“The Batman,” directed by Matt Reeves, is the first DC Comics live-action project to hit the big screen in 2022, bringing a new and thrilling origin story to the caped crusaders name.

The film starts off with Batman protecting the streets of Gotham and striking fear into the hearts of criminals. As things get worse, Bruce Wayne (Batman) realizes his plan is not having the impact he expected.

Tensions rise as we are revealed to the main antagonist of the film, a sadistic killer known as the Riddler, whose goal is to target and murder Gotham’s top ranked officials, exposing their corruption.

Helpfully, the Riddler leaves cryptic clues for Batman, forcing him into the city’s dark side, populated by the likes of the top mob leaders known as Oswald Cobblepot and Carmine Falcone.

The major difference that separates this film from other Batman projects is the detective aspect. Batman is known as the world’s greatest detective in the DC universe, and previous directors failed to represent this side of Wayne. Instead of cutting out the mystery solving, Reeves immerses you into the world of “The Batman,” bringing you along every step of the way as every clue and puzzle is uncovered.

Robert Pattinson absolutely killed his role as Batman, and his portrayal of him sets the bar to a whole new level. Pattinson is the most sullen of the actors to have played the character. He doesn’t care whether he lives or dies, and he shows how confident and fearless Batman really is.

For the past fourteen years, Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker in “The Dark Knight” has been considered to be the best performance of the Joker to ever hit the big screen. Freshman at Canyon High School, Myles Orozco said “Heath Ledger will never be topped in terms of the Joker and a villain in general, but Paul Dano’s Role as the Riddler was genuinely terrifying and can be argued to be on par or a runner up to Heath’s performance.”

There is no doubt that Paul Dano’s Riddler was intimidating throughout the film. Dano’s iteration of the infamous killer is dark and broody. His methods of killing are gruesome for a movie rated PG-13, and the way he leaves his clues can be humorous at times.

Reeves has flawlessly perfected what previous directors have struggled to bring to the big screen. Pattinson is the most extraordinary actor, and his performance was unbelievable. “The Batman” was worth every minute of watch time, and is possibly the greatest Batman film released to date.