As us usual, here is a roundup of reviews that focus on Rob’s performance. There are a LOT of reviews so I will be updating this post regularly. Latest reviews will be added to end of each section under the date they were entered.
The Sweet
Robert Pattinson is brilliantly mopey in the latest iteration of The Batman
And so, we come to it: How does the sparkly vampire fare in the role? Very well, actually. Of course, anyone who’s seen Pattinson’s work outside the Twilight franchise already knew he was more than capable of pulling this off, and he does so with aplomb. He is somewhat limited by not being able to fully inhabit the contrasting sides of the character’s psyche, but we’re sure he will get the opportunity to do so down the line.
Bottom line: as a murder horror mystery, The Batman is spectacular, entertaining, well-crafted, decently acted and intelligently written.
Robert Pattinson brings a brooding passion to the character that really does stand out compared to the other performers to take on this iconic role. There is a grit and uneasiness found within this performance that gives Wayne a needed humanity for a story like this. Every element of the film is more grounded than one might expect from a Batman feature and it only makes sense that the titular character himself would follow suit.
The Batman of Reeves’ universe, as played so intimidatingly stoic by Robert Pattinson …
Robert Pattinson accommodates the swing towards adolescent existentialism nicely.
Pattinson is great at these types of performances, where what’s most important is what is left unsaid, and he uses this to excellent effect with this version of the character.
Pattinson’s an incredibly unconventional choice for the Caped Crusader, but it works fabulously here: with his hang-dog expression, wispy downcast hair, and lean, gymnast frame, he has the feeling of a ghost.
Robert Pattinson is well on his way to being my favorite Batman. While his Bruce Wayne his surprisingly limited screen time and is solid, he has a presence in the costume that really works. You buy him as a detective as much as an ass-kicker. Plus, Pattinson probably has the most dialogue and non-action sequences in the suit that anyone has ever had with the role. They got an exciting actor in the part and he did exciting work, go figure.
Every star in The Batman finds special ways to portray their iconic characters, with Robert Pattinson and Colin Farrell being phenomenal standouts.
… the whole company is exemplary, led by Pattinson’s brooding, impassioned yet melancholic turn as the Caped Crusader,
The most unsurprising revelation is that Pattinson is very good in both the roles of Bruce and Bats.
Drum roll please, Robert Pattinson becomes the new standard to be measured against. His Batman is a clenched fist and true detective. He brutalizes enemies in mind-blowing action scenes. Then puts on his thinking cowl to fastidiously search for clues. His Bruce Wayne is consumed by bottled rage and anger. He narrates his experiences as Batman. Chronicling his outlet for vengeance. The film forces him to reconcile his views of justice with those of a psychopath. We’ve never seen Bruce Wayne/Batman have this depth of introspection. Robert Pattinson is magnificent here.
Pattinson is perfect as both and is able to effortlessly switch between the two. The difference is like night and day.
A bit more about Pattinson: To me, at least, he felt a little like a return to the Michael Keaton style of Batman — a guy who isn’t necessarily the most physically imposing but comes across as so completely consumed with his obsessions that you can believe that he might really dress like a bat and fight crime.
Pattinson, an actor who ran away from the big budget movies of the beginning of his career to independent projects for the last ten plus years, is immaculate in performance as both Bruce and Batman.
Pattinson Shines in this inspired noir. … Robert Pattinson gives a restrained, yet sometimes unbridled and explosive performance as Batman. Pattinson embodies the true spirit of the iconic hero, his act is tinged with the darkness and mystery that the character is synonymous with.
Pattinson is magnetic in the suit, believable as an immoveable object in the traditional character-driven scenes, and frighteningly kinetic execution in in the physical confrontations. Pattinson delivers a brutality in his interpretation of the character that we see with each puzzle solution or punch. The character doesn’t mince words (the script doesn’t allow for that kind of time), making us believe that the character is driven by pain and trauma, in reaction and deed
Die Hard Batman fans may be skeptical about Pattinson, but he does an excellent job as the caped crusader …
At the heart of that is Robert Pattinson’s masterful performance as Bruce Wayne. … Back to Pattinson, though, and it’s by no means a stretch to say he should be a potential “Best Actor” candidate at next year’s Oscars for the work he delivers in the movie. That might initially sound like hyperbole, but his work here is every bit as transformative and groundbreaking as what we saw from Joaquin Phoenix in Joker. From the smallest of facial expressions when he’s taunted by The Riddler, for example, to glimpses of the damaged little boy who saw his parents die, there’s a tremendous amount to unpack in Pattinson’s work and a great deal of thought has clearly gone into his every action. This Batman feels like a soldier waging war on Gotham’s criminal element, but he’s also fiercely intelligent and the detective that previous films have so often overlooked.
It’s safe to say Pattinson is Batman more often than not in the film, which lends to Pattinson’s performance effectiveness.
It goes without saying that mannerisms are crucial to a character wearing the cowl, and Pattinson masterfully exudes every bit of that emotion in the film. Nothing needs to be told by Pattinson to know what he’s feeling or going through. He quickly enters the pantheon of all-time great Batmans, and that’s not a hot take. But an accurate one.
Robert Pattinson excels in brilliant new take on DC hero.
Robert Pattinson may not have the beefy physique of Bale or Affleck before him, but his commitment to the underlying obsession aspect of the dual character is excellent.
This intimacy also maintains focus on Pattinson’s performance. As Batman, Pattinson doesn’t veer far from the general rubric that most actors have taken toward portraying this iconic superhero. Humorless and brooding, he speaks as little as possible, moves with a fearsome sense of purpose, and regularly bristles with a muted paranoia of the world around him.
As Bruce Wayne, though, Pattinson is a revelation. …
Pattinson’s performance will likely divide viewers, but his Batman is an angry, simmering character perfectly suited to the story being told. There’s a choice made, though, for his Bruce Wayne to act and feel no different than his Batman. It’s as written, and his screen time as Bruce is kept to a minimum, but the dichotomy viewers are used to is absent here. Bruce is every bit as dour and unpleasant as his costumed persona with Pattinson’s performance being indistinguishable between the two halves. Still, that choice fits this world and this character, as he is only two years into his role as a vigilante — he’s still learning, and the hope is the journey will allow him to let go of some of the anger and realize that his strength is in helping the innocent rather than hurting the guilty.
Robert Pattinson effortlessly transforms Bruce Wayne, and it’s no surprise. Those familiar with Pattinson’s work over the last ten years know he’s become one of the best modern actors in the business, and he approached Wayne with the same craft as his recent roles. This iteration of Bruce Wayne is darker, recluse, and a far cry from the billionaire playboy monikers that Bale and Affleck’s versions of the character mastered. This Bruce does not know how to appear in public, he only knows how to be Batman, with Bruce just an external avatar of the beast within. It is a classic Batman archetype but Pattinson is flawless in the role. 5/5
Pattinson, his full face rarely glimpsed without raccoon eyes testfiying to Wayne’s true identity, gives an appropriately anti-movie-star performance as the antihero whose task is to hurt, grimace, and fight for justice until the job is done…which is never. Pattinson and a typically superb Dano share an interrogation scene to rival Bale and Ledger’s in The Dark Knight (suggesting an Oscar nod for Dano’s Zodiac-style Riddler won’t be out of the question). Score 4/4
Pattinson can blow the character up when he needs to, but he also brings a sensitivity to Bruce Wayne/Batman that we recognize even through all the fury and the action.
Pattinson is the sixth actor to play Batman in a live-action film in the last 33 years, and he acquits himself well, giving the character a sullen soulfulness.
Pattinson, who doesn’t get enough credit as an incredibly talented dramatic actor, gives Bruce Wayne a vulnerability that makes him relatable. The tortured soul and wounded spirit of Bruce Wayne is emoted stunningly from Pattinson.
Pattinson provides a mostly different and compelling take on the character as years of toiling in oddball, interesting films such as “The Lighthouse” and “The Devil All the Time” have provided the skills to go deeper into a character.
Robert Pattinson’s take on Batman is unique among the screen versions …
Pattinson is a strong choice to play this version of Batman and Bruce Wayne. I’ve always argued that anyone can be Batman, because the suit does the work, and it’s how an actor captures Bruce’s brooding self-destructiveness and “Scarlet Pimpernel”-inspired callow camouflage that makes the difference. Here, I’m not so sure — because Pattinson shows Bruce’s festering grief and his revenge-driven intensity as much as when he’s wearing the cowl as when he’s not. Pattinson also latches onto Reeves’ subtle depiction of Batman’s evolution, from angry vigilante to the hero Gotham needs.
Pattinson is terrific.
Pattinson turns in noteworthy work filled with depth and dimension, delivering a nuanced, complex, compelling protagonist.
Pattinson is riveting throughout.
… played here earnestly and an almost-defeated air by Robert Pattinson.
Robert Pattinson’s Masked Vigilante Successfully Takes Flight
Pattinson Delivers One Of The Best Dark Knight Movies
This Bruce is a broken man, unable to hide his emotions even under the cowl. Pattinson’s performance, in turn, is crushingly painful, whether he’s in or out of the Batsuit.
Robert Pattinson is terrific in both roles.
The Batman” survives its eventual transition into more familiar superhero movie territory because of the slow-thawing self-awareness that Pattinson brings to the title role …
While Pattinson does a fine job with a difficult task …
Once the cowl comes off, however, Pattinson’s interpretation gets more intriguing …
Robert Pattinson offers a unique live-action incarnation of the Caped Crusader in Matt Reeves and Peter Craig’s The Batman.
First, the very good news: Robert Pattinson is terrific as a young, brooding Batman/Bruce Wayne, narrating his story in a hard-bitten style that recalls the hushed tones of Dirty Harry and the film noir detectives played by Humphrey Bogart.
Ultimately, “The Batman” is an example of how a star can elevate an entire picture because Pattinson is the essential Batman.
Robert Pattinson’s iteration of ‘The Batman’ is fresh and gripping.
2 March 2022
If for this reason alone, Pattinson makes a better Batman than a Bruce, the actor as convincing as any wearing the aforementioned cape and cowl. Pattinson (“Tenet,” “The Lighthouse”) may not bring much originality to the character, but he is likely to win over many who thought Reeves’ picking him for the role was a colossal mistake.
Pattinson’s performance is beyond fantastic and he’s a GREAT Batman. He’s angry, focused, and driven. He’s “Vengeance.”
3 March 2022
Pattinson is in top form as Bruce Wayne and Batman. He excels as both a tortured billionaire and a rugged action star. He conveys Batman’s emotional turmoil without sliding into camp (which is a tough job when you’re fighting clowns while dressed as a Bat). And yes, Pattinson has an excellent Batman voice. It has gravitas and an air of mystery without being distracting.
If Pattinson weren’t one of the most gifted actors of his generation, this read on Batman might’ve been one for the Hot Topic bargain bin. The actor owns the physicality of the role and is never drowned out by the film’s rampant melancholy. Reeves and Pattinson understand the ethos of the character, depicting him even more darkly than Christian Bale did with his stoic take on Bruce Wayne in the Nolan films.
This excellent, committed performance is the kind Pattinson has been giving for years in smaller movies such as Good Time and The Lost City of Z, but it even has roots in the seething romanticism of his angry teen Twilight vampire, who sometimes seemed almost revulsed to be so deeply in love.
“The Batman” is very well made, the acting excellent (Pattinson nails the role),
Portraying this version of Wayne, Pattinson is an entirely fitting choice.
Christian Bale has always been my favorite Batman, but Robert Pattinson is giving him a run for his money. The Batman warrants one more watch before I can make a decision but Pattinson captures what this man is all about.
Holy Toledo, it was worth the wait! Robert Pattinson is a perfect fit for the cowl and cape in this gritty, pacy and achingly stylish adventure.
Trepidation about Pattinson’s casting is fair, but the actor sheds preconceptions of himself as he embodies the dual-natured character. His take on Batman is immensely compelling; his portrayal of Bruce Wayne is less so.
As for Pattinson, he’s uneven but intriguing.
Pattinson? His take is original even when the story he’s telling is not. Pattinson finds the Batman’s gothic soul and shows us his wounds and vulnerabilities, complexities and indescribable strengths. It’s a masterful performance that is among the best Batmen.
Casting in general is superb, with Pattinson’s Batman very effective and Zoë Kravitz’s Catwoman making a big impact.
And this is a Batman who doesn’t delineate between his two halves. Bruce Wayne (played by a SPECTACULAR Robert Pattinson) …
Pattinson excels as Batman, brooding and menacing where appropriate, as he goes on his vengeance-driven missions. His emo-kid black eye make-up and batsuit bovver boots work with the vibe of this more raw character, and the actor amply fills out the iconic suit (and don’t worry, that jawline measures up too).
Pattinson expresses the physical and emotional wounds that batter Batman’s soul better than many actors who preceded him.
Robert Pattinson blazes a fearsome path …
Pattinson is brooding perfection as his Batman …
However, Pattinson’s interpretation of the character is also sadder than previous Batmans, tortured by the traumas of his childhood in a way that makes the batsuit feel less like a calling and more like a penance. This plays into a character arc that’s a rebuttal to the assertion Batman must be defined by his pain. Though the film is rather bleak at times, it’s also incredibly attuned to the humanity that drives its characters.
Pattinson’s take on Batman is as distinctive as any: wrathful, raging. Psychopathic even. He’s the Darkest Knight yet by a long shot.
When it comes to acting, Robert Pattinson does a fantastic job as Batman. He captured Batman’s strengths and vulnerabilities in his performance. I appreciated how Pattinson didn’t shy away from showing Bruce Wayne’s trauma since his childhood. It’s during these moments that Pattinson reminds us of just how damaged Bruce Wayne really is inside.
Despite a convincing first turn in the suit by Pattinson and a well-chosen supporting cast, The Batman can’t overcome its plot …
But there’s something about his prone to brooding visage that just works as a Bruce Wayne …
Pattinson, here making some truly bold choices, moulds his performance to this aesthetic. His Bruce Wayne is moody, withdrawn, insomniac, and driven, peering at the world through hollowed eyes from beneath a lank fringe – a reclusive weirdo whose eccentricities are indulged because of his wealth and tragic past.
Meanwhile, Pattinson’s version of Bruce Wayne is so beyond emo as to almost be a parody of a Goth kid who thinks he’s part vampire. But he somehow makes it work, and his sulking turns out to be more of a cover for being a social misfit than an actual personality trait.
Lots of that comes from the performances too, which are fantastic across the board. Pattinson crafts both Bruce Wayne and Batman as almost different characters, making it clear that this version of the hero is much more comfortable with a mask than without. With it, he’s powerful, confident, and menacing. Without, he’s shy, guarded, almost scared.
But it’s Pattinson who makes the film what it is. … Pattinson ensures that we can see that change, in every frame. He holds himself differently. He’s more centered, more assured. He’s grown up.
The performances were raw… Robert Pattinson understood the assignment and was the Batman this movie was made for.
Robert Pattinson’s take on Bruce, both in and out of the costume, is impressively nuanced. In tune with Matt Reeves’ grungier, juvenile interpretation of the character, Pattinson’s performance is more revealing within the eyes and most precise facial expressions. Even when he’s brooding and stern on the outside, as is expected from any Batman outing, there’s so much clear and defined pathos on display. Pattinson nails this novice version of the hero, and just how much he’s able to open himself up with only his body language—either when he’s beating goons to a pulp or solving the Riddler’s various puzzles—is outstanding.
Pattinson’s touchingly vulnerable Bruce Wayne also makes the movie more real when he gets to show expressions.
Pattinson is at his best when he’s playing characters who make you uncomfortable. Even more than Christian Bale in the role, Pattinson is so skilled at making his beautiful, angular features seem unsettling.
… it’s a tantalizingly creepy mystery, anchored by Robert Pattinson’s eerie take on the Caped Crusader.
Pattinson’s Emo Batman works well within the structure and aesthetic Reeves develops. He carves out a very different crusader, one more introspective and heartbroken than righteous. This Bruce Wayne views the bat signal as both a call and a warning, and Pattinson is able to effectively keep the tortured soul’s head above self-pitying water.
The Batman is a moderately well-made film, with some appealing performances, most notably from its star, Robert Pattinson.
Mr. Pattinson brings a nuanced and tortured hero to the big screen. Even after he successfully fights off the local punks with the help of his bat suit, he always returns bruised and battered. The actor brings all the aspects of Wayne and his secret identity to life in perfect form.
As for our Dark Knight, Robert Pattinson does a good job with what he is given.
The film cements Robert Pattinson as one of the most exciting and unique versions of the Dark Knight to watch.
Robert Pattinson’s first outing in the bat cowl is stylish above all else. … Pattinson, moody and saturnine, does what he can, but he’s not afforded much beyond growling and scowling.
A spellbinding Pattinson (immensely expressive with his eyes even when sporting the cowl) channels all of this into a Batman that frequently comes across as a hero with a death wish.
Robert Pattinson breaks decisively away from Batman’s recent incarnations made famous (and infamous) by Christian Bale and Ben Affleck, while retaining the angst and molten rage felt by each respectively. … Instead, what has been delivered here, across the board, is excitingly new and remarkably different from what has come before.
This emphasis on Batman’s investigative skills only makes Robert Pattinson’s casting more genius. I was skeptical in the beginning, and I think for good reason. Even as a “year two” version of Batman, Pattinson seemed unsuitable. But this is a Bruce Wayne consumed by his emotions. Regret and rage well up inside of him. He’s intense, angry, a bit wild and unfocused. Call him “emo” if you like, say he’s got daddy issues. All of it is true and the screenplay by Peter Craig and Reeves refuses to spare him.
As well-written as “The Batman” screenplay is, it’s hard to go wrong with such a talented group of cast members, who embody their roles as if they were born to play these characters. Pattinson has already demonstrated in plenty of his independent films that he’s got the gravitas and empathy to personify the dual roles of Batman and Bruce Wayne.
Pattinson genuinely inhabits the Batman, expressing despair with just his perfectly angled jaw and soulful eyes staring from beneath the black mask.
Still, Robert Pattinson wears the suit (and scowl) well and fans won’t be shocked to hear this probably won’t be the last time he tries avenging Gotham City.
Across the board otherwise, the casting is great. Any doubt about Pattinson can be put to bed. His Batman is excellent.
Pattinson looks exhausted, haunted as Bruce Wayne. He’s also quite good.
Robert Pattinson propels The Batman to gigantic, delightfully creepy superhero heights … and brings a neatly damaged and petulant attitude to a character more familiar than perhaps any other character of modern fiction (and that title isn’t a lie, either: there is far more Batman here than Bruce)
Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson’s The Batman is a magnificent achievement: a crime epic that stands apart from previous versions of the character.
Pattinson’s Batman is different than those we’ve seen before. He leads with a seemingly stoic and detached character but has vulnerability and emotionality to it. His Batman feels more realistic, more every day than the overly macho masculine version we’ve seen many times before. This only adds to the connection and authenticity I felt with this Batman. Adding to the long list of its predecessors, The Batman is a must-see edge-of-your-seat addition to the catalog of Batman films.
Robert Pattinson, … is inspired casting. A Batman who only speaks when absolutely necessary, where much of his emotional heft is given in looks and glowers and physical intimidation, it’s the broody hero from the comic page basically brought to life. It’s early days, but Pattinson may well end up everyone’s favorite Batman by the end.
Robert Pattinson and Zoe Kravitz shine.
The Sour
Unfortunately the key casting choice is a bit disappointing. Pattinson is clearly more interested in playing the sad shadings of Wayne, and mostly just mumbles through the role. That may be more interesting to perform, but it gives the movie very little emotional range.
Since Bale was perfect, however, Pattinson comes off a bit flat.
None of that energy that Pattinson brought to things like High Life or The Lighthouse is present here. It’s just a dude in desperate need of a haircut and eyeshadow primer running around being vengeance and doing everything we have seen in a Batman movie before.
2 March 2022
There’s a particular scene where Pattinson’s Bruce ‘Broods’ Wayne is sitting in a hospital alongside an injured ally that is arguably the worst piece single performance I’ve seen in the actor’s body of work in over a decade. Pattinson’s recent stellar performances, with a variety of exciting and accomplished directors, signals that Reeves had it in his hands to protect Pattinson from the parts of this performance that didn’t work and couldn’t.
3 March 2022
But as Batman, Pattinson is little more than a cartoon.
Kravitz is good in the role and generates some heat with Pattinson, who has proven himself a fascinating actor in recent years. It’s ironic, then, that his return to franchise filmmaking should give him his most limiting role since Twilight.
In joyless ‘The Batman,’ Robert Pattinson channels the vampire Edward Cullen
Sure, The Batman is the movie where the protagonist has the most scene time, but it doesn’t work very well if half of that time occurs in constant long sequences of silent Pattinson, looking to the side of the camera.
But Pattinson’s performance is a little too one-note.
The good news is, Pattinson does look the part as the young, inexperienced and reckless Batman. But his overall emo-heavy performance no matter as Bruce Wayne or Batman feels strangely hollow.
Pattinson looks haunted throughout and intentionally tentative. There’s a narrowness to the performance that works but in a workmanlike sort of way. There’s nothing extravagant about Pattinson’s acting here, and if an actor can’t be extravagant kitted out in cape and cowl, when can he? Pattinson does display a very good stare, but stares are about the absence of emotional expression. That absence extends to his line readings. He speaks in a near-constant monotone. It’s like a dial tone with words.
Another problem is Robert Pattinson’s performance as Batman and as Bruce Wayne. In both personas, he speaks in a hushed monotone, making him indecipherable at times. And as Wayne, Pattinson seems to be acting either as a sulking teenager or as a young man suffering from PTSD.
While Pattinson is undeniably one of the more accomplished and capable actors working today, I still don’t like him cast as Bruce Wayne / Batman. He’s just not a great fit for the role, and there are only a few moments in this film that almost convince me otherwise. He isn’t terrible, but this casting choice is also the weakest link.
Pattinson’s performance is similarly one-note
Lost in Translation
Robert Pattinson immediately established himself in the role, offering a particularly tormented and obsessive reading, where Bruce Wayne practically no longer exists. Only a certain idea of justice remains, trapped in the vicious circle of revenge.
Excellent work, Maria. I liked Den of Geeks and the Nerdist the most. Also, like what you did here, this editorial does a good job of compiling many of the aspects of the movie from reviews:
https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/the-batman-first-reviews/?cmp=TWRT_Edit_FirstReviews_TheBatman
Only one more sleep for you I believe Maria. Two for me. Sounds like we're in for a terrific ride! Can't wait to officially get to know Rob's Bruce Wayne on the big screen. Well done collating all of these reviews for us too. But don't forget to sleep Maria!
Indeed it is 1 more sleep
I am new at this. I was hoping for 90 something on RT reviews but all these professional reviewers seem to have limited ideas and some seem to have their own agenda.
Would love to hear your take, Maria.
To be honest PM I never take RT review ratings seriously. Sometimes they give low ratings to films I love and often they give high ratings to films I don't rate. There are the usual suspects who refuse to acknowledge Rob's talent. Are there people who actually base their movie viewing on RT? Maybe there are.
I've had the benefit of sitting in a press screening and there were a few at the time who didn't even watch the entire film. One even walked out to take a phone call – yeah talking about you Richard Wilkins. So … at the end of the day they are paid to fill out a 1000 word review. That's my take anyway.
Quite depressing that these people get to play king makers.