The film has been in development for several years, initially as a Batman tie-in movie starring Ben Affleck, when attempts to create an expanded DC universe began. However, it soon turned into a Matt Reeves project, and it is Reeves who is the writer and director of this new film.
Reeves has done significant work directing Dawn and Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and this is the first movie where we’ve gotten writing, directing, and producing credits. A busy man, isn’t he?
The movie tries to reboot the franchise, but instead of going back to the origin story, they instead go to the early days of Bruce Wayne as Bat. In the opening voice, he says that “Two years of nights turned me into a nocturnal animal”.
This is Wayne trying to figure out who he is trying to become. In his mind, it is an instrument of revenge. For retribution. This is the starting point as we follow him through the story.
The story itself is about him trying to chase down a serial killer who is killing important members of Gotham’s elite and leaving riddles at the crime scene specifically addressed to “Batman” (yes, the Riddler – played by Paul Deng). He does this with the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright), Alfred (Andy Serkis) and the mysterious Selina Kyle (Zoe Kravitz). Everyone does a great job, and it’s also a great honor to have an unrecognized Colin Farrell play the role of Oswald Cobblepot (Farrell is doing incredible things now).
In making this movie, Reeves made a very clear choice. First, he dials up Batman’s famed detective skills more than any other version of the film. Second, he leans toward the grimy darkness of Gotham. This movie is ominous. It’s reminiscent of David Fincher’s Zodiac and also Alex Proyas’ Dark City. It worked great for me, but it’s definitely the first Batman movie I would think twice about showing my kids.
It’s another step away from the sheer insanity of Joel Schumacher’s time at the helm of the cinematic Batman and feels more connected to Nolan and Bale’s work than any from the Affleck era.
Musically, Michael Giacchino uses a simple combination of B-flat and G-flat notes (thanks to FilmGeeky’s “head of music” for explaining this to me) to create a recurring, unsettling theme that haunts the film’s score.
It’s a genuine attempt to get a clear grasp on Batman’s cinematic legacy after the recent drift from the DCEU (no fault of Affleck’s, but it was kind of a mess), and they absolutely succeed.
It’s dark, ominous, but fantastic. In my 2016 post about Batman’o’Meter, I referred to a range of approaches to the role, and the last one is probably the most correct, and it really works.
I believe there will be sequels over time and if they can stick to this formula, they will be great.
