BATMAN BEGINS... AGAIN
ROBERT PATTINSON DONS THE COWL FOR A DARK AND BROODY SERIAL KILLER THRILLER
★★★★✩
TEN years after the conclusion of Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-winning Dark Knight trilogy, writer- director Matt Reeves and co- writer Peter Craig revive the tormented DC Comics character with aplomb.
They engineer a dark, brooding serial killer thriller that sows the seeds of a new trilogy, including a tantalising first glimpse of Barry Keoghan as one of the caped cru- sader’s eye-catching adversaries.
Every generation has its big screen incarnation of Bruce Wayne and Reeves confidently takes up the mantle, delving into the tortured psyche of a self- destructive and almost uncontrol- lably violent character.
Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattin- son) is determined to honour the legacy of his murdered father, at the expense of his personal wellbeing and sanity.
He prowls Gotham’s streets as masked vigilante Batman in open defiance of the rule of law upheld by police lieutenant James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) and fellow officers, often returning to his hitech lair bloodied and bruised.
“If I can’t have an effect, I don’t care what happens to me,” Bruce growls at butler Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis). The prodigal son hopes to undermine the criminal empire of unctuous kingpin Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) and his associates, including nightclub owner Oswald Cobblepot (Colin Farrell).
A serial killer dubbed Riddler (Paul Dano) targets high-profile city residents, beginning with a forceful intervention in a mayoral race between incumbent Don Mitchell Jr (Rupert Penry-Jones) and idealistic ingenue Bella Real (Jayme Lawson). Bruce is drawn into a deadly game of brinkmanship with Riddler, aided by enigmatic burglar Selena Kyle aka Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz), who slinks seductively in the grey area between law and disorder.
The Batman opens with a soaring refrain of Ave Maria as a nocturnal predator stalks unsuspecting prey, establishing a tone of grim foreboding that pervades every frame.
Action sequences are slickly choreographed to discordant ebbs and flows of composer Michael Giacchino’s score.
Pattinson and Kravitz spark palpable sexual chemistry, while Farrell is virtually unrecognisable beneath cutting-edge prosthetics as a criminal underling with grand ambitions.
He’s perfectly poised for bigger and battier things in an intended second chapter that promises much and hopefully lops 30 minutes off The Batman’s three-hour running time.
In cinemas now