The Batman reviewed by Mark Kermode 

As a comic nerd I have to disagree with Simon. I've always wanted a Batman film with a proper narration, it harkens to Batman's roots in hardboiled detective noir so I'm glad they finally included it.

There was some great standout acting in this film but what I fear is that John Turturro as Carmine Falcone will go unnoticed, he absolutely nailed it in my opinion, He wasn’t just acting as a mob boss it genuinely felt like he was a mob boss and you could feel the subtle power he had over people with the simplest of actions or emotions, a simple smile or how he would put his hand on someone’s shoulder. It felt like he had genuine power. He had some real golden moments in this film

Batman narration made the movie! This felt like the most comic accurate Batman to date. Absolutely adored the direction of this take on The Batman. Brilliant film.

For someone who barely talks throughout the movie, Robert Pattinson conveyed SO MUCH in his performance. The funeral scene in the church he barely says a word and yet you can tell what he's thinking the entire time, and gets across the tragedy and empathy of the character. And as for spectacle, in the IMAX, the Batmobile firing up sounded utterly, gloriously satanic. The use of sound was excellent. The way in which both Batman and the Batmobile get introduced in this movie were just spine-tingling moments. As a lifelong fan of all things Batman this ticked all the boxes for me. It went from gripping to utterly riveting. Everyone in this movie smashed their roles. I couldn't have been any happier.

I loved it. Greig Fraser made every frame a moody painting, Cast was terrific and story was constantly engaging. Problem I have with you comparing it to Nolan movies (although I agree it is the standout example and clearly the strongest inspiration bar the comics) is that it doesn’t try to be a Nolan movie. This distinctly feels like Reeves, and the whole Apes trilogy team putting their stamp on the character and it works an absolute treat for the story and filmmaking

The narration literally says the date at the beginning. It’s his diary.

I actually loved this more accurate take on the comics, "worlds greatest detective", as opposed to a big action star in a cape, is what Batman has been in the comics for a long time now. This is much more like The Long Halloween comic than it is the 60s Batman, and that is mainly down to the aesthetic and the noir style narration.

I loved the subtle campness of it. Like, they knew they were going for grimdark hardboiled noir and just went absolutely all in on the vibe. Jeffrey Wright especially, just gloriously grizzled from beginning to end, and the way that everything was taken so absolutely seriously by all the characters. Paul Dano singing Ave Maria will stick with me till the end of time.

I went in a doubter and came out a convert...Lifelong fan of Batman Comics and movies and I have to say this was a great adaptation. The Noir tone, the Detective Batman focus, the cinematography & soundtrack, great Villain performances....the different batman many didn't realize we needed. I enjoyed the inner monologues voicing and appreciated the tone and lighting. The blurry frantic combat scenes added some grit compared to the clean choreographed Marvel style but this out-of-focus camera style detracted from the car chase sequence. The Batmobile was an epic and unique new styling. Definitely recommended

Loved it. I feel this was tonally more akin to Se7en, with the constant rain, city of nightmares, and an antagonist on a mission who's toying with his pursuers. The narration gave it an even more noir feel, taking it closer to Frank Miller's work, and made sense in terms of a Batman who is working through who he has created and capturing a record of it. I felt it could have been 20-30 minutes shorter, with most of that coming off the third act which was not as strong as the first two.

The narration is amazing it gives a very impactful insight into Bruce Wayne’s psyche and where he views Himself as Batman compared to how he is greeted by other characters. In my opinion it creates a brilliant contrast between dehumanising him and his narration showing the human side

Simon's complaint of the narration I found interesting because I thought it was such a nod to Paul Schrader's lonely men that often lead his filmography. I keep seeing people compare this film to 70's cinema and I don't think that's really the case at all. 70's cinema is much much slower. I found there to be much more comparisons to the scenes in Silence of the Lambs where Clarice is being looked at in certain ways within the FBI and trying to figure out who Buffalo Bill is. It's also really really similar to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo in the way the central relationship builds with multiple strands of plot woven throughout. This film really impressed me a lot. I found it to be a reflection of the past decade in cinema with the technical aspects being as good as "Mad Max: Fury Road" and "Blade Runner 2049" and reminiscent of mid level budget movies from that time like "Sicario". Is it as good as any of those three? Probably not. Was it the most fun I've had in a theater this decade? Probably. I think Possessor and Spencer are probably better movies from this decade but I kind of can't get this interpretation out of my head. This is what I want from blockbuster big budget maximalist cinema.

The Batmobile reveal shot is my favourite cinematic moment this year to date. Tremendous

Simon clearly never read a Batman comic book. Batman’s narrations are great

I think the audience all agrees we love the narration. Pattinson nails the voice and it draws us in and gives us a chance to feel connected to the character, more than just watching him. It's like he's speaking directly to us. Also loved the chase sequence and there were some long shots so you could see the highway. All the supporting characters were great but Pattinson carried this film on his shoulders.

Colin Farrell was doing an impression of Robert DeNiro doing an impression of Al Capone in The Untouchables and I loved it

Absolutely fantastic, loved every minute of the near three hours. The cast was great, it looks superb, the action was brutal. It's all just so dark, as it should be.

Just came back from watching it and if you like your detective noir stories, it’s a full blown masterpiece. I’m a comics fan and this caters for both Batman fans and a more generic thriller audience.

I LOVED it. I thought on the whole it was a great film as well as a great adaptation of Batman. Pattinson was great, kravitz was great, I can kinda take or leave the riddler but I really dug Colin Farrell as Oz/Penguin. I never thought I’d be excited for a penguin spin-off show but I’m genuinely looking forward to it. I thought the action was beautiful and visceral and brutal, the shot compositions are gorgeous, and despite being a bit long moved at a pretty good clip. I can’t wait to experience this version more.

For me, the essential and definitive bat-man is...... "Batman, the animated series". That's where Nolan (in my opinion) took the inspiration in the darkness of the series, not to mention the music. The animated Batman and his gallery of vilians will always be, what every movie should strive to be. And the narration? Come on man, that's bat man's world in the comics.

5:09 I like how Mark took a break from the review to give Jared Leto another slap for his Joker. Edit: Apparently Mark was referring to Leto's performance in House of Gucci.🤷‍♂

I loved this movie. It was a dark, detective noir, almost like a David Fincher movie.

I thought the voice over was meant to be like him filling out his diary

Narration is a key element to batman in the comics, as if he journals everything he experiences.

The narration is straight out of Frank Miller's Year One where Bruce Wayne narrates as he walks through the grimey slumps of Gotham City, where all he sees is prostitution, crime, and criminals. It's very much a nod to that as well as putting the audience in Batman's head. Matt Reeves is almost infamous for being too POV.

Just watched it. 9/10. Dared to be different to the Marvel saturation.

I have to add I liked the fact that Batman was largely ineffectual. For one it's a younger Batman finding his way. For another if someone cracked plants a series of bombs around the place realistically there is nothing a mere mortal even Batman can do to stop it. It's actually a nice counterpoint to the Batman escapes a nuclear explosion implausibly.

Is it just me who thought only the first of the Nolan trilogy was decent? The Heath Ledger Joker Movie was great until Batman appeared. Maybe it's just me.

The narration is from the 'notes and observations' from his 'Gotham project'. It works and it makes sense

Continues to sound like The Crow. And The Crow is one of the best graphic novels / films :)

It's a detective story. Detective stories have self narrations.

"better than Affleck? Oh absolutely." Hello darkness my old friend...

The Batman was fantastic. 3 hours of character development as the opening scene with the thugs in the subway indicates. He only sees himself as fear or vengeance but look at the thug who they are coercing into mugging that man. His eyes show hope and relief when the Batman is done. Batman doesn't realise it but will by films end. I cannot recommend this movie enough, so much depth from the score to the blurry nature of the cinematography to the acting. It's not a comicbook movie, it's a hero movie.

Saw it last night. Amazing. Going back to see it again tonight.

As a life-long Batman fan this film was everything I wanted, we finally got a gritty Noir film that perfectly captured the aesthetic of Gotham and the detective genius of Batman. I also cannot wait to see more of this Bat-Verse, especially with such brilliant takes on characters like Penguin and Riddler.

The third act didn't require the other two to be achieved. All it was was 8 vans with explosives and a dozen henchmen - we didn't need any of the mystery as build up for that. It was quite disjointed.

I loved that the main character in this film was Gotham City. This is about people being a product of their environment and can we change the environment to alter the nature of people, which is quite a universal theme

The narration was due to the fact that Bruce is writing journal entries. They show him writing a journal for the previous night’s vigilante campaign during the scene in the Batcave maybe 15-20 mins into the film

I really enjoyed when the film focused on the Riddler and Batman. Didn't enjoy the film when they moved away from that plot line and felt like the film lost steam by the end. 3/5 for me.

Batman narrates in the comics and graphic novels all the time, and presenting his narration as diary entries he keeps as logs of his nights fighting crime, it makes sense Simon

I feel like fans of the graphic novels will love this film, while those who only watch batman on the big screen may be more divided. I loved this movie, it's not perfect but it's right up there with some of the best batman movie adaptations and I can't wait to see where they go with the sequels.

I really liked the voice over, thought it added to the Noir feel, with the excellent score. I loved how the cowel and collar gave him a Sherlock Holmes look too

"Batman Returns, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight--- No, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Returns". Try again, Mark

I adore this movie, I thought the voiceover narration was great. I took it as us hearing what he's writing in his journal. There's that scene at the beginning that shows us he is keeping his days straight with the journal etc.

Saw it last night, loved it, great acting by all of the cast, superb action scenes and the score is fantastic. Can’t believe how good Pattison is as Batman, dark and brooding, just how the bat should be.

Damn good movie. Its interwoven narrative drags you in, and the performances across the cast are superb. In particular, Colin Farrell's Penguin - a performance that makes the actor disappear. I loved the postmodern homages to cinema, including all the other Batman films, Seven, Zodiac, The Warriors, Poseidon Adventure, Blade Runner, The French Connection, Star Wars, loads of film noir movies, and so much more. It allows the film to create a tapestry influenced by the very materials that influenced the comics the film is based on.

There's no happy ending to the film, but no sad ending either. It's ongoing, there's work to be done, by both the characters and the scriptwriters. I liked this film.

Though the Nolan films will always be my favorite, I wouldn't call this a footnote. It's a different vision entirely; more like a live action Arkham City. And I must admit, not all 3 DK films were made equal: Rises was a 3.5/5 for me while the first two were perfect 5/5's, so I wouldn't be surprised if I end up liking this one better than TDKR.

I’m surprised Mark thought Batman started out as bright and campy character because of the TV show…

I loved the narration. I was disappointed there wasn't more of it

Pattinson's portrayal of Batman was actually the best I've seen. I loved what they did with it.

Saw it with my kids yesterday. We all loved it. I know nothin' about the comic books as such but I love a good Batman movie. This was a good Batman movie.

I am planning to watch this movie again next week for sure! It was amazing! It was dark, had no drawn-out boring backstories, and had me cheering in the cinema. So many scenes were incredible, loved the car scene, the club scene, the scene when The cat replayed the message on her phone .... etc. etc. The Bat and The Cat definitely made the movie interesting. It felt like watching it for the first time since 1980 something as a child lol Not saying it is comparable, however, regardless loved the whole film from start to end! Absolutely loved it

The narration was from the scores of journals he has written over the past two years of The Gotham Project. We see the books. Gordon also references the ‘project’. He doesn’t know who Batman is, but he knows they’ve been collaborating for the past two years to clean up Gotham, and while the new mayor doesn’t think Bruce Wayne is living up to his family’s legacy in helping the city, the ‘project’ is how Bruce is delivering the goods. all narration we hear is from those journals. I didn’t think it felt like I was squinting in the rain through a rearview mirror when I watched this movie. I thought it was full of glorious colour and really creative visuals. Well done Matt Reeves. Well thought through, lots of inventive touches, and great cast performances and direction end to end.

It also features the funniest sight gag of the year so far - penguin hobbling away in his footcuffs from the interrogation

Harkening back to Nolan, I didn't catch some voice lines because they were mumbled underneath a swelling soundtrack but apart from that I enjoyed it. It definitely felt it's length and it feels like it could have ended twice, but there are enough gems in the run time to keep me invested

I don't think I would ever put the words Batman Begins and art house in the same phrase... other than in this one, I guess. And I don't mean it as a slight against BB. In fact, if there ever was an art house Batman movie, I would rather think Batman Returns fits the bill nicer. It is a better candidate at least.

“Why is he narrating?” Dude. He was reading from journals documenting the “Gotham Project”.

Brilliant review. You're spot on regarding the Cullen reference.

The narration also grounds Pattinson's performance as Bruce Wayne and Batman, so we fully understand what is going on in his mind.

I loved the atmosphere of the film. The writing and dialogue was my main issue with this movie. The film also does a bad job at making you care about any of its characters. The fight choreography and soundtrack was also excellent. But I was left disappointed with the overall story and the pacing was pretty poor. If they had the writing of the Nolan movies and the tone of this film, It would be perfect.

This was just so, so good. I actually think it's a better film than Batman Begins, which was good, but Nolan's inexperience at handling large scale action scenes was evident. Matt Reeves has more experience with that stuff than Nolan did at the time and the action in Reeves' film is sharper and more defined. Can't wait for the inevitable sequel.

Pattinson was phenomenal acting with his eyes.

Loved every min of this film, can’t wait to see it again. The dark knight trilogy is special, but this definitely has a lot of potential to hit the same highs. We’ll wait and see, but fantastic start, top 3 Batman movies easily

Stunned he didn’t like the car chase. I thought the way it was shot was incredible

Really enjoyed it! Definitely a dark and intriguing mystery, and everyone gives fantastic performances. I would say it’s too long and I wasn’t as emotionally invested in Batman as I wanted to be (Not until the very end at least - maybe as there was little Bruce Wayne). Hyped for a sequel though

Thank you so much for the mentioning the rain. I loved the movie but I couldn't help but thinking "Does it ONLY rain in Gotham?".

It has the same flaw Joker had which is that it's not as good as the films it's blatantly "influenced" by. It also seemed at odds with itself and wanted to go full-on psycho-thriller but had to be a traditional Batman film by the end of it. I cringed when Gordon said "dropheads". I liked the film.

I love the way the two of them open this video both imitating Batman's voice.

I may be in the minority, but I liked this more than any of the Nolan ones. To me, Nolan took the realism too far. While the Burton films were flawed, I loved the atmospheric gothic Gotham. Gotham should be a little surreal, and that’s what this movie does, while also being intelligently written.

Siouxsie and The Banshees also covered the Neil Hefti theme - pub quiz gold right there ;)

Wow, shocking. The narration is one of the best parts of the movie.

It’s really good. Up there as one of my favourite Batman movies and superhero movies. I think it could have been a bit shorter but overall it was a very good Batman movie.

The biggest problem this movie will face is the cult following of the dark knight trilogy. People will forever compare it to the dark knight trilogy when in reality this movie is actually the one that should be the standard for a Batman movie

It may have rained a lot, but the story takes place over 6 days (Oct 31, Nov 5), so not impossible to have just rain for a whole week at that time of year

The Best Batman comics are all narrated by Batman. So that was extremely accurate. I thought this was a much better Batman, better story, and better movie than any of the Nolan Dark Knight trilogy. Definitely the closest feeling to stories like Batman Year One, The Long Halloween, Hush. Nothing will beat the Joker scenes from the Dark Knight, but outside of Ledger and Oldman, I don’t think Nolan’s casting was that great either. I went in pessimistic after reading the bad reviews, and came out extremely happy. My favorite Batman yet.

I really enjoyed the film personally. It had that perfect mix of comic book atmosphere with a grounded and believable world. Really haunting music and cinematography too. Hopefully this will divert attention from the Nolan films for once. They're good films, sure, but wow. That trilogy gets more tongue than an ice cream cone in a red light district...

I know everyone's making Fincher comparisons - which are totally warranted, but the whole time I was in the cinema I was thinking, 'this feels like the movie Abel Ferrara would have made had he directed Batman Forever. It has that King of New York, grimy crime thing with a perfect balance of the more stylised 90s batman movies, specifically in its depiction of Gotham and the people inside it.

I really enjoyed Batman. I went in not getting my hopes up but was better than I thought it would be.but still Nolan’s are the benchmark for comic films. You can’t review a film if you missed the last 10 minutes ha ha.

But was it better than The Exorcist?

I really loved this version, especially pattinson as batman.

people missed the voice-over is actually the dialog on the diary. it was obvious because after he talks, it shows he has a diary.

The Bill Sienkiewicz tonal palette added a great deal to the look of the film. He was responsible for the poster design, also. I just need a convincing live action glowing Bat squint.

I strongly disagree that this is a footnote, to me it's better than the Nolan films. The narration aspect was so good.

Was a very good movie with a standout performance by Colin Farrell (and his make-up) Production was all round excellent but a few of the lingering, brooding shots could have been edited out to make a more lean running time

Clearly Simon has never read a Batman comic. They are all narrated by Batman's inner monologue... This film is very true to that and does it very well.

When I checked the time on my phone, I checked it to see if there was more left, and I was happy that it wasn’t quite 5pm yet as the film started at around 2:45pm in my cinema.

Loved it. I rewatched all the Batman movies besides BVS/justice league. Nolan’s films are good but TDK and especially TDKR are not as amazing as everything thinks IMO. Batman Begins is still my favorite Nolan Batman film. This movie was awesome for me. Pattinson was fantastic. I did want more Alfred and I do have some gripes about it but overall it was great. Easily up there with the best Batman movies we’ve ever gotten Run time didn’t bother me at all

He’s spot on about the Colin/Jared Leto comparison

Link Wray did a version of the 66 Batman theme tune. Also Jim Thirwell, in his "Foetus" guise, referenced the infamous hook at the end of his vicious Nick Cave diss song, "Sick Man".

Love listening to your reviews. Thanks for the laughs :)

Gotta say I'm gonna strongly disagree with Mark on this one. I think for the next generation this film is gonna be far more than a footnote Post-Nolan, and maybe the definitive adaption. I love both and I'm gonna spend years maybe trying to process which of the two I prefer, there's definitely things this movie does better than Nolan's take, and certainly succeeds in standing on its own

Assuming this Batman is the start of a new ‘era’ I think if you compare it to Batman begins it holds up a lot better than if you compare it to the whole Nolan trilogy (or to the dark knight specifically). Saying that, if they make a sequel they have a lot to live up to with the dark knight but they have definitely created a very good foundation to build on with any future projects in this ‘universe’

Narration is fairly frequent in famous batman books, I love that they included this.

The batmobile car chase scene is intense if you sit near the front in a massive screen cinema, the sound design is also amazing, it really feels like you are in the chase itself.

Batmans narration was very Rorschach from Watchman

I feel the narration was necessary to further highlight Bruce's use, and need, of a diary to keep track of his nocturnal nights, days of the week and actions.

Loved it. As a fan of many Batman graphic novels this is the closest I have ever come to feeling the same way watching a Batman movie as I feel reading them. Love Burton and the first two Nolans. Dark Knight to me was a cinematic masterpiece that transcended genres. But this Batman is a DETECTIVE, as he is portrayed in great works by O'Neil/Adams, Miller, Loeb/Sale. The procedural structure and voice over are faithful to their spirit. He is also darker and more violent. And, above all else, the Batman costume is in practically every scene - the film is aptly titled. I think there were less than 30 minutes of Batman screentime in DKR (or so it felt). This, to me, is par to Dark Knight as a cinematic experience.

Decent insights. The score beautiful, great parallels between Farrell and Leto, I though the same. Cufflinks scene was great, but I do miss the origins of the bat suit. Like how they think to design it with square cubed pectorals and intercostals yet when Batman wants to move his head it has to be written into the script as a novel idea.

One thing I really found great was that this version of Batman is actually scary to the people who are his targets. The sound of his footsteps, which sounded exactly like heavy boots with spurs, him always coming out of the darkness, quiet, calm and imposing, commanding the scene. That was really great. You add that score, and it's a perfect fit. And also, obviously, the detective work. Batman is the world's greatest detective, he is remarkably intelligent, that's his power. We don't see any of it in previous films (well, maybe some in Burton's but not that much). And one thing I disliked immensely about the Nolan movies was the excess of tech, the fact that Bruce Wayne had his stuff made for him by a R&D Dep. from Wayne Industries. That was so silly and so disappointing. He is wealthy beyond measure, but only he knows what he needs to do what he does. Only he can fashion his equipment to the situations he expects to find. Also, Gotham didn't look right in Nolan's films. This does. Pattinson earned my respect with The Lighthouse, I was already okay with seeing him do something different. But I was blown away by so many of the supporting cast. Even though I already knew about Collin Ferrell, I swear I could not see him for a fraction of a second underneath the character he created. And Paul Dano I didn't know about, I only recognized him when we see him sitting with his back to the camera in the diner. And then it made complete sense why the Riddler was so impressive even with that mask. This was a very good surprise of a movie. I'm really looking forward to rewatching it, and to see what comes next. And holy hell, if Barry Keoghan is the new Joker, it's going to be. Quite. The sequel... (happily rubbing my hands).