Styles Jones

The soundtrack and acting were absolutely 5 stars; the plot was almost too. The first half of the movie was very engaging and worthy of a 5 star rating but in the latter half, without spoiling too much, the narrative becomes more telling than showing in my opinion, which in a movie with a mystery component you want to have that “ah ha” moment by puzzling things together. But back to the movie’s strongest aspects, Robert Pattinson and Zoe Kravitz should pat themselves on the back for this one, along with Michael Giacchino (the soundtrack guy). I liked the direction of Pattinson’s Batman: being more inward and awkward when he’s Bruce Wayne but a harsh brute when he’s Batman, which he nailed. Kravitz’s performance really captured Catwoman’s regal yet grittiness. Paul Dano performance was also wonderful, but because a majority of his appearances are styled in reference to Heath Ledger’s joker, it feels like the Riddler is just a shallow version of such an iconic character. What I enjoyed most from this film though, was the score. Giacchino not only made, in my opinion, the best Batman theme, but also subtly entwined it with other songs amongst the soundtrack. Also, I’m almost 100% certain that he, along with the cinematographers, references Rouge One: A Star Wars Story: layering the Imperial March within Batman’s theme, which put a big smile across my face so thank you for that Michael Giacchino and the cinematographers.

Disappointing, the premise is interesting but butchered with an awful script.