The Batman

5 out of 5 stars

There’s no question that this is the best Batman flick since The Dark Knight.

Robert Pattinson is perfection as the young Caped Crusader, all dark, moody, and tied-up in torment. He’s been out on his vigilante venture for just a couple of years now, still working out some of the kinks. More crucially, he’s starting to believe his actions have no effect in turning Gotham into a safer place for its citizens. Scarred from the inside out and fueled by fear and anger, this Batman is in search of his purpose in co-writer/director Matt Reeves‘ extraordinary comic book epic that’s brilliantly masked as a gritty crime thriller. Batman is more of a hard-hitting detective than the superhero we’ve seen in movies before, and it’s a thrilling sight.

Partnering up with James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright), he’s caught up in a cat and mouse game with The Riddler (the phenomenal Paul Dano) and it’s intensely personal. It drags him down a path of corruption, mixing it up with mobsters like Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) and Oswald Cobblepot (an unrecognizable Colin Farrell), and confronting what the Wayne legacy is and was. That’s undoubtedly enough for one man to contend with, but then there’s Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle – making everything a bit more complicated. Let’s just say there’s some kissing and kicking ass going on between her and Mr. Vengeance himself. Rounding out the cast is Andy Serkis who plays Alfred. He’s fantastic as consistently being the voice of reason and the last of who Bruce can call family.

Right when we think we’ve seen it all from such iconic characters, Reeves gives fans something unprecedented and unbelievably exciting. The almost three hour runtime flies by because you’re categorically captivated by what has been assembled onscreen. First-rate performances, astonishing imagery, Michael Giacchino‘s spectacular score – this Dark Knight newbie is a true triumph.

Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.

Check out the SoBros Shop. Become a Patron. Give us money for no reason. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @SoBrosNetwork. Watch on YouTube.