On March 4th, “The Batman” was released in theaters worldwide. It was highly anticipated by Batman and DC fans all around, and to many, it didn’t disappoint. It has a box office number of about 500 million dollars.

Taking place in the iconic Gotham City, this movie takes a darker turn for our hero, showing Batman’s earlier years as a hero when he wasn’t quite able to balance his rage and his righteousness. He struggles with this as new crimes start to take over in Gotham when a dangerous killer named the Riddler rises to fame. It’s up to Batman to figure out what the Riddler is planning, with the help of a mysterious feminine character known as Catwoman.

This review will contain spoilers for “The Batman,” so please watch the film before reading.

Right off the bat, this film gives off a great atmospheric feel. Gotham City is perfectly portrayed as this dark and dreary area where criminals would most definitely thrive. Even in the daytime scenes the scenery remains shrouded in darkness, showing little to no bright colors unless needed.

Along with the scenery, the characters in this movie were portrayed amazingly. Robert Pattinson did such an excellent job at portraying Batman very well, portraying his rage and darkness well. Pattinson did well at portraying a more depressed Batman, which worked colors.

The Batman himself in the movie was a very interesting character. He seemed like more of a symbol of fear, and not justice, and it worked with the atmosphere the movie went for. Batman’s development was on point as well, as he struggled to learn that he needs to be a symbol of justice, and become a righteous character.

Catwoman wasn’t in the movie as much, but she did her part well, always maintaining this mystery that she had in other movies. Always seeming like an ally, but an untrustable one at that. And her relationship with Batman was just as mysterious as her.

Other characters like James Gordon and the Penguin were great as well. Each character seemed really interesting in the film. Even Alfred the Butler had a good run in terms of development and performance.

The main highlight of good acting though was easily the Riddler. The main villain in this film, the Riddler was wonderful at being insane and unusually clever. The film treated him like he was a serial killer in hiding, and not a ballistic villain who had over-exasperated desires. His plans were realistic, with just enough comic ridiculousness. With that insanity, he also had some sympathy for them. Though not a lot, we were given enough of his backstory to know what the Riddler went through, and enough to understand his gripes with society and the government.

The mystery itself of: “who is the Riddler,” and “why is he doing this” was easy to get into. The pacing of the film helped with this, slowly revealing something about the Riddler until pushed to the climax. The pacing definitely does falter near the third act of this film, as Batman gets more focus. But even though that is a flaw, it is a big component in Batman’s development throughout the film.

The finale was worth the slow pacing though. Seeing everything come together in a climactic final battle with many of the Riddler’s followers fighting against Batman was great. And the reveal of the Riddler’s intentions was shocking and huge, showing how far he would go to show his intentions.

Overall, this movie was a wonderful adaptation of the caped caper, and I am looking forward to the sequel of this film. From the characters to the atmosphere, this movie was amazing. Out of 10, I will give the film a nine.