After years of wait, The Batman is finally here. This Matt Reeves directorial reboots the franchise and is also a jumping-off point for a a Bat-verse, a new cinematic universe populated by Batman's rogues gallery and supporting charters. Starring Robert Pattinson in the titular role, the film has received positive reviews and is also heading for impressive commercial performance - particularly for a pandemic release. 🗞️Subscribe Now: Get Express Premium to access the best Election reporting and analysis 🗞️ The movie has a young 30-something Bruce Wayne moonlighting as a costumed Caped Crusader and using fear to scare the criminals of Gotham City. But he is out of his depth before a vicious, disturbed loner who has become a serial killer and is killing the elite of Gotham. SPOILER ALERT Ultimately, Batman fails to stop the Riddler from achieving his goal and the city is flooded. The superhero, however, saves many citizens and emerges as a symbol of hope as opposed to fear and vengeance, realising he was not not much better than his greatest foe. At the very end of the movie, the Riddler is seen locked up in the Arkham State Hospital. An inmate in the adjacent cell calls him and says, "What is it they say? One day you’re on top. The next, you’re a clown." Many had theorised that it's Barry Keoghan, playing an early version of the Joker. Now, Reeves has confirmed it. "It is the Joker," he told Variety. However, he cautioned, he may not be the big villain of the next installment because he has no idea whether the character will be explored in next movies in the franchise. "It’s not an Easter egg scene. It’s not one of those end credits Marvel or DC scenes where it’s going, like, ‘Hey, here’s the next movie!’ In fact, I have no idea when or if we would return to that character in the movies," he added. Meanwhile, The Batman has scored 85 per cent on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes. The critical consensus reads, "A grim, gritty, and gripping super-noir, The Batman ranks among the Dark Knight's bleakest - and most thrillingly ambitious - live-action outings."
