The Batman (PG-13)
Batman Fandom; Break Room of Geeks; DC; DC Database; IMDb; official website; Rotten Tomatoes; TV Tropes; Warner Bros.; Wikia; Wikipedia
streaming sites: Amazon; Google Play; Hulu; Max; Movies Anywhere; Vudu; YouTube

This is probably the grittiest adaptation of "Batman" that I've ever seen, and I like that. It also leans heavily into Batman being a detective, and I like that. It's realistic in various ways, and unrealistic in others. Like, it's hard to believe that Batman is just allowed to work with the police, but it's more believable that aside from Lt. Jim Gordon, none of the other police trust him. I also like how this Batman isn't perfect. He's not as graceful as in something like Batman: The Animated Series; he can have pretty damn rough landings. And he can miss (or misinterpret) clues. But overall, he's pretty good at what he does. I also really like how in the end, he goes from seeing himself as "vengeance" to something more hopeful. I also wanted to mention that his narration reminded me somewhat of Rorschach, from Watchmen, but of course he's nowhere near as psychotic.

So, it begins on Halloween, when Batman (Robert Pattinson) has been operating as a vigilante for about two years. Gotham's mayor, Don Mitchell Jr., is running for reelection against Bella Reál. Mitchell is murdered by a masked man who we'll later learn is the Riddler. The next night, Riddler kills police commissioner Pete Savage. And later, he abducts D.A. Gil Colson, who will be killed if he doesn't answer a series of riddles. Throughout the film, Riddler also leaves greeting cards containing riddles addressed to Batman. And Batman seeks answers from Oz "Penguin" Cobb (Colin Farrell), who runs a nightclub called the Iceberg Lounge, which is frequented by mobsters such as Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), as well as corrupt city officials. Riddler ultimately wants to expose the city's corruption and lies. Batman also begins working with a cat burglar who is also a waitress at the Iceberg Lounge, named Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz), who is never quite referred to as "Catwoman", but that's how viewers are sure to think of her. She wants to find out what happened to her roommate, Annika, who also worked at the nightclub, and who had disappeared. At one point, Riddler sends a letter bomb to Bruce Wayne (not knowing he's Batman), blaming him for the "sins of his father", the late Thomas Wayne. But the letter is opened by Bruce's butler, Alfred (Andy Serkis), who sustains serious injuries.

I don't want to reveal much more, but I will say that Riddler is eventually caught and sent to Arkham State Hospital. Batman visits him there and is horrified to learn that Riddler took inspiration from him, and believed the two of them to be working together. Also, Riddler had already set a plan in motion that will be carried out without him, and Batman must try to minimize the catastrophe as much as possible. And Riddler makes a friend in Arkham, a fellow prisoner whose identity isn't explicitly revealed, but it's obviously the Joker.

So, yeah, I've left out a ton of details. But that's the gist of the story. It's a fairly compelling mystery, and Riddler succeeds in exposing a great deal of corruption in the city, which all centers around Falcone. Batman is hopeful that things may start to improve, now that the truth is out, but Selina thinks things will only get worse, and leaves town. Overall, I kinda loved the movie, though not quite as much as the 1989 Batman movie, or Batman Begins. Those ones I find a bit more memorable than this, and more re-watchable. I'm not sure if I'll ever feel like watching this one again, but I'm very glad to have seen it once.

Followed by a TV series called "The Penguin", and eventually by theatrical sequels.