“The Batman”: a long ride for just an okay story

Despite being burned out on caped superhero movies, Noah and Daren were impressed enough by Matt Reeves’ body of work to check out “The Batman”. The 3-hour runtime is daunting, and that’s just one of the elements the guys weren’t thrilled about.

Two years of stalking the streets as the Batman (Pattinson), striking fear into the hearts of criminals, has led Bruce Wayne deep into the shadows of Gotham City. With only a few trusted allies—Alfred Pennyworth (Serkis), Lt. James Gordon (Wright)—amongst the city’s corrupt network of officials and high-profile figures, the lone vigilante has established himself as the sole embodiment of vengeance amongst his fellow citizens. When a killer targets Gotham’s elite with a series of sadistic machinations, a trail of cryptic clues sends the World’s Greatest Detective on an investigation into the underworld, where he encounters such characters as Selina Kyle/aka Catwoman (Kravitz), Oswald Cobblepot/aka the Penguin (Farrell), Carmine Falcone (Turturro), and Edward Nashton/aka the Riddler (Dano). As the evidence begins to lead closer to home and the scale of the perpetrator’s plans becomes clear, Batman must forge new relationships, unmask the culprit, and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has long plagued Gotham City.

Cast: Robert Pattison, Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Jayme Lawson, with Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell
Directed by: Matt Reeves
Writers: Matt Reeves & Peter Craig, based on characters from DC; Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger

This film is rated PG-13 for strong violent and disturbing content, drug content, strong language, and some suggestive material.
Running Time: 177 minutes