'The Batman' is the 9th theatrically released, live action film to feature Batman as it's principle character since 1966. Some things it does well is to treat it's fantastic villain's, The Penguin, The Riddler, more realistically then we've seen before, they are not wildly costumed cartoon characters. The return to The Dark Knight's detective roots is also apricated, as well as the general noir feel of the thing. Otherwise I find little to recommend in this movie.
If Christopher Nolan's 'The Dark Night' was a riff on Michael Mann's ' Heat', then Matt Reeves 'The Batman' is a riff on David Fincher's 'Seven'. This a 'hunt the serial killer' film that happens to have Batman in it as the lead detective, with Jeffery Wright ably assisting as Jim Gordon by way of Felix Leiter. 'The Riddles' presented throughout are not particularly challenging, 'the revelations' often feel forced, contrived clichés, such as the identity of 'Cat Woman's' father.
Of the large cast everybody does a decent enough job but they aren't straining any muscles, the paths they follow are well worn, as will be the muscles of your rear after it's exhausting three hour run time. 'The Batman' not only wants to be 'The Dark Knight', it want's to be Nolan's entire Batman trilogy in one dose. The numbness extended to the entire theater experience, it was very quite, there are very few jokes so very few giggles, and the set pieces produced nary an ohh or aww. I was surprised when a few people clapped at the end. Had Nolan not made his movies this film would probably have felt innovative, but because he did it feels imitative. The illusions to hurricane Katrina at the end comes 3 presidencies too late, though I did kind of like the idea of the Riddler as head of a Q-Anon type group.
'The Batman' is simply an extra long retread of things we've seen before, there is nothing really exceptional about it. **
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