‘The Batman’: A Disappointment

I will give The Batman, the latest incarnation of the Caped Crusader — this time starring Robert Pattinson as billionaire/costumed vigilante Bruce Wayne — this: It has a memorable central motif in its score. Almost a week after I saw the Matt Reeves–directed comic-book movie in theaters, the simple, dramatic, escalated repetition of a few notes (yet another stroke of brilliance from composer Michael Giacchino, whose work I first consciously encountered as an essential part of the atmosphere of LOST) has stuck with me.

I wish I could say the same about the rest of the movie, which is, on the whole, something of a mess. Oh, but it’s a very dark mess, you see. The specter of Joel Schumacher’s much-derided Batman & Robin (1997) has scared every live-action Batman interpretation since into being gritty and serious, which has mostly meant covering everything in shadow and contriving semi-plausible explanations for comic-book silliness. Some have pulled this off. Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy succeeded at this, to varying degrees. Others, not so much: Zack Snyder’s version of the character is so parodically grim that, among other things, it helped render Batman’s instant blubbering upon hearing the word “Martha” into the pop-culture punchline it is today.

About the Author

Jack Butler

Jack Butler is a former submissions editor at National Review.

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I will give The Batman, the latest incarnation of the Caped Crusader — this time starring Robert Pattinson as billionaire/costumed vigilante Bruce Wayne — this: It has a memorable central motif in its score. Almost a week after I saw the Matt Reeves–directed comic-book movie in theaters, the simple, dramatic, escalated repetition of a few notes (yet another stroke of brilliance from composer Michael Giacchino, whose work I first consciously encountered as an essential part of the atmosphere of LOST) has stuck with me.

I wish I could say the same about the rest of the movie, which is, on the whole, something of a mess. Oh, but it’s a very dark mess, you see. The specter of Joel Schumacher’s much-derided Batman & Robin (1997) has scared every live-action Batman interpretation since into being gritty and serious, which has mostly meant covering everything in shadow and contriving semi-plausible explanations for comic-book silliness. Some have pulled this off. Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy succeeded at this, to varying degrees. Others, not so much: Zack Snyder’s version of the character is so parodically grim that, among other things, it helped render Batman’s instant blubbering upon hearing the word “Martha” into the pop-culture punchline it is today.