the batman 2022 movie reviews

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A grim, gritty, and gripping super-noir, The Batman ranks among the Dark Knight's bleakest -- and most thrillingly ambitious -- live-action outings.

It's long, but The Batman looks and sounds great, and its grounded take on Gotham is a solid fit for this Caped Crusader.

Critics Reviews

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

Matt Reeves

Robert Pattinson

Bruce Wayne

Zoë Kravitz

Selina Kyle

Jeffrey Wright

Lt. James Gordon

Colin Farrell

The Riddler

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The Batman First Reviews: Not Just a Good Batman Movie, but One of the Best Comic Book Movies Ever

Critics say matt reeves' gritty, grounded take on the "world's greatest detective" is one of the best we've seen, from robert pattinson's performance down to the cinematography and the score..

TAGGED AS: Action , batman , blockbusters , DC Comics , DC Universe , dceu , Film , films , movie , movies , Superheroes

The Dark Knight returns again in The Batman , a fresh take on the titular DC Comics character, this one with Robert Pattinson making his debut as the Caped Crusader. Directed by Matt Reeves ( War for the Planet of the Apes ) and co-starring Zoë Kravitz , Colin Farrell , and Paul Dano as the respective Batman villains Selina Kyle (otherwise known as Catwoman), the Penguin, and the Riddler, the movie promises gritty, grounded superhero fare crossed with a crime thriller. Does it work? Let’s find out with a breakdown of the first reviews of the first live-action solo Batman movie in a decade.

Here’s what critics are saying about The Batman :

Is this the Batman movie we’ve been waiting 83 years for?

The Batman is the closest thing to a comic book accurate version of the characters we’ve seen on the big screen thus far. – David Gonzalez, Reel Talk, Inc.

Never has the Dark Knight been portrayed in such a thoroughly authentic and exciting way. – Josh Wilding, ComicBookMovie.com

The Batman is a unique commemoration of the Batman mythology and its stylistic and tonal shifts across its 80-year history. – Jake Cole, Slant Magazine

One of the best DC films of all time… The Batman is a breath of fresh air… a masterpiece. – Sheraz Farooqi, Cinema Debate

It’s more of the same, and not nearly as good as what came before… or even particularly good in its own right. – Evan Dossey, Midwest Film Journal

How does it compare specifically to other Batman movies?

The Batman is immersed in dark undertones, not unlike Batman: The Animated Series. – Sheraz Farooqi, Cinema Debate

Reeves presents the most robust version of Gotham we’ve seen since Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman . – Peter Debruge, Variety

Reeves has made the best Batman film since The Dark Knight. – Ross Bonaime, Collider

If The Dark Knight is Batman’s Heat, this is Batman’s Se7en. – Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews

(Photo by ©Warner Bros.)

What about comic book movies in general?

Not only is it a match for the strongest of those outings, it’s also up there with the best comic-book movies overall. It’s that good. – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

The Batman deserves every cinephile’s attention and discussion as it cements its place as one of the essential comic book films of the last 20 years. – David Gonzalez, Reel Talk, Inc.

Among the best of the genre, even if — or more aptly, because — what makes the film so great is its willingness to dismantle and interrogate the very concept of superheroes. – Peter Debruge, Variety

Sits alongside greats like The Dark Knight , Avengers: Endgame , and Spider-Man: No Way Home as one of the best superhero movies ever made. – Josh Wilding, ComicBookMovie.com

The Batman feels… like something superhero filmmaking hasn’t been in a long time: a full-on cinematic meal. – Jeffrey Zhang, Strange Harbors

The Batman should tell audiences that other superhero movies are possible, and yet more, they can be had outside the formulaic tentpoles filling theaters today. – Robert Daniels, The Playlist

How is Robert Pattinson in the title role?

Pattinson’s performance will likely divide viewers, but his Batman is an angry, simmering character perfectly suited to the story being told. – Rob Hunter, Film School Rejects

He quickly enters the pantheon of all-time great Batmans, and that’s not a hot take. But an accurate one. – David Gonzalez, Reel Talk, Inc.

He delivers the best live-action Batman since Michael Keaton. – Kirsten Acuna, Insider

His work here is every bit as transformative and groundbreaking as what we saw from Joaquin Phoenix in Joker . – Josh Wilding, ComicBookMovie.com

As Bruce Wayne, Pattinson is a revelation. – Jake Cole, Slant Magazine

He looked too “grunge” as Bruce Wayne. He seems like a teenager as opposed to a full-grown adult with money and power at his disposal. – Allison Rose, FlickDirect

Which villain stands out?

Colin Farrell undoubtedly steals the show as The Penguin… the best take on Oswald Cobblepot we’ve seen on screen. – Josh Wilding, ComicBookMovie.com

Kravitz is a stand-out with her ‘40s style femme-fatale lilt and her ability to embody slinky and smart in equal measure. – Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction

Kravitz is the best live-action Selina Kyle to date. – Sheraz Farooqi, Cinema Debate

There is no denying that Kravitz is the best version of the character thus far. – David Gonzalez, Reel Talk, Inc.

The highlight on the supporting character front is Dano’s Riddler, who manages to be far creepier and more unsettling than comic book movie villains typically manage. – Rob Hunter, Film School Rejects

Paul Dano [is] utterly petrifying every second he’s on-screen. – Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a Lesson

Suggesting an Oscar nod for Dano’s Zodiac-style Riddler won’t be out of the question. – Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews

Do any of them come close to Heath Ledger’s Joker, though?

Paul Dano makes the Riddler as terrifying as he is magnetic… It’s a performance every bit as good as Heath Ledger’s in The Dark Knight , and it’ll haunt your nightmares. – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

Pattinson and a typically superb Dano share an interrogation scene to rival Bale and Ledger’s in The Dark Knight . – Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews

He’ll inevitably be compared to Heath Ledger’s Joker… but this is a different kind of madness that Dano nails — it’s less outward-facing and maniacal and more terrifying in its intensity. – Rob Hunter, Film School Rejects

While Dano never reaches the level of Ledger, it’s pretty clear to any viewer that this may go down as the second-best villain in any Batman film. – David Gonzalez, Reel Talk, Inc.

Ever since Heath Ledger won an Oscar for playing the Joker in The Dark Knight , every actor treats Batman villains like they’re King Freakin’ Lear. His final monologue is grossly overplayed… It’s annoying. – Johnny Oleksinski, New York Post

(Photo by Jonathan Olley/©Warner Bros.)

How is the action?

Exhilarating. – Mae Abdulbaki, Screen Rant

Reeves brings a sharp perspective to these characters. Particularly through the fight choreography. – Robert Daniels, The Playlist

Perhaps most thrilling is the appearance of the Batmobile… The show-stopping street pursuit sequence uses the car in thrilling ways and keeps character drive continually at the forefront. It’s phenomenal. – Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction

A car chase between the hero and the Penguin [is] an incomprehensible mess. – Jake Cole, Slant Magazine

Is this a more realistic portrayal of Batman?

You thought Christopher Nolan’s take on Batman was realistic? Matt Reeves says Hold my Batarang… This is a Batman story told with a commitment to reality which instantly distinguishes it from all other films featuring the character. And it works incredibly well. – Germain Lussier, io9.com

A refreshingly grounded approach that even Christopher Nolan’s ostensibly realistic trilogy of movies lacked. – Jake Cole, Slant Magazine

The most grounded feature we’ve seen with Batman since, well, the serials of the ‘40s. – Rob Hunter, Film School Rejects

As a “grounded” movie, [it] tries to unpack the privilege of Bruce Wayne but ends up with a story that basically features him teaming up with cops who grow to trust him as one of their own. – Evan Dossey, Midwest Film Journal

Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, Robert Pattinson as Batman in The Batman

Does it work as a detective film?

The best detective story to date — yes, including animated film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm . – Douglas Davidson, Elements of Madness

The Batman presents easily the most investigative work this character has been granted in live-action form since the Adam West-led 1960s television show. – Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a Lesson

It finally makes “the world’s greatest detective” deserving of the title. – Kirsten Acuna, Insider

It’s more of a detective procedural than a superhero movie. Law and Order blended with horror featuring costumed vigilantes. – Germain Lussier, io9.com

By mostly keeping you with Bats, it elevates the detective angle and adds an intrigue that keeps you gripped throughout the near-three hour runtime. – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

Reeves lays it out relatively elegantly, such that audiences can follow the many twists of Batman’s investigation. – Peter Debruge, Variety

How does the movie look?

Stunning. The Batman is a dark movie. A very dark movie. And so when there’s light, it almost paints the frame, creating exquisite shots and sequences throughout. – Germain Lussier, io9.com

The cinematography by Greig Fraser is phenomenal. The way in which The Batman works with shadow and light makes for a gorgeous aesthetic that complements the seedy underbelly of Gotham with Batman’s journey. – Mae Abdulbaki, Screen Rant

Cinematographer Greig Fraser has taken a cue from the movies of David Fincher to deliver a world of rainy nights and overcast days where shadows and smoke coil through the city’s alleyways and streets. – Rob Hunter, Film School Rejects

Reeves does craft some piercing images… a fiery highway chase and a fight by strobe light all make for thrilling imagery. – Johnny Oleksinski, New York Post

Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle and Robert Pattinson as Batman in The Batman

What about the score?

The score is sublime, and there’s not a single scene in the movie that doesn’t benefit from the composer’s work in some way. – Josh Wilding, ComicBookMovie.com

Michael Giacchino’s haunting score perfectly captures the noir vibe. – Matt Rodriguez, Shakefire

Michael Giacchino’s operatic score lives on the edge of unsettling. – Robert Daniels, The Playlist

The musical score by Michael Giacchino is simultaneously beautiful and haunting. – Mae Abdulbaki, Screen Rant

The music in this film felt like a supporting character… absolutely incredible. I’m almost certain this score will earn some award accolades down the road. – Jamie Broadnax, Black Girl Nerds

Are there any major issues?

One could fairly knock The Batman for refusing to have fun. – Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews

The script does get a bit too talky at times as excessive exposition takes hold. – Rob Hunter, Film School Rejects

It also contends with a few other bumps along its relatively smoothly-paved road, like having its characters summarize for the audience what they should already know during bulky exposition dumps. – Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction

The Batman is trying to be an entire trilogy in one film in case the studio takes Batman in yet another direction. – Jake Cole, Slant Magazine

Is it too long?

Pacing is never an issue (though the run time is long, it feels positively brisk). – Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction

While [Reeves] could have cut off about 20 minutes of footage, the movie doesn’t tend to drag as the plot keeps the viewer engaged throughout the almost three-hour running time. – Allison Rose, FlickDirect

Its three hour runtime flies by, although its third act feels a little overstuffed with what could be considered three ending points. – Matt Rodriguez, Shakefire

There’s a temptation to have wished The Batman was shorter, more honed in on one character… The noir elements aren’t wholly pulled through, often slipping due to the elongated runtime. – Robert Daniels, The Playlist

Does it still make us optimistic for Batman’s cinematic future?

The Batman reminding us just how incredible these stories can be is welcomed, and the future looks bright for our new Dark Knight. – Josh Wilding, ComicBookMovie.com

It’s good to be excited again about the future of Batman. – Rob Hunter, Film School Rejects

It’ll leave you desperate for another visit to this impeccably-crafted world. – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

The ending leaves you craving for more. – Jamie Broadnax, Black Girl Nerds

I cannot wait to see where [Reeves] takes the franchise from here. – Matt Rodriguez, Shakefire

The Batman is in theaters on March 4, 2022.

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‘The Batman’ Review: Who’ll Stop the Wayne?

Robert Pattinson puts on the Batsuit and cats around with Zoë Kravitz in the latest attempt to reimagine the Caped Crusader.

Share full article

By A.O. Scott

The darkness in “The Batman” is pervasive and literal. Gotham City in the week after Halloween, when this long chapter unfolds, sees about as much sunshine as northern Finland in mid-December. The ambience of urban demoralization extends to the light bulbs, which flicker weakly in the gloom. Bats, cats, penguins and other resident creatures are mostly nocturnal. The relentless rain isn’t the kind that washes the scum off the streets, but the kind that makes a bad mood worse.

The Batman — not just any Batman! — is less the enemy of this state of things than its avatar. On television in the 1960s , Batman was playful. Later, in the Keaton-Clooney-Kilmer era of the ’80s and ’90s, he was a bit of a playboy. In the 21st century, through Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy and after, onscreen incarnations of the character have been purged of any trace of joy, mischief or camp. We know him as a brooding avenger, though not an Avenger, which is a whole different brand of corporate I.P.

But a modern superhero is only as authentic as his latest identity crisis. Both the Batman (Robert Pattinson) and “The Batman” itself struggle with the vigilante legacy that has dominated the post-Nolan DC cinematic universe. “I am vengeance,” our hero intones as he swoops down to deal with some minor bad guys. He doesn’t seem happy about it. He’s grouchy and dyspeptic in his costume, and mopey and floppy in his Bruce Wayne mufti. Having fed on Gotham’s violence and cruelty for years, he now finds that the diet may not agree with him.

For nearly three hours, “The Batman,” directed by Matt Reeves from a script he wrote with Peter Craig, navigates a familiar environment of crime, corruption and demoralization in search of something different. Batman’s frustration arises most obviously from the intractability of Gotham’s dysfunction. Two years after the city’s biggest crime boss was brought down, the streets are still seething and the social fabric is full of holes. Drug addicts (known as “dropheads”) and gangs of hooligans roam the alleys and train platforms, while predatory gangsters and crooked politicians party in the V.I.P. rooms.

This isn’t only a bum deal for the citizens of Gotham. It’s a sign of imaginative exhaustion. Fourteen years after “The Dark Knight,” the franchise and its satellites (including “Joker”) have been mired in a stance of authoritarian self-pity that feels less like an allegorical response to the real world than a lazy aesthetic habit.

That’s where “The Batman” begins, but — thank goodness — it isn’t necessarily Reeves’s comfort zone. In his contributions to the “Planet of the Apes” cycle (he directed the second and third installments, “Dawn” and “War” ), he demonstrated an eye for ethical nuance and political complexity unusual in modern-day blockbuster filmmaking.

Glimmers of that humanism are visible in the murk (the low-light cinematography is by Greig Fraser), but for Reeves the path out of nihilism is through it. A masked serial killer (eventually revealed as Paul Dano) is stalking Gotham’s leaders — including the mayor and the district attorney (Peter Sarsgaard) — leaving behind encoded messages and greeting cards for Batman. His signature is a question mark, which even a casual comic-book fan knows is the sign of the Riddler.

Upholding a genre cliché, he sees himself less as Batman’s nemesis than as his secret sharer, using more extreme means to accomplish similar ends arising from parallel motives. The Riddler exposes the connections between Gotham’s power structure and its underworld, links that seem to have eluded the Caped Crusader and Lieutenant James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright), his ally in the police department. The mythology of the Wayne family — in particular the martyrdom of young Bruce’s parents — is held up to revisionist scrutiny. What if we’re wrong about Batman? What if he’s wrong about himself?

These are potentially interesting questions, but it takes “The Batman” a very long time to arrive at them. Luckily, there are some diversions in the meantime, most notably the arrival of Zoë Kravitz’s Catwoman, also known as Selina Kyle. Like the Riddler, Catwoman is Batman’s self-appointed vigilante colleague, seeking payback on behalf of women who have been exploited, abused and killed by members of Gotham’s criminal and official elite. The prickly alliance that arises between these masked, pointy-eared cosplayers adds a much-needed element of romance with a just-perceptible hint of kink. Maybe there will be a place for fun in the DC universe.

But not just yet. Don’t get me wrong. There are things to enjoy here, in addition to Kravitz’s nimble work: John Turturro, hammy and slimy as a top mobster; Colin Farrell, almost unrecognizable as the oleaginous Penguin; Andy Serkis as Alfred; a crackerjack car chase; Michael Giacchino’s eerie score.

The problem isn’t just that the action pauses for long bouts of exposition, as long-past events are chewed over by one character after another. Or that Pattinson, in and out of the Batsuit, is almost as much of a cipher as any of the Riddler’s scribblings. It’s the ponderous seriousness that hangs over the movie like last week’s weather — the fog of white-savior grievance that has shrouded Gotham and the Batman for as long as many of us can remember.

“The Batman” tries to shake that off — or rather, as I’ve suggested, to work through it. Maybe it shouldn’t have been so difficult, and maybe the slog of this film will serve a therapeutic or liberatory end. Let’s hope. I can’t say I had a good time, but I did end up somewhere I didn’t expect to be: looking forward to the next chapter.

The Batman Rated PG-13. Grim and occasionally gruesome. Running time: 2 hours 55 minutes. In theaters.

A.O. Scott is a co-chief film critic. He joined The Times in 2000 and has written for the Book Review and The New York Times Magazine. He is also the author of “Better Living Through Criticism.” More about A.O. Scott

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Cast & crew
User reviews

Paul Dano, Colin Farrell, Robert Pattinson, and Zoë Kravitz in The Batman (2022)

When a sadistic serial killer begins murdering key political figures in Gotham, the Batman is forced to investigate the city's hidden corruption and question his family's involvement. When a sadistic serial killer begins murdering key political figures in Gotham, the Batman is forced to investigate the city's hidden corruption and question his family's involvement. When a sadistic serial killer begins murdering key political figures in Gotham, the Batman is forced to investigate the city's hidden corruption and question his family's involvement.

Matt Reeves
Peter Craig
Robert Pattinson
Zoë Kravitz
Jeffrey Wright
8.2K User reviews
550 Critic reviews
72 Metascore
39 wins & 185 nominations total

Top cast 99+

Bruce Wayne …

Selina Kyle

Lt. James Gordon

The Riddler

Carmine Falcone

District Attorney Gil Colson

Unseen Arkham Prisoner

Officer Martinez

Chief Mackenzie Bock

Commissioner Pete Savage

Mayor Don Mitchell, Jr.

Mrs. Mitchell

Mitchell's Son
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

Trivia Robert Pattinson revealed while auditioning for the role, he sneakily took a selfie in the batsuit as a memento "just in case it didn't work out."
Goofs When Batman takes his shirt off toward the beginning to the film, he has a large scar on his shoulder. The scar is gone later in the movie, when he appears shirtless while laying out the clues he's gathered on the Riddler case.

Batman : Our scars can destroy us, even after the physical wounds have healed. But if we survive them, they can transform us. They can give us the power to endure, and the strength to fight.

Crazy credits After the credits finish, a final message from Riddler appears through a computer terminal screen that says "GOOD BYE ?" followed by a quick flash of Riddler's URL that is featured in the movie.
Connections Edited into The Batman: Deleted Arkham Scene (2022)
Soundtracks Ave Maria Written by Franz Schubert Arranged by Jeff Kryka Performed by The Tiffin Boys' Choir

User reviews 8.2K

Not for everyone.

slightlymad22
Mar 3, 2022

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March 4, 2022 (United States)
United States
Official Site
Necropolis Cemetery, Glasgow, Scotland, UK (Batman and Selina leaving the cemetery)
Warner Bros.
DC Entertainment
6th & Idaho Productions
See more company credits at IMDbPro
$185,000,000 (estimated)
$369,345,583
$134,008,624
Mar 6, 2022
$772,319,315
Runtime 2 hours 56 minutes
IMAX 6-Track
Dolby Digital
Dolby Atmos
Dolby Surround 7.1
12-Track Digital Sound