The Batman (2022)

 Why do we like Batman? Why?

I read a lot of comics - right from my school days. I am not fanatical about it but it is something that keeps me going. And as with all comic book lovers, I am loyal to a few heroes. Like Tex Willer or The Phantom or Spiderman. But the one hero who consistently been there all through the days is Batman. Why?

I've always wondered, is it because it is easier to identify self with a character like Batman. We all have some secrets, a tragedy in the past, we want to dish our justice or like having cool cars. To me, beyond this the introvert nature of Batman is the one that I identify with. He is a loner and I am too (aren't we all, deep inside?)

How good is the new Batman movie? I would say super good. In the last 20 years, superhero movies have become complicated. There is lot of philosophizing, prequels, sequels and in general, sometimes they forget that we read comics for the fun of it. The Avenger movies somewhat redeemed the fun part of the superhero movies but for Batman, after the 1960's, there was not much fun left.

So, it is refreshing to see Batman join Jim Gordan for a more interesting who-dun-it than doing yoga et al. The movie starts off with the kind of preface a philosophizing Batman will do but mercifully, changes gears to the more interesting Batman the detective mode. I liked this better because it is what the comic books used to be about. A nail-biting chase of the psychopathic villain - you don't even notice the big Gotham sewer size logic holes - which ends with the good guy winning.

Here, the good guy chases Riddler and with the body count increasing, Batman is chasing Riddler to stop him from committing the next. We see the usual Italian crime bosses and a little of Penguin and a lot of Catwoman. There is still a lot of exposition by one character or other between the action sequences, but if you are a hardcore Batman fan, you will not even notice it. There is not many gadgets - Batman drives a Harley Davidson and the batmobile looks very much like a souped-up retro-Corvette. Thats it. No fancy things. Thats how he started, I think. 

Except for those not-so-actiony moments, the movie tells a clean detective story with a definitive ending (the good guy triumphs!) and sets the movie up for a more entertaining sequel. As far as acting goes, as with Batman movies, the Batsuit does the job very well and where he is without the cape, Pattinson looks like he-has-been-hit-by-a-truck with some nicely conditioned hair and its kind of seems lie the effect the director wanted, I hope.

The background score needs a special mention here - with Nirvana playing at moments, it subtly brings out the dark, exciting mood of the movie very well. Probably will rank along with Hans Zimmer's score in the Nolan movies.

If you like good, detective stories or just Batman, like me, then must-watch.