The Batman is getting rave reviews from fans and critics alike. While the movie is a bit long, that works to its advantage, as director Matt Reeves and company are able to cram the story full of unforgettable moments, ones that are made that much better by stylistic flourishes that make the film special. This being a Batman movie, there are plenty of moments of pathos throughout, ones which have an emotional effect on viewers.
The Batman does an amazing job of being a more noirish, detective-driven Batman movie, but it doesn’t skimp on moments that will break moviegoers’ hearts. It’s a movie that has a bit of everything, which definitely works to its advantage.
From this point on, there will be major SPOILERS for The Batman.
8 Any Scene With The Mayor’s Son Is Quietly Devastating
The Riddler’s first victim in the movie is the mayor of Gotham, who is killed right after his son leaves to go trick or treating on Halloween. It’s one of the film’s first scenes, followed by Gordon leading Batman through the crime scene. As the scene goes on, Batman sees the mayor’s son, sitting there basically catatonic, and there’s a moment between them. It’s rather powerful.
From there, the mayor’s son is only in one more scene, the funeral scene. He and Bruce again lock eyes, and Bruce saves him from a Riddler attack where he would have been collateral damage. What’s so great about these scenes is how they juxtapose the two orphans’ suffering and how the mayor’s son never says a word or even cries, as if tragedy has robbed him of emotion and the ability to speak. It’s devastating, and it’s all done with incredible acting, really elevating the scene above what it could have been otherwise.
7 The Horrors Of Gotham City Are On Full Display
Gotham City is known as the most dangerous city in comics, and The Batman plays into that beautifully. Reeves uses every trick up his sleeve to show moviegoers what a terrible place is for the common citizen, from an opening montage of criminals ready to strike to the first action scene with Batman to the Riddler’s attacks. Gotham is a rainy, dreary, claustrophobic city for the entirety of the movie, and one truly feels bad for its residents.
It gets worse when viewers realize the extent to which the city’s corruption makes all of the horrors possible. Gotham is a terrible place for its citizens, something that becomes more and more apparent as the movie goes on. The movie never skimps on letting viewers know exactly what kind of place the city is.
6 Bruce Learning The Truth About His Parents And Their Deaths Is A Shock
There isn’t a lot of Bruce Wayne in The Batman, but any scene he’s in is pretty sad. One of the biggest sources of pathos for Bruce is when he learns the truth about his parents — his mother’s mental illnesses, his father’s attempts to cover it up, and their relationship with mob boss Carmine Falcone. At first, viewers are given clues to expect the worse, giving the impression that this story will have the Waynes be evil, like so many others in recent years.
It only gets worse when Bruce learns the truth, that his father going to Falcone for help is what caused the death of his parents, something that happened because his father was going to fight back against the criminal’s demands. The whole thing brought something new to the death of the Waynes that isn’t in other media, making it that much sadder.
5 The Riddler’s Origin Showed Just How Much The Corruption Of Gotham Affected The Poor
The Riddler is known for outsmarting everyone, sometimes including Batman, and The Batman‘s version proves to be adroit at this as well. However, the movie adds an extra dimension to him as well, going into his origin. The Riddler was a Gotham orphan, given hope by mayoral candidate Thomas Wayne’s Renewal fund, which would have helped the people of Gotham immensely.
After Wayne’s death, Falcone, the various crime bosses, and corrupt city officials were able to take control of it and use it as their own personal slush fund. Little of the money went to the people, and orphans like the Riddler suffered because of it. As an adult, he found evidence of what happened, and it drove him crazy, leading to his rampage. Giving the Riddler a tragic origin was the exact right way to go, as it allowed viewers to actually feel bad for the suffering he went through in the underfunded Gotham social system.
4 Catwoman’s Origins Show More Of The Callousness Of Carmine Falcone
In a lot of ways, Carmine Falcone is the movie’s biggest villain, as his action unleashes a web of tragedy that ensnares all of the movie’s main characters. Catwoman gets her share of Falcone-based pain, revealing to Batman that she’s the crime boss’s illegitimate daughter and that Falcone killed her mother himself by strangling her to death.
Catwoman is one of DC’s best reformed villains in the comics, and her origin is suitably sad, but it doesn’t have anything on the Selina Kyle of The Batman. Her life, working at Penguin’s club as a waitress who has almost certainly been used and abused by his high profile clientele, came from Falcone’s actions against her mother.
3 Bruce Wayne Is A Broken Shell Who Cares For Nothing But Vengeance
There are plenty of sad Batman comics out there, many of which play upon the tragedy of Bruce Wayne losing his parents. This is the character’s formative moment, and The Batman goes further in-depth with it. As intimated earlier, Bruce hardly appears in the movie, and the reason for that is played out right in front of moviegoers’ eyes — Bruce Wayne is a broken man.
He’s not a playboy pretending for the camera, but a shell of a man, one who has to be reminded by Alfred to sleep and eat. His parents’ deaths destroyed him, and he’s hardly a person at all, just a body that goes through the motions until he can put on the costume and exercise his demons with his fists. He is an undoubtedly tragic character, and the movie shows this in all kinds of subtle ways.
2 Alfred Is Gravely Injured In A Terrible Attack By The Riddler
Alfred has always been the voice of reason for Batman and one gets the impression that goes doubly so for the Alfred of The Batman. Bruce Wayne has no interest in anything other than Batman, so Alfred takes care of everything, including the Wayne fortune. He even opens Bruce’s mail, which backfires terribly on him when the Riddler sends Bruce a bomb.
Alfred isn’t in the movie much, but Andy Serkis plays him very well, giving his few scenes the proper gravitas. That’s what makes this attack on him so sad. The viewer is given the impression of how much work Alfred does to keep everything going, so seeing him become a victim in the crossfire is a tragic turn of events.
1 Batman And Catwoman Going Their Separate Ways At The End Of The Movie Is The Definition Of Heartbreak
Catwoman is Batman’s greatest love interest, and The Batman plays into that very well. There’s a flirtation between the two which does a great job of outlining who they are as people — Selina is strong and forward, whereas Bruce is awkward and almost vulnerable. It’s a great difference between their relationship in the comics, and there are plenty of good little moments between the two.
These moments make the viewer crave the two of them actually getting together, as it would give them a dose of normality in their tragic lives. The end of the movie sees Catwoman leave Gotham while Batman stays behind. As she drives away on her motorcycles, he goes after her, and it seems like they’re going to reunite. Instead, they come to a crossroads and go their separate ways. It’s a heartbreaking moment for viewers who just wanted them to be happy together, as well as a deft metaphor for their lives.
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