By Zachary Cui
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from The Batman (2022)
The Batman did a phenomenal job in capturing the modern and darker aspects of the character and the presence of conflict within Gotham. The dark environments paired with the immersive cinematography and soundtracks enhanced the experience, arguably one of the most notable elements of the film. Although it was one of the coolest films I had seen, there were definitely some critiques that can be made about it.
My main issue with the film lies within the physical capabilities of the main villain, The Riddler. Through the first half of the movie, I found him to be threatening due to his identity being concealed from the audience and Batman himself. We were unaware of what he was capable of and how dangerous he could be. The Riddler’s riddles are filled with intrigue as he provides mental challenges for the caped crusader, but once he is unmasked and sent to Arkham Asylum, he is consequently replaced with dedicated civilians that support his movement. This replacement of the villain comes right when the climax commences, but ironically, was very anticlimactic to watch.
Though, I’d like to point out that the climax did have its moments. Batman beating up people was always fun to watch. However, there are little to none emotional ties between Batman and the “Civilian Riddlers”, making it disappointing to watch. The climax is fundamentally flawed due to the lack of connections between the characters, which reflects on a bigger issue; whether Riddler is a fitting main villain for this movie. The Riddler himself was a worthy antagonist because of the mental strain he held on Batman, which has its positives and negatives.
For most of the movie, it was mainly the Riddler was a great threat to Batman whilst providing motivation for this character. However, I’d like to emphasize that this was only mentally. Once Batman overcomes the mental challenges, The Riddler doesn’t have much else to offer. Which makes the physical conflict aspect difficult as he often uses other people to do the fighting for him. As I previously mentioned, he is replaced with dedicated civilians in the climax. The inherent issue here is that all the emotional conflict built between Batman and Riddler is wasted. We as the audience don’t care about the civilians and what happens to them, but you do care about the Riddler himself as he was a compelling character.
This climax is essentially just Batman beating up people, which got repetitive. There should have been something more personal for the audience to care about. It would have been a lot more intriguing if the Riddler was involved, creating emotional ties between the protagonist and antagonist. The movie could have established deep character motivations for the “Civilians Riddlers” so the audience would understand why they are fighting for The Riddler.
Batman’s alter ego dynamic wasn’t explored very much. The movie portrays Bruce Wayne as a recluse who hates the public, rather than the well-known arrogant and confident personality. The movie spends very little of its time with Bruce Wayne. I would have liked the movie to delve into how Bruce handles both lives at once, as this is often an obstacle for him. However, this movie didn’t incorporate much of his life outside of being the Batman, which made it less interesting as the movie was just one dark and grim tone.
Comments from The Print Journalists
I showed up for Zoë Kravitz. I stayed for Zoë Kravitz. Otherwise, I liked the movie. one of my top 25 movies, but not more than that. It was enjoyable but painfully mediocre. The plot lines became convoluted, and the scenes at the end? The ‘lesson’ Wayne learned at the end?
Ishaan Palsule
The movie had a strong resemblance to David Fincher. Throughout the movie, I could feel some similarities, possibly even some allusions, to Se7en.
Maia Engelbrecht
In my opinion, Matt Reeves has crafted the definitive version of the Batman character. I am extremely happy with this interpretation of Batman and couldn’t help but smile every time Battinson beat down on thugs. I solved 2 riddles before Batman. I am smarter than Batman. Maybe I am Batman? Maybe I am more?
Dylan Wiener
In my opinion, Batman was horrible. The cinematography was fine and the darkness really emphasized what Gotham city was like, especially how the people in power were corrupt. But as someone who has never watched any other Batman movies, I did not care whether Batman died or The Riddler won, I did not see any character development or anything in that matter to feel empathy for a rich boy’s parents who died. In fact, I felt more empathy for The Riddler’s childhood and connected with him better than Bruce Wayne. The plot was too overcomplicated and got side-tracked in between which made me lose interest altogether. A wasted 3 hours of my life which I will never regain.
Sanika Malani