This Batman is not a continuation of any previous Batman movies and is also not an origin story. When the film opens, Bats has been batting men for two years and already has a tentative working relationship with Gordon and the GCPD. When a serial killer starts serial killing Gotham’s elites, Bats, Gordon, and Catwoman team up to solve the case.

Batman’s intro is told in very noire-riffic voice-over that also reminded me of Taxi Driver. Both would be apt since this Gotham City sure could use some rain to wash away the scum. Batman’s theme is equally dark… minimalist, foreboding, bass-heavy simple tones that match perfectly with the heavy boots and menacing demeaner of a monster emerging from the darkness. This intro – showing how the criminals live in fear when the Bat Signal appears in the sky – is intensely strong. The sequence would fit just as suitably into a monster movie.

And that dark, bleak tone carries throughout the movie. It out-glooms Batman ’89, Dark Knight trilogy, and Batfleck combined (and one of these fools wanted to straight-up murder Superman). This is definitely a return to Christopher Nolan’s dark, gritty, and realistic take on Batman. My mom – who thinks Batman 66 is the real Batman – would not approve. The film gets a PG-13 and could have gone R but, at the same time, doesn’t feel cut back to avoid that rating. It knows when to suggest its horrors, when to go out of focus to save our virgin eyes.

Because, oh yeah, this could also be Seven part 2 or the latest Saw with how horrifically – and with righteous intent – the serial killer is. This film also brings out the detective side of the dark knight even more so than Nolan did. This isn’t lip service or quick moments; this Batman does a lot of crime scene detecting in between the occasional car chase or beat-down.

But the one thing that brings this movie down for me happens somewhere in the mid-to-late section of the film (in the fifth or sixth act… who can say in this three hour pic). For a movie that’s not an origin story OR a continuation of a previous Batman movie, it sure wallows in the origin story. And you had better have brought your Bat Familiarity kit with you since it assumes you know the background. And, to be fair, who doesn’t know Batman’s origin story?

But still, since a lot of this film hinges on Thomas Wayne (Bruce’s dad) and the last time we saw him was in Joker, they should have done a better job. The movie is relying so much on us understanding Thomas Wayne was a good man and how deep his relationship with Bruce was. Since that was assumed and not shown, I got really bored with the mystery hinging on a character never seen… especially when it felt so tangential to the actual crimes being committed.

And while that was a bummer that was dragging my score down, the finale is very strong. And it’s a finale with the same social anger that The Dark Knight and Dark Knight Rises (and Joker) had. I don’t think the dastardly plan is as evocative as Joker’s but surely its on the same level as Bane’s (only not so full of plot holes).

Robert Pattinson does a fine Batman… he seems bigger and more foreboding as Batman than I’ve ever thought Pattison could be. But as Emo Wayne, he’s less interesting… barely being more than a broody Broody McBrooderson. Which, to be fair, is leaning into the theme of the movie and the arc of the character.

So… yeah… I liked this take on Batman quite a bit. But not as much as many, it seems… but I can’t defend a midpoint that just didn’t work for me. The surrounding material is solid enough, the production values and minimal obvious CG effects were great, and the tone of the film is perfectly grimdark. Good work and a solid foundation if they choose not to reboot the franchise again.

Score: 87