Review: Robert Pattinson gets back to his vampire roots in “The Batman,” in which he plays the title character with the same moody, broody intensity he brought to his breakout role in “Twilight.”
— has fully bought into the darker-equals-deeper myth, delivering a film that’s as ponderous as it is convoluted and, ultimately, devoid of meaningful stakes. From the pretentious strains of “Ave Maria” that accompany its opening scenes, the viewer is put on notice that “The Batman” will be taken seriously or bust a cowl trying.
It’s Halloween in Gotham, and the citizens of a dejected city look like “Joker” extras who were too scary to make the final cut; while Batman — sorry,Batman — is swooping in to pummel a group of subway bullies to a pulp, an even more heinous crime is going down, a murder that will sendBatman to Gotham’s sleazy underworld, where criminals and politicians make common cause with such casual frequency that it’s impossible to tell who the good guys are. Is it the D.A.
Granted, most fans know Gordon’s on the up and up. But the overarching stench of corruption that suffuses “The Batman” eventually engulfs the title character, as he is forced to examine what it meant to grow up as Bruce Wayne, son of wealthy businessman and civic leader Thomas Wayne. He’ll make new friends and enemies along the way, including some iconic Batman foes; the plot doesn’t thicken so much as congeal, as windy explanatory speeches fill in for compelling or surprising action.
Underlit and overlong, “The Batman” draws its references from sources as diverse as film noir, Scandinavian death metal and garden-variety serial-killer pulp. Pattinson’s performance evokes not just Eastwood but, Kurt Cobain and, in a weird way, Crispin Glover. Pale and wraithlike, Pattinson’s bummer of a Batman slugs and slashes his way through his crime-fighting duties, at one point introducing himself as Vengeance.
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