Review by Dennis D. McDonald

I knew this movie would be a “reboot” — reboots are all the rage these days — but I didn’t expect this.

This movie’s Batman is moodier, the action is grittier, and the overall tone imposed by this Gotham City is a miasma of desperation and despair. One wonders why anyone would remain in Gotham given its perpetual atmosphere of crime, dishonesty, decay, and corruption.  

How does Gordon stay sane? We know he has always been a mainstay of honesty. Here we sense that acceptance of his role has had a toll on his mental wellbeing which begins to explain his relationship to The Batman. Gordon knows that when he arrives at a crime scene with The Batman in tow there will be hostility expressed at this “outsider.” Gordon knows this hostility reflects not only a standard mistrust of “the outsider” but that some of the police that Gordon works with are on the side of the criminals.

Gordon has grown to accept this reality. This explains his acceptance of The Batman as an ally. He’s a desperate man in desperate times. He knows he must walk the twilight world with The Batman if he has any hope of obtaining justice. 

The Batman/Bruce Wayne, raised in a cocoon of privilege since the death of his parents, has a tenuous hold on reality. He lives in a twilight world with very few relationships with other people. His relationships in this movie are few — Alfred, Catwoman, and Gordon. 

We do not get any deep insight into the genesis of his battle against crime and corruption. To him Wayne Enterprises, the financial empire left by his parents and now apparently overseen by Alfred, is an annoyance.  

Ironically, the best insight we have into The Batman’s psyche is provided by the Riddler whose murderous crime spree cuts a swathe through Gotham’s elite. When the two confront each other in Arkham after the Riddler’s capture, the Batman is enraged when the Riddler suggests the two of them are alike. His rage at the Riddler is based on a realization the Riddler might be nuts — but he understands Bruce Wayne. 

Lest anyone believe this epic film is just one long psychodrama, trust me, it ain’t. The photography and music are first rate, the casting and performances are superb, and the action sequences are among the best I’ve seen. I was totally unprepared for the cataclysmic finale and am looking forward to learning how in hell this was all done; ILM and Weta Digital obviously helped!

A final note. There is a chilling undercurrent here that one can view Gotham as a microcosm for where the US is headed. The movie is not overtly political. Still, the revelation of how the Riddler recruits an army of armed vigilantes to help implement his “final solution” of catastrophic mayhem is scarily recognizable through reliance on shared “dark” video and social media. Had the Riddler organized the January 6 attack on the US Capitol this country might still be operating under martial law. 

Review copyright © 2022 by Dennis D. McDonald