Early Reactions for Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman’ Are In

The early reactions to The Batman are in, and they’re spectacular.

Directed and co-written by Matt Reeves, and starring Robert Pattinson as the Caped Crusader, the film stands alone from past iterations. Here, a young Bruce Wayne is in year two of his life as a masked vigilante when he must confront the mysterious Riddler, played by Paul Dano. After the review and reaction embargo lifted at noon on Monday, people who have already seen the film flooded social media with praise for this latest take on the DC superhero. 

Erik Davis of Fandango called it a “ferocious detective drama punctuated by moments of incredibly visceral action,” while Next Best Picture editor-in-chief Matt Neglia compared it to David Fincher’s Se7en, and called it “epic, dark, and thematically rich.” 

Reeves’ direction is getting a lot of the early praise, while Alex Stedman’s review for IGN highlights Zoë Kravitz and Paul Dano for their takes on Catwoman and Riddler, respectively. A.V. Club critic A.A. Dowd offered huge compliments to Michael Giacchino’s score, which he said is “somehow in the same league as the operatic themes Danny Elfman once lent the franchise.” The early Rotten Tomatoes score sits at an impressive 96 percent from 71 reviews, with critics raving about the moody new take on the character.

Collider editor-in-chief Steven Weintraub called it “unlike any Batman movie you’ve seen,” fully justifying its intimidating 176-minute running time. “The 3-hour run time allows scenes to breathe,” he added. “No quick cuts. No wasted moment.” Erick Weber of Awards Ace, meanwhile, called The Batman “the most artistically stunning CBM [comic book movie] ever made.” 

Also starring in the film is Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, and Colin Farrell as Oswald ‘Penguin’ Cobblepot. 

The Batman hits theaters on Friday, March 4. 

Check out some notable early reactions below.