As a superhero-movie fanatic, two things have always been true for me: Batman is my favorite superhero, and “The Dark Knight” is my favorite superhero film. 

When DC Films scrapped their new Batman film starring Ben Affleck in 2017, they announced that director Matt Reeves would be taking charge of his own iteration of Batman, with Robert Pattisnon as the Batman and Paul Dano as the Riddler. This eventually became “The Batman,” which came out earlier this month.

Whenever an iconic character is rebooted with a new actor, people always make comparisons with former versions. Everyone has their own favorite interpretation of the Caped Crusader whether it be Ben Affleck, Christian Bale, Micahel Keaton or any of the other actors that have donned the black cowl. Before the release of this newest film, many long-time fans were concerned whether or not Robert Pattinson would make for a good Batman. The answer was a resounding yes.

Robert Pattinson delivered an accurate and engaging portrayal of Bruce Wayne and fixed everything wrong with Ben Affleck’s most recent interpretation of the character in Zack Snyder’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” For those who didn’t see the film, Zack Snyder’s version of Batman kills people with guns. Anyone who knows anything about the character should know that Batman’s only rule is no killing.  

Luckily, Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” fixes this fundamental mistake and brings the character back to formula. Even though Bruce Wayne no longer murders criminals, don’t think that this makes the character soft. Batman remains sufficiently brutal in all of his fight scenes. The redesign of Batman’s iconic suit is bulkier and newly equipped with gadgets that allow him to hit harder and move faster than we’ve ever seen before. Along with the new suit, the Batmobile has a fresh look. At first I was skeptical of the simpler design compared to previous models, but after seeing it in action, I can definitely say that it’s a welcome addition to the film.

One of the bigger question marks (no pun intended) before the release of “The Batman” was whether Paul Dano’s Riddler could live up to other notable performances of iconic Batman villains.  Dano’s portrayal of the Riddler was chilling, and he is without a doubt the scariest Batman villain I’ve seen on screen.  While most of the focus is put on Bruce Wayne, we still see the evolution of the Riddler’s actions through Batman’s perspective.  His aspect of mystery adds to the terror of the character and performance.

One concern I’ve seen about this film is its overall runtime, which sits at just under three hours.  However, “The Batman” feels shorter than three hours due to its excellent pacing. The story reveals itself in small chunks, making it feel like we’re unraveling the mystery with Batman. 

The buildup of the plot is so entertaining and well-thought out, but because of this, the end of the film feels a bit rushed by comparison. That said, however, I still believe that “The Batman” deserves to join the ranks of “The Dark Knight,” “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” as a  truly legendary comic book movie.

Final score: 9.5/10