One of the biggest, and indeed best films of 2022 lands on the physical home formats this week. Matt Reeves’ The Batman strives to reignite the Caped Crusader yet again and largely succeeds with a dark detective version which, if but a little long, still manages to land most blows.
Set two years after Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) becomes Batman, Reeves’ version opens with our protagonist on the trail of the so-called ‘Riddler’ (Paul Dano who is on a rampage of murder and destruction, leaving mysterious clues seemingly directed at the Caped Crusader along the way. Teaming with Batman is Jeffrey Wright’s Jim Gordon, while there is also Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman), played terrifically by Zoe Kravitz, while also getting in the way of things is the brilliantly cast Colin Farrell making his DC debut with Oswald Copperpot, better known as The Penguin.
Reeves’ world of The Batman is gloriously dark, with locations used for filming including Liverpool and Glasgow, the cities’ wonderful buildings standing in for major Gotham landmarks. Those real-world locations are also teamed with a distinct lack of CGI, only a sprinkling used throughout, all of which add to the grounded tone of the picture, even more so than Christopher Nolan’s version.
Pattinson is superb in the lead, his Kurt Cobain-inspired Bat a fresh take on the icon that is truly welcomed. In fact, the whole cast is magnificent, Dano’s Riddler almost stealing the show – a deeply disturbing villain menacing the screen in every scene he’s in.
About as perfect as a new take could be, even if it is a little long at nearly three hours in length. Despite the running time, it is never boring and absolutely the film fans deserve after some of the recent DC films that haven’t quite cut the mustard.
Bonus features match the quality of the film, DC and Warner Brothers pushing the boat out with two hours’ worth on offer. The main asset of the release is the near hour-long ‘making of’ “Vengeance In The Making” which includes tons of on-set footage and interviews, though some materials are duplicated from the other, shorter featurettes on the disc. There are nine of those, all focussing on a specific aspect of the production; like casting, the new Batmobile, the dynamite car chase in the movie, and much more. There are also deleted scenes, available to watch with original audio, or with Matt Reeves commentary. They include the extended Joker/ Arkham scene that we got a brief glimpse of at the end of the film itself.
In all, a great package and one of the best content-filled single discs for a new release in 2022. Fans will not be disappointed.
The Batman is out now on digital, 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD.
The Batman 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Summary
Still as good on repeat viewings, Matt Reeves’ The Batman is one of the best DC superhero films for years and this initial 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray has tons of bonus materials all worth of it.
