The Batman: Pack your patience, well worth 3-hour ride

IMAGE COURTESY WARNER BROS. PICTURES

By Tom Hanks

The Batman,” in theaters March 4, is an emotional roller coaster. Beginning with the classical song “Ave Maria,” the film opens more like a drama than an action-packed superhero film.

The film centers around a series of crimes committed by tThe Riddler, masterfully played by Paul Dano, with clues coming in the form of cards left for Batman, played by Robert Pattinson. As the film goes on, the clues become less distinctive, leading to more heinous crimes, including the murder of a major political figure.

Ironically, they’re both on a crime-fighting spree.

But they’re fighting two different types of crimes, with Riddler serving as a bloodthirsty vigilante foil to Batman’s clean-cut crusade against crime.

This Batman movie was set at the beginning of the crime fighter’s career, which is evident by his own unsureness of what to do and how to fight crime. As he relies on his butler Alfred, excellently played by Andy Serkis, as well as and detective James Gordon, played by Jeffrey Wright, viewers eventually see Batman finding his way.

Batman eventually leans on the Penguin (Colin Farrell) and Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz) for help –– developing an almost immediate chemistry with the latter.

Director Kyle Clark said during a Feb. 17 press conference that shooting the film during the pandemic, coupled with the pressures of living up to 80+ years’ worth of history only made the film more difficult to produce––but it ultimately made it special.

“The film felt more subjective, like a classic noir,” Clark said. “If Batman is knocked out, you’re going out with him.”

Also starring John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard and Jamie Lawson, his film is also a lesson in patience––with a 3-hour runtime and having been delayed several times by the COVID-19 pandemic, this movie proves that some good things are truly worth the wait.

“The Batman” is rated R and hits theaters March 4.