One year past its original release date, The Batman, is finally out in theaters. The movie was originally supposed to premiere back in the summer of 2021; however,  COVID-19 had pushed the release date to October of 2021 and then to March 4, 2022.

After many delays, we now ask the question, was the wait worth it?

Matt Reeves (director, writer, and producer) took on the task of directing a new Batman movie after Ben Affleck had stepped down from being director due to mental health issues. Reeves decided that Robert Pattinson would be a perfect fit for Batman after watching Pattinson’s performance in Good Time (2017). The casting became official in 2019 and it broke the internet.

After Pattinson’s casting was announced, many “fans” were quick to judge and criticize on social media. They believed he wasn’t worthy enough to play one of the most iconic comic book characters ever.

After watching the film, many fans would agree that the haters were wrong.

Pattinson delivers an amazing performance as the caped crusader. He truly nails “The World’s Greatest Detective” side of Batman, which hasn’t been seen before. Pattinson’s portrayal as both Batman and Bruce Wayne were great and this performance deserves to be compared to Christian Bale’s performance in The Dark Knight Trilogy.

Aside from Pattinson, the acting in the film was incredible. Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman gives a comic and accurate performance as Selina Kyle. Paul Dano provides a twist on The Riddler.

Everyone’s used to seeing The Riddler as this goofy narcissistic criminal that uses riddles in his crimes. Reeves and Dano give the audience a completely new and experimental take on the Riddler.

Dano’s Riddler is a psychotic, mentally-ill serial killer that is completely focused on exposing the corruption in Gotham City. He leaves letters addressed for Batman at the crime scenes of the people that he’s killed, each of which contains riddles for Batman to solve.

Jeffery Wright as Jim Gordon is another fantastic performance in the film. While watching the movie, the chemistry between Wright’s Gordon and Pattinson’s Batman feels very strong, as if they’ve been working together for a while.

Colin Farrell as The Penguin offers a bit of comedic relief to the film, none of which feels unnecessary or out of place. Farrell will be getting his own HBO Max Series as The Penguin so Batman fans can look towards his return in the future.

Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne’s butler, and Batman’s helping hand do a really great job. Alfred still feels for Bruce years after his parents’ death and Serkis’ performance displays the guilt and sadness that Alfred has.

The acting isn’t the only stellar aspect of the film. The writing by Matt Reeves, Mattson Tomlin, and Peter Craig is truly outstanding. The plot surrounding the conflict in Gotham is very great and when you’re watching, it’s like you’re reading a comic book. The dialogue is well written and the actors perfectly execute all of their lines.

The development Batman/Bruce goes through from the beginning of the movie to the end is an excellent example of great writing. When watching the film, you will realize the difference between the introductory narration and the ending narration. Batman realizes what the city of Gotham needs and the dire consequences that comes with being its hero.

The cinematography by Greg Fraiser is beautiful. The trailers for the film showed us eye-pleasing shots, but they were merely sneak peeks because the cinematography is truly gorgeous throughout the entire film. The use of colors and lighting stand out and make this film the best-looking comic-book movie ever made.

The sound design is incredible in this film. From the sounds of the hard rain hitting the streets of Gotham City to the sound of the batmobile’s engine, the sound design team does an outstanding job. If not for the sound team, the movie wouldn’t be as great as it is and they deserve their credit.

The score by Michael Giacchino is yet another fantastic feature of the movie. From the very beginning of the film, Giacchino’s score sets the dark tone of the film. Snippets of the film’s score were heard in the trailers and all fans knew that Giacchino would do an upstanding job.

The Gotham City in this movie genuinely feels like Gotham. Gotham has only looked mostly accurate in Tim Burton’s Batman movies and Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. 

Gotham City in The Batman feels like it’s ripped straight out of a comic book page. Overall, the atmosphere in this movie feels like a comic book.

As of the last week of March, the film has made $600M at the box office and a trilogy is all but confirmed. The HBO Max Series for The Penguin and Arkham Asylum are also currently in development. A Riddler comic book has recently been announced and will be written by Paul Dano and released in October. All of these projects will be within their own universe and won’t be connected to other DC films.

Reeves is creating a universe solely focused on Batman characters and doesn’t plan on including any other DC heroes or villains. With the success of The Batman, it seems like this universe will be greenlit and the fans can look forward to more great content in the future.

What separates The Batman from other comic book films is that it’s a crime thriller. The film really isn’t like anything we’ve seen before in comic book movies. Reeves and the cast switch up from the basic superhero movie formula and succeed while doing so.

What made this film so amazing is the inspiration behind it. Reeves takes inspiration from movies such as Se7en and Prisoners and iconic Batman stories like The Long Halloween and Batman: Year One. The film also takes inspiration from the zodiac killings that took place in the 1960s.

Taking inspiration from all these pieces of media, Reeves creates arguably the greatest superhero movie ever. The movie is being praised by fans and critics all over the world and the praise is 100 percent deserved. Reeves and every single person that worked on this film show that doing something different and going against the norm can pay off.