, this is a good movie, and it rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff (no extra charges apply). I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

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