One of the most recent movie releases of 2022 is the new Batman movie, which features Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne, a.k.a. The Batman. Many fans were skeptical about Twilight’s Edward Cullen playing Batman, but this year Pattinson proved that maybe vampires do turn into bats afterall, as he played Batman better than anticipated. 

This movie truly highlights the darker, gloomier side of Bruce Wayne, as opposed to the rich and famous, “in the spotlight” Bruce the previous Batman films have portrayed. Bruce constantly looks depressed or serious and doesn’t smile once during the entire movie, further suggesting that the fabulous life we all thought Wayne had was majorly glorified, and is actually much more somber than DC originally let on. 

Aside from getting a deeper look at Bruce Wayne, we also get a closer look at Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz) and how her relationship with the Bat formed, along with the crime lord Mr. Penguin (Colin Farrell), and the gory beginnings of the infamous Riddler (Paul Dano), which have not been talked about in a Batman movie since the 1995 Batman Forever, when the Riddler was played by Jim Carrey. However, the Riddler was much different in 1995 as compared to 2022. 

Another difference in this Batman movie is how Bruce’s parents died. There have been many theories concerning the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne, but this movie threw out a whole new one. Alfred (Andy Serkis), the long term Wayne family butler, elaborates on “the Rat” that the Riddler had been speaking of the whole movie. He was a close and trusted friend to the Waynes, who supposedly killed them after Thomas Wayne threatened to go to the police with incriminating information on the subject. 

Related to “the Rat” is the topic of police corruption, which is heavily talked about during this movie. It really sheds some light on how corrupt law enforcement can be, but also that there are indeed plenty of “good guys” out there that would risk their lives to save others. 

Although the 2022 Batman movie moves quite slow at times, it definitely keeps the viewers on their toes, constantly wondering who the Riddler is, and as for his victims, who’s next? 

To see a deeper side of Bruce Wayne, more context on some of his demons (and not just the comic book villains he faces as The Bat), and the demented mindset behind the Riddler’s original killings, this movie is highly recommended to anyone willing to give 3 hours of their day to truly get to know the widely loved vigilante striving for justice, who maybe we don’t know as well as thought as we did. 

It’s a long movie, but in my opinion, definitely worth the while.