Review – The Batman

For anyone who (correctly) felt that Batman and Robin was far too cartoonish and silly, this go-around takes the exact opposite approach. Sadly, the moody art house version doesn’t work much better than its goofy predecessor. For starters, the self-conscious quest for edginess takes familiar characters in some odd directions. Colin Farrell plays the least penguin-y Penguin ever. Paul Dano’s Riddler is a cheap Zodiac Killer knock-off, which makes him simultaneously more scary and less interesting. Zoë Kravitz works well as Catwoman, and Jeffrey Wright does a competent job as James Gordon. But if Robert Pattinson ever hopes to distance himself from Edward Cullen, he needs to quit playing pasty, emo characters. The bat suit was clunky, as were the battles that employed it. And don’t get me started on the wreck of a muscle car Batmobile. But the thing that really ruined it for me was the pace. Everything seemed to take twice as long as it needed to. And losing most of the fight scenes in the shadows didn’t exactly help keep things moving smoothly. See if desperate