Let me put it into perspective that I have tried to write the opening to this review three different times, and I am still struggling to come up with where to start. Let’s start from the beginning. If you share a class with me or have been around me at least once over the past couple of months, you would know all too well that I was anxiously waiting and dying to see Matt Reeves’ The Batman. It was my most anticipated film of 2022 since it was initially announced. Despite the mixed feeling on casting “The Twilight Guy,” Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne, I was stoked to see him in the role, especially after watching him perform extremely well in films like Tenet and Good Time. As other actors got cast, even though I was unfamiliar with a few of them, based on their past work, you could tell that Reeves was bringing out the big guns for this film. Hearing that actors like Paul Dano, Zoë Kravitz, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell were cast kept me incredibly antsy for the release of this movie. Fast forward to Friday, March 4th. I have been made aware that, after buying my ticket, the movie is going to be three hours long. Three hours is a bit of an intimidating length for a movie! I will admit, I was worried that I was going to be waiting for the movie to be over because “it was too long.” I was also a little worried that I set my expectations way too high and that I wasn’t going to enjoy the movie because I had already put it on a pedestal that it didn’t deserve just yet. However, after finishing the film, those statements could not be further from the truth, as the movie kept me engaged for so long that three hours felt more like two. Even though I placed this film on such a high pedestal, it still exceeded my expectations! I didn’t even know that was possible! This may be a bold statement, but I can wholeheartedly say that this movie was the best comic book film I have ever seen, and you are talking to someone who has watched almost all the Avengers films, Spider-Man films, and even Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy! The story, the writing, the characters, the acting, the action, the visuals, the coloring, the soundtrack, everything about this movie was absolutely excellent. I was blown away by Matt Reeves’s dedication to Batman as a character and his own unique spin that he took on the characters. It’s rare that, even after watching the trailer several times, I was freaking out when those scenes actually played out in the film. It’s also rare that I get genuine chills when watching an actor perform a fictional character. The fact of the matter is, Paul Dano’s Riddler was terrifying. Absolutely terrifying. There’s a scene near the end of the film where, without any spoilers, had a line delivery that made me feel a chill run down my spine. Dano’s performance was on the same caliber as Heath Ledger’s Joker from The Dark Knight, it was that amazing. On the other hand, I will say that Pattinson gave the best performance of Bruce Wayne in any Batman film. I believe he was better than Christian Bale, Michael Keaton, Ben Affleck, or any other actor who has portrayed Batman. Though they are all good in their own right, they do not play the character as well as Pattinson, which solidifies his talent as an actor. Zoë Kravitz and Colin Farrell also play their characters amazingly! I personally believe there wasn’t a single weak performance in this film! I also want to highlight the incredible action scenes in this movie. Unfortunately, I don’t want to go too in depth because I don’t want to spoil anything, but if you take a look at the trailers, you will get only a taste of what this film has in store. Though the stakes of the action were heightened because of the amazing score that Michael Giacchino composed. In particular, his new main theme for Batman is a song that has been stuck in my head for days after initially watching the film and is easily going to become iconic. The other songs, especially Catwoman’s and The Riddler’s themes are stellar in their own right as well! The scenery in The Batman has a style that is dark, gritty, but still this coloring that keeps your eyes glued to the screen. The streets of Gotham have this dark and sad coloring, but it’s lit up by the neon lights of stores on the street, giving this oddly appealing color, on top of the unbelievable cinematography throughout the whole movie. The phrase, “every frame a painting” applies to this movie in every possible way. This movie left such a lasting impression on me and I am just itching for more from this Batman universe. The note that the movie leaves on makes me desperately want to see what comes next and I have high hopes for the future of the The Batman films! If you are on the fence about seeing this movie or, in general, haven’t seen it yet, I cannot recommend this movie enough. I recommend this movie 10 times more than any of the other films I have recommended on this website. Bravo, Matt Reeves! Keep up the amazing work!