After two years of seeking justice on the streets of Gotham, Batman becomes the epitome of ruthless vengeance. When a series of brutal attacks on high-ranking officials in the city, evidence leads Bruce Wayne into the darkest corners of the underworld, where he meets Catwoman, Penguin, Carmine Falcone and Enigma. Now Batman himself is in the crosshairs, who must distinguish friend from foe and restore justice in the name of Gotham.

4k movies reviews
I’ve been waiting for this movie ever since I saw the first footage. It was already clear from them that the movie was going to be at least incredibly stylish. And this expectation was justified!

Pattinson fits perfectly into the role of the still inexperienced, still not holding back, but already having a moral compass and a ‘don’t kill’ code, Batman. He feels very physical here: you can literally feel the requisite heaviness of his suit, the power of his punches in well-staged fights. Robert looks just as cool, and as Bruce Wayne, who is spelled out not more as a billionaire playboy, but as a recluse still reeling from the tragedy of his childhood. It’s definitely an interesting approach that creates a psychological thriller/detective atmosphere.

The cast is doing very well here at all. Paul Dana just steals the scenes involving him. Yes, and the very approach to the character of the Mystery Man is very relevant to our time. You believe him, you fear him, you want to put him behind bars in Arkham. The suspense associated with him is very reminiscent of Fincher’s ‘Zodiac,’ which is a very nice compliment. The confrontation with him is purely intellectual, which makes the film feel like a noir detective until the third act.

The role of Penguin is played here by Colin Farrell, though he’s been made up in a way I’d never know! His character is also less comic, closer to the ground, but not too much. I wonder what they’ll do with him in the sequel.

Zoe Kravitz fit the role of Catwoman perfectly. Her gait, gaze, strokes are done with the requisite grace of a cat. And most importantly: her character is not introduced for fan service, she moves the plot almost on par with Batman.

As it turns out, director Matt Reeves, already an acclaimed master of thrillers, also has the courage to release a three-hour film in the era of couch movie watching. But be warned: watching this visual perfection must be done on a bigger screen. Watching the film, you understand why they decided to make the film so long: there are so many necessary story lines, so many characters, and enough time for everyone. I can just imagine Reeves arguing with the producers, proving the necessity of every scene. And it’s true, even though the scenes are long, they never drag on too much. Rather, they make you savor the atmosphere and create a nice suspense.

And there’s a lot to savor here: every shot is thought out ten times, adjusted a hundred times, and polished to a shine. In the theater, I wished for a print screen button about every two minutes! Cameraman Greg Fraser, who was apparently restricted at Dune, went wild and experimented with everything he could. It has been a long time since I had such a visual ecstasy from watching a movie. The oppressive atmosphere of crime-ridden Gotham is helped along by the very depressing music of composer Michael Giacchino. And the song Something in the Way by Nirvana fit in perfectly. I’ll be revisiting the scenes with it more than once.

I would like to call the film’s self-sufficiency a separate plus. Yes, there is literally one scene that hints directly at what will be in the sequel. However, as a whole, the film feels like a stand alone work. Even if you don’t know anything about the character, everything will be clear to you. There are no constant references for the sake of references, which the Marvel films are full of and which sometimes detract from the film. And accordingly, there’s no desire to watch the ‘top 100 details you didn’t notice!’ on YouTube. Instead, it seems to me the content around the film will be devoted to video essays, speculating about themes and characters of cinema.

Of course, it’s not without its minuses. Because Bruce here is a recluse, you don’t feel much difference between him and his alter ego. It’s like we always see Batman on screen, it’s just that sometimes he’s without his mask and mascara under his eyes. I also missed the interaction with Alfred. It felt like a few important scenes with him were cut in the editing. Hopefully their relationship will get deeper in the next movie. I was also sometimes annoyed by the suit’s invulnerability even to bullets.

To summarize, if you are willing to sit through three hours in the theater for visual pleasure and to speculate with the director about the psychology of outsiders, then you need to go to the movies. If you’re a Batman fan, you need to go to the movies. If you’re bored with Marvel movies and want something fresh in the genre, you need a movie. The movie is worth the three hours you spend on it.

Info Blu-ray
Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265 (53.1 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1

Audio
English: Dolby TrueHD with Dolby Atmos 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
German: Dolby TrueHD with Dolby Atmos 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
German: Dolby Digital 5.1
German: Dolby Digital 2.0
Italian: Dolby TrueHD with Dolby Atmos 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1
French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles
English SDH, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish.