The Batman is everything we expected and much more.

After what feels like a really long time, The Batman is finally released in cinemas. The Batman, directed by Matt Reeves, has had a long journey from its announcement to its release this week. Starring Robert Pattinson as the latest version of Caped Crusader, the movie sees Batman in his second year of crime-fighting. Evil’s on the rise as Paul Dano steps into the shoes of the Riddler and tries to uncover the corruption deep-rooted within Gotham. Batman in his effort to stop him will also uncover some secrets that might tarnish the Wayne family’s name forever.

It’s no secret that long before the superhero genre became a household name thrillers and detective films were the ones filling the seats in cinema halls across the world. Batman proves superhero movies are here to stay but that doesn't mean both can't coexist or become even a single film.  The Batman was once indebted to Ben Affleck, many still are in awe of the brilliant Christian Bale's version but that's yesterday's news. Matt Reeves brings the finest adventure for the franchise since The Dark Knight Trilogy.

Two years on the job, Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) is on the verge of utter lunacy, and the Batman strikes a balance with him. This portrayal is diametrically opposed to the stereotype of the pleasant and poised playboy that Bruce Wayne has been before. An emo guy with dark shadows makeup and hushed whispers in and out of costume. Reeves and Pattinson go for broke, thoroughly selling how insane a man would become if he risked his life every night to battle low-level crime while dressed in a costume mocked by overconfident street fighters. 

While a Zodiac-esque Riddler is the main antagonist, he is occasionally ignored in order to explore Gotham's elite and criminal underbelly. Namely two of them, The Penguin (Colin Farrell) and Carmine Falcone, are set to star in a prequel series on HBO Max that will reveal even more of the film's secrets. Colin Farrell as The Penguin is equal parts sleazy, campy, and malevolent in one of the most unrecognisable changes in recent memory. 

Mrs. Kyle is never referred to as Catwoman, but, like Anne Hathaway in 2012, Zoe Kravitz sells the character's ethos while also expanding on legendary representations from the past. She's a fiery mix of emotions, and her unexpected friendship with Batman not only has personal ramifications, but her narrative also connects to larger social concerns in today's era and has unsettling consequences for the series as a whole. Her chemistry with Robert Pattinson is one of the most intriguing aspects of the film.

The relationship between Batman and James Gordon is a huge part of the film or as The Penguin puts it "Good Cop, Bat-Cop". Batman unlike his previous version works very closely with law enforcements.

The Batcycle and Batmobile, two trademarks for a good Batman story is grounded in reality like the film. Gone are the days of futuristic far fetched vehicles Matt Reeves has opted for very real vehicles on steroids and has created absolutely treatworthy sequences with them.

The battle between truth and lies, which runs throughout Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, takes on new meaning in the Riddler's desire for social justice and revenge on Batman. It's as timely and thematically sophisticated as ever, Reeves uses the concept to give Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred Pennyworth's character a different approach.

The film's cinematography has created the most gloomy and enthralling Gotham City in recent memory. This film is as much a visual revelation as it is a plot and substance, the city of Gotham no longers look fictional but an actual city that we might be living in. The Batman score is simply awesome and like the previous Bat-composers like Hans Zimmer, this score is set to become iconic in the future.

DC Comics have steadily rowed with the changing times and have given critics and audiences plenty to keep turning back to. Matt Reeves’s film ushers a new age for its eternally evolving characters by primarily being a stand-alone story, and while the sequel-baiting is there towards its conclusion, it’s a film which is different yet rooted in something that can only be explained as Batman-ess, as a titular superhero film should be.