The Batman
Chasing the Penguin
The Batman has some big set pieces in it, but we all know the highlight of a Batman movie is always the Batmobile chase and wow did director Matt Reeves deliver. It’s a chase that’s so beautiful, so visceral, so propulsive, it can leave you shaking in your seat.
Becoming the hero
The Batman sold itself on being yet another in a long line of dark examinations of why Bruce Wayne would become the Dark Knight. But its final, most important moment is one of lightness—both literally, as a haggard Bruce (Robert Pattinson) emerges to the dawn of a new day in Gotham, and as he realizes it’s time for Batman to step out of the shadow and become a symbol of hope, rather than fear. It’s an important beat that all good takes on Batman nail, and The Batman is no exception here, but there was something that remained cathartic about the moment in the sea of the film’s grim, murky world nonetheless.
Spanish lesson
Colin Farrell’s Penguin has a clutch moment when he’s being interrogated by the Batman and Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) over some clues they’ve received. Noting their inability to properly translate “el rata elada,” Cobblepot calls them out: “La, LA RATA,” he corrects them to hilarious effect. “Look at you two! World’s greatest detectives!”
