Matt Reeves` “The Batman” isn`t a superhero film. Not really. All the trimmings are there: the Batmobile, the rugged suit, the devices courtesy of trusty butler Alfred. And of course, in the center, is the Caped Crusader himself: brooding, tormented, searching for his personal logo of midnight justice in a Gotham City that`s spiraling into squalor and decay. 
 But in Reeves` assured hands, the entirety is breathtakingly alive and new. As director and co-writer, he`s taken what would possibly look like an acquainted story and made it epic, even operatic. His “Batman” is extra corresponding to a gritty, `70s crime drama than hovering and transporting blockbuster. With its kinetic, unpredictable action, it calls to thought movies like “The Warriors” in addition to one of the best of all of them withinside the genre, “The French Connection.” And with a sequence of excessive-profile murders riding the plot, it once in a while feels as though the Zodiac killer is terrorizing the residents of Gotham. 
 And but, notwithstanding those touchstones, that is unmistakably a Matt Reeves movie. He accomplishes right here what he did together along with his gripping entries withinside the “Planet of the Apes” franchise: created an electrifying, exciting spectacle, however, one that`s grounded in real, emotional stakes. This is a Batman film that`s privy to its personal region inside pop culture, however now no longer in a winking, meta fashion; rather, it recognizes the comedian ee-ebook character`s lore, best to have a look at it and reinvent it in a manner that`s each full-size and daring. The script from Reeves and Peter Craig forces this hero to impeach his records in addition to confront his purpose, and in doing so, creates a gap for us as visitors to task the narratives we hang to in our personal lives. 
 And with Robert Pattinson taking up the position of Bruce Wayne, we have an actor who`s now no longer simply organized but hungry to discover this figure`s weird, darkish instincts. This isn't always the rushing inheritor to a fortune prowling approximately, kicking ass in a fab costume. This is Travis Bickle withinside the Batsuit, indifferent and disillusioned. He`s years into his tenure as Batman, monitoring criminals from on excessive in Wayne Tower—an stimulated transfer from the same old sprawl of Wayne Manor, suggesting good extra isolation from society. “They assume I`m hiding withinside the shadows,” he intones in a gap voiceover. “But I am the shadows.” In the cruel mild of day, Pattinson offers us hungover indie rock big name vibes. But at night time, you could see the push he receives from swooping in and executing his model of vengeance, even under the tactical equipment and eye black. 
 As he`s proven in quite a lot each position he`s taken since “Twilight” made him an international movie star in 2008, operating with singular auteurs from David Cronenberg to Claire Denis to the Safdie brothers, Pattinson is at his nice whilst he`s gambling characters who make you uncomfortable. Even extra than Christian Bale withinside the position, Pattinson is so professional at making his beautiful, angular functions appear unsettling. So whilst he first spies at the impossibly attractive Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle, slinking into her leather-based bike equipment and shimmying down the hearthplace getaway in her personal pursuit of nocturnal justice, there`s an unmistakable flicker of the the the a price in his eyes: Ooh. She`s a freak like me 
 Pattinson and Kravitz have insane chemistry with every other. She is his match, bodily and emotionally, each step of the manner. This isn't any flirty, purring Catwoman: She`s a fighter and a survivor with a devoted coronary heart and a robust feel of what`s right. Following her lead position in Steven Soderbergh`s excessive-tech thriller “Kimi,” Kravitz keeps showing a fierce air of secrecy and quiet strength. 
 She`s a part of a murderer`s row of helping performers, all of whom get meaty roles to play. Jeffrey Wright is the uncommon voice of idealism and decency because of the eventual Commissioner Gordon. John Turturro is low-key chilling as crime boss Carmine Falcone. Andy Serkis—Caesar in Reeves` “Apes” movies—brings paternal know-how and heat as Alfred. Colin Farrell is absolutely unrecognizable because of the sleazy, villainous Oswald Cobblepot, higher referred to as The Penguin. And Paul Dano is flat-out terrifying as The Riddler, whose personal force for vengeance offers the story`s spine. He is going to extremes right here in a manner that`s paying homage to his startling paintings in “There Will Be Blood.” His derangement is so intense, that you could locate yourself suddenly giggling simply to interrupt the anxiety he creates. But there`s not anything fun approximately his portrayal; Dano makes you experience as though you`re looking at a person who`s truly, deeply disturbed. 
 This isn't always to mention that “The Batman” is a downer; some distance from it. Despite the overlong going for walks time of almost 3 hours, that is a movie that`s constantly viscerally gripping. The coolest Batmobile—a muscular automobile that`s instantly out of “Mad Max: Fury Road”—figures prominently in one of the film`s maximum coronary heart-pounding sequences. It`s an intricate vehicle chase and chain-response crash finishing with an upside-down shot of fiery fury that actually had me applauding at some point of my screening. During combat at a thumping nighttime club, punctuated with the aid of using pulsating purple lights, you could experience each punch and kick. (That`s one of the extra compelling factors of seeing this superhero in his early days: He isn`t invincible.) And a shootout in a pitch-black hallway, illuminated best with the aid of using the blasts of shotgun fire, is each harrowing and dazzling. Greatly magnifying the strength of scenes like those in the rating from veteran composer Michael Giacchino. Best recognized for his Pixar film music, he does something completely distinct with “The Batman”: percussive and horn-heavy, it's far huge and demanding, and you may experience it deep to your core. 
 Working with artists and craftspeople working on the pinnacle in their game, Reeves has made a film that manages to be airy but weighty on the equal time, full-size but impressionistic. Cinematographer Greig Fraser pulls off the equal form of beautiful magic trick he did together along with his Oscar-nominated paintings in Denis Villeneuve`s “Dune”: Through pouring rain and neon lights, there`s each a gauziness and a heft to his