Pathaan, 2023 - Movie Review

Spoiler Alert!

After years of a post-mid-life crisis that got further intensified with Bollywood’s own ongoing identity crisis, SRK is back with a bang-bang-BANG big cinema blockbuster, with a no-holds-barred, full-throttle action-packed two-and-half-hour entertainer of the year. Even though it’s only the beginning of the year, it seems that #Pathaan will turn out to be our #Maverick of this year. And why not! If Tom Cruise can do it at 60, why can’t SRK at 57! 

The film is a classic spy action thriller, borrowing heavily from Hollywood inspiration, crossing between Mission Impossible, Fast and Furious, Avengers, and the likes, with storyline and dialogues that make it inherently Bollywood in essence. Ex-military agent Pathaan creates a not-so-secret special ops unit under the retired agent Nandini Grewal (played by Dimple Kapadia), with a team of other ex’s to fight wars that official spy and military outfits can’t. In one mission he meets his nemesis in Jim (John Abraham), another ex-RAW agent that has gone rogue, being betrayed by the Indian Govt in an earlier mission. And from then on it is a cat-and-mouse chase between the two, one trying to foil the other, with ISI agent Rubai Mohsin (Deepika Padukone) playing I love you-i love you not, between the two missions (much, I guess, like the unit she represents in real life!). With non-stop action from one scene to the next, and a speedy story-telling (no time to get bored), the joyride culminates in multiple climax-type face-off scenes, leading to the winning of good over evil and the hero saving the day.

To be clear, we wouldn’t have enjoyed this film a few years ago. It is sketchy and not really a new storyline, the plot is quite ridiculous, the action is superficial, the characters are cliched, and the dialogues are banal. But the film coming at this time in our lives, after a vacuum, which has been filled with too many clever, politically correct, intellectual, health crisis and often depressing conversations of the last few years, the mindless fare that this film is,  comes as a breath of fresh air.  It is as stereotypical as Bollywood gets and is #WYSIWYG. And we can’t help ourselves enjoying all of the above and more. It’s the same part of our lives that is going out eating and drinking and holidaying and travelling and releasing and recovering and reclaiming.

It’s an SRK film all the way, #obvio. And he does a good-SRK job (and we all know what a bad-SR-K-kkkkk job is). Minus the ham, the over-acting, the teary-eyes, the mellow drama. Plus the long hair, the ripped (on screen at least) body, and the action-hero avatar. While still staying true to his underlying and quintessential romantic hero USP. If you’re an SRK fan, then this film is definitely for you. John Abraham, as the no-moral-compass villain, gets full marks for trying but fails to make an impact, not least because of his ageing face and body which is only a sad reminder of what a perfect ten he was. Deepika Padukone (fanboy alert) looks gorgeous as always, and her body language through all the action sequences is surprisingly spot-on. But after an impressive start to her character in the first half of the film, the role disappointedly deteriorates after the interval to fall back into the cliched heroine stereotype. She goes back to being the same old Deepika Padukone we've seen in all SRK movies, right from her first in Om Shanti Om, to Happy New Year, playing the second fiddle. And this, despite having shown us in the last few years, that she is one actor that can carry the lead in the film and how. After Piku, the Bhansali trilogy, Gehraiyaan, this is not what we expect to see Deepika as. What a loss! 

However, the film’s cleverness (and possibly one of the biggest reasons for its success, especially in the times we live in) is in striking the fine balance between Indian patriotism (a must-have for any film these days) and an inclusive narrative with Muslim characters, including and especially in the lead heroine, ISI agent Rubai. Nicely done SRK! 

The other thing that exactly hits the right spot (and possibly my favourite part of the film) is the cameo of Salman Khan as Tiger (the spy), who comes to the aide of Pathaan when he needs him the most. With almost (and possibly already planned) an MCU Avengers kind of franchise in the making. The inside jokes of an ageing generation that is still trying to stay relevant in the age of the Millennials and Gen Z, hit the perfect spot with all of us Gen X’ers watching and cheering. In many ways, the runaway box office success of Pathaan is a bit of 'a revenge of the Gen X’ers' having their moment of glory (no matter how brief it will be). The end-credit scene, a dialogues exchange between SRK and Salman Khan, is hilarious and is absolutely the cherry on the cake, which ends with SRK saying “Desh ka sawaal hai, humein hi karna padega, bachchon pe nahi chhod sakte”

To be clear, I’ve never been a fan of SRK. Quite the opposite. But you have to give it to him, for making this film and giving us a full-on Bollywood paisa-vasool entertainer (And no Bhool Bhulaiyya 2 was not!), to watch along with friends and family in the cinema, after a really long time.  And for that, we cheer loudly for SRK, for Bollywood, and for Tollywood and for all kinds of wood, for the beautiful diversity of film-making that continues to thrive in India (touch wood), and for making us get back in touch with our good old Indian Middle-Class desires of seeking moments of escape. 

Now whether this marks the return of King Khan and the solution for Bollywood’s crisis or it turns out to be a one-off flash-in-the-pan, only time will tell. After all, it is only the beginning of the year.

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, Shehan Karunatilaka - Book Review

 I hated this book. I loved this book.

The 2022 Booker prize-winning novel by critically acclaimed Sri Lankan writer Shehan Karunatilaka, is a unique piece of writing that evokes multiple and often conflicting emotions as we turn from one page to the next, as we move from the surreal to the sublime, as we move between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Set in 1990, Karunatilaka packs in a punch with a no holds barred commentary on the sorry state of the socio-political environment in Sri Lanka, in the background of the civil war, linked to the Tamilian vs Sinhalese identity, told beautifully through a fictional story. 

The story is of dead Malinda Almeida, a talented (war) photographer and a closet gay man, who has lived a privileged debauched yet famously dangerous life, both due to his profession and his gender, in the good and bad circles of Colombo. Now dead, and stuck in the in-between for 7 moons before he can be taken by the light (or the evil), depending on how he uses the time he has, the entire story runs through him trying to find out who his murderer is (because he doesn’t remember). He does that by trying to get help from his living pretend-girlfriend Jaki and secret lover Dilan, while also trying to protect them, and simultaneously grappling with his own reality as a ghost, fighting off the evil, navigating a race against time.

I HATED the book because it’s painfully honest about the hypocritical and broken society we live in.  Showing a mirror, it forces us to see the dark, ugly crevices of our lives that we choose to ignore every day just so we can continue to make a living and meet our own selfish individual and family goals. From casinos to prison camps, to war-torn areas, to shady sex corners, to buried bodies in a lake, to corrupt policemen and Govt officials, to political games of profit from war, the book exposes the world as it is, with an ugly naked truth perspective. But it also does it in a cynical, dark way that sometimes is almost too clever for itself, and at times leaves the reader a bit cold. And that’s probably the biggest flaw of the book. After the first quarter of the book (say two out of the 7 moons), when we are impressed with the brilliance of the imagination, storytelling, point of view and wit, the middle half of the book puts a distance between the reader and itself. In that, we are left observing everything that is happening almost as a commentary, missing the all-important connection and empathy with the lead characters. During those pages, we are left with a book that speaks to our minds brilliantly, but not enough to our hearts.

The other thing I missed was for an entire book living in the world of the ghosts, there wasn’t enough new imagination of the dead world. It had scenes and tropes we have seen before, like good ghosts,  bad ones, the evilest one, the final light taking them, ghosts trying to talk to living through a clairvoyant, ghosts getting trained to move things in living world… sounding too much like our all-time favourite and first of its kind Hollywood blockbuster Ghost,  by director Jerry Zucker, starring the groovy Swayze and all-time-sexiest Demi Moore. 

I LOVED the book because of the sheer ambition of the author, Karunatilaka, in commenting on such a wide array of issues that plague contemporary society in general, and Lankan society in particular. Civil war, politics of war, gender inclusion, dysfunctional families, generation gap, middle-class hypocrisy, social class divide, the absurdity of life (and death), geopolitics of money, imperialism including by the victim countries like India, endemic individual apathy of those with resources to do something… I can go on and on.  The book also brings Sri Lanka alive in a beautiful and ugly way. The style of writing is poignant with a dark sense of humor. However, the winning stroke is when the heart-breaking mystery of his murderer is finally revealed, it reminds us that in the end, it’s all our personal demons and ghosts that are the bigger criminals, more than any politician, or terrorist or warmonger.  That’s what gets us all in the end, after all.

The characters in the book are really well-built, especially the protagonist, Maali Almeida, through who’s eyes we see the whole book. The metaphorical digressions through conversations with dead priests, leopards, dogs, tourists, and other dead people and dead animals, add an additional layer of commentary that at times lifts the story, and at other times annoys. And the language and storytelling is impactful, though not always a light or easy read. 

The writing style is like Orhan Pamuk-meets-Douglas Adams. And as that suggests, this book is not everyone’s cup of tea or rather not everyone’s game of poker, if we stay true to the ethos of the book. Let me know if you give it a try, but do it at your own risk.

Avatar The Way of Water 2022, Movie Review

After setting the 3D movement in cinema with the first Avataar movie, which then went on to become the norm in Hollywood, 13 years ago, #AvatarThe WayofWater, brings back the same visual impact, cinematic beauty, imagination, and emotions just the way big cinema is supposed to. 

James Cameron’s second coming of this magnum opus impresses with the same immersive spectacle, even as its ambition is more more modest than the first one. Exactly in the spirit of our times, where the magnificent nature everyday is forcing us humankind to find our modesty. Showing us our place. Reminding us who’s the boss. Again (COVID) and again (climate change) and again (extreme weather all over), and again…

The story begins more than a decade after Jake Scully, now the leader of the N’avi tribe, living  happily ever after with his family of wife Neyitri, two sons (Neteyam and Lo’ak) daughter (Tuk) and adopted kids (Kiri and human boy Spider, Colonel Miles Quartrich’s son left behind on Pandora, after being defeated by Jake in the first film). And once again, the humans (or the sky people,) with their nothing-has-changed ambition to colonise the planet Pandora, send Quartrich as a N’avi clone with a bunch of other clones, as troops to kill Jake Scully and conquer their land…. And as it turns out the sea. We meet a new tribe of the water people, the Metkayina, and the same old story is repeated. 

Not a new story you say? But that’s classic Cameron isn’t it? Think the Aliens series, the Terminator series, Titanic, Abyss. The prowess of his film making is never about the plot , it’s always about the concept. It’s never about the story,  but about the story telling. It’s never about the cleverness, always about emotions. It’s never about the pace, always about the idea that needs to be lived with. And most importantly, it’s not about the characters in the film, but about how they make you feel as an audience. 

And that’s precisely why it’s always larger than life. Because that’s what it takes to make us feel what the movie wants us to feel.

Avatar The Way of Water, wants us to feel four primary emotions, which hit the spot, perfectly. One, a collective hatred for imperialism, that increasingly is being called out as perhaps the single  biggest evil of humanity, responsible for all the mess we are in. Two, a collective love for nature, with an urgency to live in harmony with it, on “its” terms, not ours. Three, a personal appreciation of the things that really matter in our lives, our family and our friends. And four, a personal commitment to the roles each of us individually and uniquely can play in the service of our community. And it’s these four emotions that make the film both timeless in essence and yet highly timely for our lives today. 

And the way it makes us feel, is through the sheer beauty of the art that is on display, in all its colourful splendour, presented in the form of 3D. Cameron takes full advantage of all the tech advancement in the last decade to lift his craft to an almost VR-like experience for a full three hour joy ride. (The game version likely to be coming out anytime now).  It’s like after the first Avataar, he asked the question: what’s more beautiful than the forest? The answer, is the ocean, of course.

Yes, it’s a bit long. Because when was the last time we ever sat still for a whole 3 hours! (3 hours 10 mins to be precise). In the era of 30 mins to 60 mins episodes on our favourite OTT channels, 5-10 seconds brain dumbing insta reels, and quick scrolls of all content, James Cameron demands our full time and attention and emotions in Avataar, Way of Water.  The film asks us to stop, feel and appreciate. Because all good things like that need time. And I, for one, felt it was absolutely worth it. 

My advice: Watch it in theatres or don’t watch it at all. 

With the forest and the ocean done, I can’t wait for the next alternate-Nat Geo world that Cameron will seek to create. The dessert? The mountains? Or May be even urban jungles? May be we need to wait another 13 years. Because after all, all good things take time.  

Rings of Power (Amazon Prime), House of Dragon (HBO/Hotstar) - Season 1 - Review

It is understandable for our times that we only want to tell stories of the past. The hide and seek that the future is playing with us, is quite frustrating to say the least and we can all agree that the future is becoming increasingly unreliable. Is COVID gone or not? Is the Ukraine war ever going to end? Will Xi consider retiring? Is Rishi Sunak Indian? Is Musk going to buy Twitter? (Okay we know the answer to that one… or do we? well, we may never know!)

And that’s why we are all happy time travelling, way back to spend time with something as sure as history, because we know it happened. And what better than history of our favourite fiction, because that we know for sure, happened and no amount of right wing propaganda can make you believe otherwise.

And just for that, as a fan, it’s enjoyable and recommended to watch these two prequels occurring over hundreds of years before the main stories we have loved and binge read and watched. Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones.

Past is a beautiful indulgence for those paralyzed by the future.

But there is one small problem. This history that is supposed to inform these prequels was never really written as such by their original creators (Tolkien and Martin). It is the new writers piecing puzzles of history based on different shreds of writing linked to these mythical worlds created by these genius creators.

To be fair that IS after all, a classic historian’s job. Except this is fiction, dear friends. And to write the history for a fictional master piece, it needs to match the same genius imagination of the original writers.

Alas, it does not.

For House of Dragons, we shouldn’t be surprised. We all saw the last season when George R R Martin had stopped writing. And Rings of Power, fails similarly with no Tolkien to fall back upon.

And so, in the Amazon multi-million dollar production, we see similar sights and sounds of the fallen Men, the noble Elves, the proud Dwarfs, the nomadic version of the Hobbits (called Harfoots), and of course the evil Orcs army and land being built in preparation of the as always winter-is-coming Sauron. Oooh. Never seen that before.

And in the HBO production, we see the dragons, the Targaryen, the Valyrians, the politics, the blood, the sleaze, the violence, the deceit, the gross-ness and the as always who-will-sit-on-the-the-most-uncomfortable-chair-in-the-world game. Sound familiar?

Though, sometimes just seeing more of the same can be deeply enjoyable (aka Friends Reunion, see my review http://books-booze-boxoffice.blogspot.com/2021/06/friends-reunion-streaming-on-zee-5.html ) because we’ve been missing it. But both these don’t cut it for that too. And one big reason for it is the casting. Both these prequels have actors playing legendary characters that make no impact and are almost borderline annoying. Morfydd Clark, as Galadriel is an overly angry young woman, Robert Aramayo as Elrond comes across as a meek pushover, Charlie Vickers as Halbrand, is a wishy washy build up of what ends up being a critical character at the end, Markella Kavenagh as the Frodo replacement generates no empathy, Daniel Weyman as Gandalf metoo has no inner strength, Cynthia Robinson as Queen Regent Miriel is unconvincing, Joseph Mawle as Adar the Orc army creator generates no fear. Similarly, Emma D'Arcy as Rhaenyra Targarean, the central character is not able to pull off the poignant life she lives, Matt Smith as Daemon has no presence as the impulsive angry prince, Olivia Cooke as Queen Alicent has only a single pained expression for the myriad of emotions she goes through.

That’s why, the actors that do stand out amidst a sea of mediocre performances are Owain Arthur as Dwarf Prince Durin, and Sophia Nomvete as Disa his wife. Paddy Considine as King Viserys (one feels all his emotions throughout the season till his last breath) and Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys (who emotes through her face with fewest dialogues).

Perhaps the challenge is while the writing is of the past, the writers that are writing it belong to the present and so are the audience they are writing for. And in trying to tell an old story for a new audience, they are able to do justice to neither.

May be the new writers should go back-to-the-future and not try to rewrite history. And use history only as a guidance of what was to define what can be. After all, the future is where we need all the imagination we can get. Otherwise we are all scr***d. And if Tom Cruise can do it (http://books-booze-boxoffice.blogspot.com/2022/07/top-gun-maverick-2022-film-review.html ), so can many new writers and film makers.

We don’t have much expectations from Season 2 of both these, but we will still wait eagerly for them, because hope currently IS our primary future strategy in the world.

Top Gun: Maverick, 2022, Film Review

Finally got a chance to pen this down

Predictable, cliched, stereotypical, seen-there-done-that

And YET Damn! The movie flies higher and faster than the new-age fighter jets featured in it.. and How!

Just like a really well made Bollywood (or these days pan Indian) masala movie that we still love and crave for, and walk out with a paisa-vasool feeling, #TopGunMaverick is classic Hollywood fare, fully worth-a-COVID-risk-theatre-outing. 

In a world that oscillates between one extreme of right-wing-conservative-nationalism and the other of utterly-confused-highly politically correct-liberalism, Tom Cruise strikes the perfect sweet spot, stubbornly refusing to fall prey to either of these narratives, delivering what, in the end, really matters - having a good time in the moment. Entertainment, we used to call it. 

The film is set 30 years after the original iconic Top Gun, where Pete Mitchell (aka Maverick) is still a captain, having left teaching at the academy and choosing to stay a pilot on different fighter jet programmes over the years. When he is called back to the Top Gun academy to train the newest batch of the best navy fighter pilots in the world (including his best mate Goose’s son) for what seems like a suicide mission, the memories and emotions of the first movie mix with the reality and adrenalin of the present day training, to create a perfect story telling leading to an action packed and paisa-vasool climax and ending. 

Tom Cruise plays his role brilliantly. It’s his movie all the way, just like the original, and despite all the fan fare, you have to give it to this guy. He stays anachronistically timeless. He still plays volleyball shirtless giving the youngsters with abs, a run for their creatine-whey-steroid bods. He still  races the jet on his high powered motorcycle (notice I didn’t call it a bike!). He still drives the million dollar jets recklessly and without fear of consequence. And better than anyone else can. He still gets fired again and is asked back again, because no one else can do what he can. He still walks the talk, leading from the front. He still cares for his students and his peers. He still carries the guilt of Goose’s death, seeking redemption by protecting his son. He is still single and trying to get together with a woman he likes (Penny, played gorgeously by Jennifer Connelly). In essence, Tom Cruise as Maverick and as himself, portrays this very old school macho heroism with such an earnest authenticity, that we can’t help loving it and lapping it all up. 

And that’s why it’s just easy and perhaps even lazy to say this movie works because of a big nostalgia effect, which as we know, is one of the most widespread defining emotion of our times. If that were the case, we wouldn’t be seeing hoards of youngsters today seeing it and loving it (yes meme-ing it means they love it!). 

No, the movie works because of its simplicity and authenticity. It’s a Hollywood classic with a new chapter in 2022, speaking to both the old and a new audience, but without completely changing itself and without trying to be someone it’s not. And that is the genius of Tom Cruise and his second coming. 

Much like his character, Maverick, who refuses to grow up or change his ways, as the maker of the movie also, he obstinately refuses to acknowledge the cynical ageing of our world, holding on to the classic values of heroism, pursuit of passion, loyalty, legacy, brotherhood, courage, resilience, and love. And shows us that it may be 30 years later (36 to be precise!), but even today we are still moved by these emotions. We still want to be better. We still want to believe. 

Even the Millennials and Gen Z! 

Who knows, may be there is still hope for us as human-kind after all!

The Power Of The Dog - Film Review

From critically acclaimed director Jane Campion comes the new ‘it’ oscar-nominated movie of the year, #The Power of The Dog. 

The only thing that the Academy loves more than musicals, is a period drama. And more importantly, a period drama that tells a modern narrative. And it makes sense too. Because there is a unique power in re-visiting the past to show the way into the future. After all, that’s what the purpose of history is, right? To know where we’ve come from so that we know where we’re going.

The Power of The Dog is a magnificent attempt to do this and almost gets it.. till it doesn’t.

The movie is set in a ranch in Montana, the USA of 1925, owned by the rich and respected Burbank family, run by the two sons, the very alpha Phil Burbank (Benedict Cumberbatch), and the older and more open George Burbank (Jesse Plemons). When George falls in love with a poorer widow Rose Gordon (Kirsten Dunst), and brings her home, Phil’s disapproval creates tension in the family, which escalates further when Rose’s son Peter (Kodi Smit McPhee), training to be a surgeon, comes to live with them in the ranch. While shy and effeminate Peter is initially targeted and bullied by the very macho cowboy Phil, over time Phil develops a liking for Peter and takes him under his wing to train him. As Phil’s secret from the past is revealed to Peter, through an accidental discovery during an escapade, they get closer to each other, much to Rose’s dislike, only made worse by her alcoholism, all finally building towards a dramatic though unexpected twist in the end.

The heart of the film is in the right place. The mission is a noble one. The performances by each of the actors are brilliant. And Jane Campion’s grand telling with the sights, the sounds, and the emotions of each character is truly worth applause. For most of the film, we are taken in by the depth of the storytelling, the nuances of the expressions of the actors, the texture of the Montana ranch, and the point-in-time of American history when the urbanization was still relatively new. The many complex layers of social structure in transition are depicted beautifully. The dynamic between the urban Burbank parents and their rural Burbank sons is poignant. The conflict between the naive romantic George and the cynically bitter Phil is poetic. The contrast between the apparently weak and needing-to-be-protected Peter and his quiet-cold-calmness is ominous. And most importantly, the subtle sexuality, the critique of false machismo (indeed the power of the dog), and homophobia, that eventually becomes the central idea is impactful. For all this, The Power of the Dog deserves its place as an Oscar nominee.

But, despite all this, the film misses one important element. A connection to the audience. 

The first half is well made, as we start building our affection for George, as he becomes Rose’s night in shining armor. We start disliking Phil for his overtly derogatory attitude to Peter. We feel sympathy for Rose and Peter, after having lost the man in their house, trying to fend for themselves. But, as the story progresses to reveal more facets of Phil, Rose, and Peter, we lose that bond, not entirely convinced on why these characters are moving in the direction they are. We also get completely consumed by the theatre of the visuals, the close-up treatment of characters and the scenery, the overtly jarring scenes of blood and animals, which, though are nicely done, distract us from building a connection to the story and the characters as they are moving forward. As a result, when the film moves to the twist-in-the-tale climax, instead of going ‘oh wow', we are left somewhere between ‘awe’ and ‘meh’, feeling a disconnect to our own feelings and therefore to the film. 

All in all, not a film for everyone, especially if you’re the one who feels precious about their two hours on the weekend. 

But, if you’re someone like me, trying to catch the oscar films before the awards, to form your own opinion, then go for it. 

I’ve done three so far (Dune, Don’t Look Up), I think another six or seven to go!

The Batman 2022 - Film Review

The beginning of the next telling of our most popular DC superhero. 

For most of our generation the original Batman era was the 1990s Tim Burton Joel Schumacher series, with Jack Nicholson’s defining Joker and Michael Keaton passing the baton to Val Kilmer and George Clooney even, and a popular star-cast ranging from Uma Thurman (Ivy), Arnold Schwarzenegger (Iceman), Jim Carrey (Riddler), Danny Devito (Penguin), Chris O Donnel (Robin), Alicia Silverstone (Bat Girl), Michelle Pfeifer (Catwoman). It was the perfect “pop” Batman series, for the “pop” time of our lives. 

As we went through the next decade of a self-doubting internal journey of re-discovering our society and ourselves through Nolan’s interpretation of the dark knight for our dark times (2005-2012), that became the defining iconography of Batman for times to come. Typical Nolan.

However, the decade that followed (2010’s) belonged to Marvel and as MCU went from strength to strength, DC lost the plot and reflected a confused identity through what was arguably a confusing time (Trump, Brexit, right-wing, Covid, BLM, and whatnot). With the exception of the first Wonder Woman, all of the others (Batman vs. Superman, Justice Leagues, WW84) failed to meet the mark. 

Which brings us to today, as a new decade emerges out of the shambles of the last 2 years. Arguably, one of the darkest times in recent history, for one of the darkest superheroes we will always have. 

Against this backdrop, The Batman 2022 largely hits the spot. 

The plot this time is around Riddler (Paul Dano) as the main villain killing the corrupt high and mighty of Gotham, exposing their deceit and their failed promises of ‘achche din’. As Batman gets caught deeper in the maze that Riddler has set up, Commissioner Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) and Cat woman (Zoe Kravitz) partner him in solving the puzzles, revealing secrets from the past and the present linking the Wayne family, Carmine Falcone, Maroni’s and the Penguin (Collin Farell), finally leading towards a seemingly futile but inevitable journey of saving Gotham from itself.

Director Matt Reeves paints a new vision for Batman. And for that, the film is worth watching. More importantly, it sets a good precedent to see how this series develops with the next few movies. The story is nothing to write home about, the actors do a decent job, though nothing spectacular, and the action is engaging but again nothing we’ve not seen before. But what makes the film is the treatment of it, which shows the director’s ambition. It is the cinematography, the camera movement, and the music that come together to create the impact in the film. 

There is an authenticity about the Gotham that Reeves creates, which is appealing with all its flaws and its darkness. It’s a Gotham that feels real and not a faraway fictional city from the comic books. The young Batman, who is both naive at times and cynical at others, feels more human than a superhero. He is vulnerable, needs help, and gets hurt.  No grand hero, no big happy ending, no applause, no angst, no victory, no heroism. Batman 2022, is in sync with the truth of our times. No one man can save our world, we all need to play our part, as we emerge from the broken pieces of our lives, and re-make our own Gotham, one day at a time. 

And to the burning question, does Robert Pattinson make a good Batman? 

The answer simply, is that this is an entirely irrelevant question. 

For in this new telling of the superhero, it almost does not seem to matter. Matt Reeves’s vision dominates the film and all actors and acts are just mere vehicles to deliver this. 

All in all, it’s a promising start to the next DC chapter. 

With no more MCU to compete with, here’s the possibility of a fresh beginning for the DC franchise. A new Batman, a new vision, a new start. 

Don’t waste it DC and Warner Bros.