“The Batman” was released on streaming services on April 18, and has revived a once controversial question for Batman fans: which actor played the best Batman, and which one had the best movie? There have been many great actors to play Batman, like Michael Keaton, George Clooney, and Ben Affleck.”The Dark Knight,” directed by Chrisopher Nolan and featuring Christian Bale as Batman, is considered by many fans to be the greatest comic-book movie ever released, with none of the other movies coming anywhere close to  With all of these great actors and movies, expectations have been set high for any actor willing to play Batman, which is why “The Batman” star Robert Pattinson received backlash when he was initially cast in 2019. Most critics believed that the role of Batman was too serious of a character compared to previous movies Pattinson has starred in like the Twilight Saga and Harry Potter. Despite his reputation as an actor, and after watching The Batman on HBO Max, I was very impressed. “The Batman,” with a runtime of two hours and 56 minutes, was filled with beautiful cinematography, well-written characters, and lots of suspense and action. The accurate portrayal of Batman, along with the excellent performances by Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman and Paul Dano as the Riddler, makes me confident in saying that this is the greatest Batman movie ever.

One of the best parts about “The Batman” was its focus on being suspenseful and unsettling rather than just prioritizing the action. With the Riddler’s performance based off a psychopathic, sadistic murderer, which is a more grim adaptation of the character, it felt like I was watching a horror movie at times. Paul Dano’s performance left me feeling uneasy, and it made the riddler seem more menacing than he usually appears. The use of lighting in “The Batman” adds to its dark feeling, making Batman appear as some sort of urban legend, as he usually seems to just magically emerge from the shadows. Another part of “The Batman” that added to the movie’s enjoyability was the use of cinematography to show the emotions of certain scenes and characters. Scenes like the car chase and the mayor’s murder investigation do a great job showing how Batman operates as a detective, but also how others feel within his presence, uncomfortable and afraid. Pattinson also rarely ever speaks while he is in his Batsuit, so he relies heavily on showing emotion with his eyes. This adds to his unsettling aura and makes the movie more interesting to experience.

As great as “The Batman” is, its major flaw is having a long run-time. There is never a dull moment throughout the movie, but some scenes feel unnecessary. There are times where scenes are intense, but stuffed with dialogue that is bound to make some people bored, especially for people who aren’t patient or interested in the movie to begin with. Besides that, “The Batman” is a suspenseful and emotional masterpiece. I highly recommend that you watch “The Batman” now that it is more accessible through streaming services.