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When Matt Reeves picked up The Batman, one of the biggest challenges from the get-go was pairing his script with a version of Gotham suited to the dark and realistic vibes he envisioned for Bruce Wayne and company. Now that the film is out, it bears saying that this version of Gotham City is arguably the best rendition of DC’s New York.
This is a title Reeves’ Gotham could aspire to by the sheer beauty and aesthetic composition achieved in The Batman, a feat partly accomplished with the help of Greig Fraser’s cinematography work, however, this city’s charm or lack thereof is hardly about looks. While the premise of a deeply corrupt Gotham is nothing new, and even in recent memory Christopher Nolan made sure to expose those aspects as a key part of the caped crusader’s struggles, these traits shine through even more in The Batman’s setting.
Gotham Is A Real City With Very Real Villains
It’s a known fact that Gotham is mostly inspired by New York City, nevertheless, it’s a downtrodden version of New York where the people up top don’t serve its citizens but rather criminals like Carmine Falcone, Salvatore Maroni and the Penguin. In a day and age where nearly half the world’s population lives under authoritarian regimes, there are many corners where corruption like the one seen in The Batman is not fiction but a reality, and authorities being fully complicit with criminals is not scandalous due to how normal it is.
When Bruce learns his parents' murder was possibly not just a one-off tragedy, but instead a symptom of the type of corruption not even an upright mega-rich man like his father could escape, it becomes obvious that The Riddler is different from Nolan’s Joker because he’s also a partial victim of the system. When in The Dark Knight Alfred warns Bruce “some men just want to watch the world burn”, he presents the hero with a different reality, that of a villain who only seeks chaos and is not even bothered by things like money or power.
The difference is subtle, yet by playing devil’s advocate it’s possible to see the Riddler murders as somewhat justified criminal actions, a point even Batman can get on board with when he tells Selina all the victims made decisions that put them in the killer’s crosshairs. Most notably, there is no greater evidence that the city itself is the true enemy Batman is facing than the fact that locking up Falcone and capturing the Riddler is still not enough to halt the latter’s plans.
The Riddler Is A Gotham Byproduct
A good script is often packed with turning points for its protagonists, moments where a single decision establishes new ground from which the character can no longer go back, those are what define their convictions and motivations. In The Batman’s case, what often drives the narrative that forces the characters to act in one way or another is the city and its endless web of corruption.
For example, the Riddler eventually tells Batman of his poor and traumatic childhood as an orphan and his first-hand encounter with evidence of the corruption that brought on that miserable upbringing was his awakening. Just like Bruce at the start of the film, he is driven by vengeance, and his desire quickly becomes contagious once the truth about Gotham starts to come out of the shadows.
The Riddler doesn't really go through any changes at all, save for his failure to convince Batman to work alongside him, but by revealing the Maroni scandal, he convinces some citizens to buy into his plan. Even Batman’s lessons towards the end of the film stem not from his encounters with other characters, as he acknowledges the failure of the vengeance motto once he finds out he was also swayed down the same destructive path.
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There is nonetheless a power struggle in Gotham, the problem is that taking down Maroni just brings in Falcone, getting rid of Falcone makes room for the Penguin, and so on, like a Batman-themed meme of Moe tossing Barney out of his bar. There’s no separation of powers, and although Gordon’s band of good cops can entice hope, that alone is not enough.
Andy Serkis commented on Gotham acting like a character of its own in The Batman, and if one can buy into that idea, it’s crystal clear that the city is an incredibly powerful villain. Previously the biggest attempt to explore Gotham so deeply came in the eponymous TV series, a show that for all its merits was still focused on constantly introducing new characters that would flourish in the city’s dysfunctional landscape.
Reeves’ Gotham is a very interesting environment, so seeing more of it develop in the upcoming Penguin spinoff should be a treat for anyone who enjoyed the movie. One of the few criticisms directed at the film is that this Batman doesn’t feel like Batman, however, maybe the reason why that is the case is because even a young Bruce Wayne can’t help but fall for the dangerous lure Gotham has this time around just like people can resist the urge to go see The Batman.
The Batman is currently available in theaters.