The new Batman adaptation, starring Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman has already returned with positive reviews from critics. Available to the public on March 4th, 2022, here are some reviews so you can know what to expect heading into the theater. Don’t worry, no spoilers ahead!
The Reviews
The film has currently earned an 86% critic approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes after 226 reviews, earning it a “fresh” rating. The audience reviews are even more positive, sitting at 95% after more than 250 verified ratings. Katie Walsh of Tribune News Service calls The Batman “a welcome refresher” as it experiments with the types of genres a superhero narrative can work within. Many viewers have characterized the new film as darker and more brooding than previous adaptations of the story. It is nearly three hours long and follows our familiar hero as he investigates a serial killer in his home city of Gotham. However, rather than juggling a double life like in many other versions of Batman, Pattinson portrays him as much more socially withdrawn, and the line between Batman and Bruce Wayne is thinner than ever.
While some of the differences in style and character of The Batman have wowed critics, there have also been some less enthusiastic reviews. One of the main complaints about the new film is its PG-13 rating. Eli Glasner, reviewing the films for CBC News, wrote that “‘The Batman’ is handcuffed by its family-friendly PG rating.” Because the movie focuses on so much violence and contains dark themes, keeping it at a PG-13 rating slightly restricts it from fully embodying those aspects of the story. Instead, the rating keeps the film on a shorter leash than many were expecting.
Despite some of these drawbacks, the performances from the movie’s stars have been applauded. As expected based on previous roles, Pattinson brings the grittiness and dark, somewhat chaotic energy to Batman that audiences were hoping for. For a character that has been acted and adapted so many times, Pattinson still manages to bring something new to Bruce Wayne. Zoë Kravitz is naturally charismatic as Catwoman, and the two make a stunning pair on the big screen. Releasing on March 4th for general audiences, The Batman will take its place in a long legacy of Batman films and make a name for itself.
