4K Blu-ray Review: The Batman

Synopsis: ​More than a year of stalking the streets as the Batman (Robert Pattinson), striking fear into the hearts of criminals, has led Bruce Wayne deep into the shadows of Gotham City. With only a few trusted allies—Alfred (Andy Serkis), Lt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright)—amongst the city's corrupt network of officials and high-profile figures, the lone vigilante has established himself as the sole embodiment of vengeance amongst his fellow citizens. When a killer targets Gotham's elite with a series of sadistic machinations, a trail of cryptic clues sends the World's Greatest Detective on an investigation into the underworld, where he encounters such characters as Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz), Oz, aka The Penguin (Colin Farrell), Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), and Edward Nashton/aka The Riddler (Paul Dano). As the evidence begins to lead closer to home and the scale of the perpetrator's plans becomes clear, Batman must forge new relationships, unmask the culprit, and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has long plagued Gotham City.

Main Features: The Batman is felt, heard and seen. If Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy was rooted in reality, this feels that but tenfold. It is a visceral, enigmatic (no pun) and true origin story. Just not the usual one we would expect from a superhero movie. We all know how Bruce Wayne became Batman--or rather, what motivated him. So instead of showing his witnessing the murder of his parents, just jump right in as he struggles with his sophomore slumps as a masked vigilante in a crime-ridden metropolitan area. But go even further. Batman is DC, starting in the original Detective Comics. When I say origin, that is what I mean here. Batman was created as a superhero without super powers. He uses his wealth and intellect to deduce crimes and who is the culprit. Prime example is the opening murder scene. He's in the room with other detective. They piece together the puzzle, each finding their own corner or edge piece to fit into the picture they all are trying to see and make sense of. Director Matt Reeves knew the unique territory yet to be explored, and shoots straight there. Robert Pattinson is excellent as the dual Wayne/Caped Crusader. Zoe Kravitz brings a wild card element to the process as Selina Kyle. Colin Farrell is unrecognizable looks wise as The Penguin, but his talent remains as the gangster with the polar name. While some might gripe about the running time, I do not. Batman has always been epic, and this Fincher-influenced flick needs full time to breath. Trust me, those who had issues with the length will revisit it after a while and understand the complexities needed to flesh out, the multiple layers needing peeling. The Batman is a masterwork. 

Bonus Features: Bonuses are pretty standard. Behind the scenes entries about the Batmobile, various characters, makeup work, etc. The 4K set also includes a digital code to stream from a digital library in matching 4K format

Final Call: The Batman isn't your usual Bang? Pow! flashy Caped Crusader. This is a bare bones, true origin story as to what the character was intended to be

Grade: A-