Is The Batman Kid Friendly? First things first, don’t bring the kids to The Batman’s Gotham City, and here is why. They are not welcome there. It’s dirty, there is A LOT of crime, it rains ALL the time, and they might see some disturbing images. Adults (and teenagers) should most definitely head over to Gotham, though. It’s got everything: The Penguin’s raging club (and the club inside the club-oh my!), rats, bats, cats, ample use of duct tape, cops with thick unplaceable accents, trash can fires, gadgets, and an actual story. That’s right- The Batman is a superhero movie that feels like an actual cinematic experience. I’m not sure one could call it realistic, necessarily, but it relies less on make-believe (people don’t fall into giant vats of acid or have beaks and eat raw herring, for instance) and more on a story.
The Batman finds The Riddler/Edward Nashton (Paul Dano) playing Moriarty to Batman/Bruce Wayne’s (Robert Pattinson)’s Sherlock. They are in a deadly game of cat and mouse that involves all of Gotham City. Zoë Kravitz is Selina Kyle/Catwoman is aligned with Batman in this telling, but she has her own agenda, naturally. Jeffrey Wright is the stalwart James Gordon, Andy Serkis is the dutiful Alfred Pennyworth, John Turturro is baddie Carmine Falcone, Peter Sarsgaard is the District Attorney, and an unrecognizable Colin Farrell plays Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin.
Can The Batman save Gotham City? Can he stop the ever-maddening Riddler? Is the Riddler the bad guy? Will Batman and Catwoman become a thing? Will Gotham finally clean up its act? That last question is the most important one. Can a city that is so corrupted by dirty cops, over-the-top villains, and a basic disregard for life be saved? Is there hope to be found in Gotham, and therefore its “Crown Prince,” Bruce Wayne? You will need to see The Batman to find out!!
The Batman is now playing in theaters!