By Hayden Rollison 

Warning: Spoilers ahead. 

Vengeance. The word “vengeance” sums up the latest Batman movie, released this past March. Unlike other movies in the Batman franchise, Batman in The Batman feels a need for revenge on the city of Gotham. The newest movie takes an unlikely approach to the character Batman, compared to the other movies in the last 30 years of the Batman phenomenon. The phrase “I’m vengeance” is mentioned multiple times in the movie. 

Actor Robert Pattinson. Photo credit: Eva Rinaldi.

Bruce Wayne, the man behind the mask of Batman and played by Robert Pattinson, believes that Gotham City turned against him after the death of his parents when he was a child. His father, Thomas Wayne, was one of the “high-end elites” in Gotham City when he got shot during his campaign for mayor.  

At the beginning of The Batman, the Riddler, played by Paul Dano, murders one of the electoral candidates for mayor in his own house on Halloween. This is just the beginning of the Riddler’s scheme to wipe out all the corrupt “high-end elites” in the city of Gotham. 

Batman is introduced when Lt. James Gordon, played by Jeffrey Wright, teams up with Batman to investigate the murder of mayor-elect Don Mitchell, Jr., played by Rupert Penry-Jones. Although Batman isn’t loved by the city or police department of Gotham, Lt. Gordon recognizes Batman’s advanced skills and teams up with Batman on the Riddler case. When investigating the mayor-elect’s murder, Batman makes eye contact with the mayor-elect’s son. Batman creates a connection with the kid as he remembers when his dad, Thomas Wayne, was murdered during his mayoral election as well. Because there was a note the Riddler left for Batman, Batman continues his investigation of the murders due to his personal connection to them. He believes he must have revenge on the person who killed his father, and finding the Riddler allows Batman to get his payback on Gotham. 

Compared to previous Batman movies, like Christian Bale and director Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy, Bruce Wayne is very similar to Batman. It seems as if Bruce Wayne is not trying to hide that he is Batman in Pattinson’s new Batman. When Bruce Wayne makes an appearance in The Batman, the city of Gotham is surprised to see Bruce Wayne out in public. In The Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne is seen attending multiple social events. The Batman franchise in film goes farther back, with the 1980s and 90s films, where he was played by Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, and George Clooney, and even back to Adam West in the 1966 adaptation of the tv series. 

Following the death of mayor-elect Mitchell, Batman makes a trip to the Penguin, played by Colin Farrell, at the Ice Box, a club owned by the Penguin, where Gotham elites hang out at night. Batman asks the Penguin about a photograph of the mayor-elect at the Icebox before his murder. During his visit with the Penguin, Batman encounters a woman who seems to appear in a picture with the mayor-elect that Batman was asking Penguin about. She turns out to be Catwoman, played by Zoë Kravitz. 

With the help of Lt. Gordon and Catwoman, Batman solves the Riddler’s riddles laid out for Batman. While catching the Riddler, the riddles teach Bruce Wayne about the corrupt side of his father’s supposedly perfect legacy in Gotham. Thomas Wayne’s corruption of politics included working with a partner named Carmine Falcone, played by John Turturro. After the truth is revealed about the corruption in Gotham, Batman is faced with solving multiple conflicts. Batman gets angrier throughout the movie, as the Riddler exposes more corruption. 

Since Bruce Wayne and Batman merge into one character, Bruce Wayne is seen only a few times in the film. Leaving his house once later in the film, Wayne attends the funeral of the mayor, where he again feels connected to the mayor’s son. Neither Wayne nor Batman smile in the movie, and they only wear black, with the same grimace on their face throughout the movie. Pattinson succeeds at creating an emo character for both Bruce Wayne and Batman. This dark aura is carried throughout the movie, with every scene filmed at night, usually in the rain. 

When asked to compare the new spin on Batman to previous films, Will Edward (‘22) said “the film made Batman seem darker and more mentally unsound than previous Batmans.” William Britt (‘23) agreed, as he mentioned, “Pattinson played an excellent role as Batman, but I didn’t like how Batman and Bruce Wayne merged into one character.” 

At the end of the movie, the Riddler is seen talking to a “friend,” played by Barry Keoghan, in Arkham Asylum as he is disappointedly looking out the window into Gotham. Eliana Dockterman of Time magazine states, “though brief, the scene leaves no doubt that Keoghan is playing Batman’s greatest nemesis, The Joker.” Britt was excited when the Joker was introduced, as he mentioned, “it gives something that the fans can be excited about for future movies.” Although the ending is long and drawn out, the introduction of the Joker excites fans for an exciting sequel.

Featured image by thebatman.com.