Matt Reeves is a director who has injected soul into blockbuster filmmaking, most notably shepherding the latter two installments of the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise. Who'd have predicted that the two co-creators of Felicity would go on to direct such iconic franchises as Star Wars and Batman at the turn of the twenty-first century? Reeves has consistently shown himself on larger stages, which is why I hoped that another Batman remake under his direction would be worthwhile. Let's face it, dear reader, we'll probably never be more than three or four years away from another Batman film, whether it's a sequel or a reboot. If we're going back to the basics with Batman, I'm confident in entrusting the franchise to fascinating artists like Reeves. Even though Ben Affleck was the best part of Zack Snyder's reign, I was hoping for a Ben Affleck-directed Batman after he slipped beneath the cowl in 2014. After several delays, The Batman is finally here, and it's the next great box-office hope for desperate movie theaters until summer movies arrive (some are even charging a heftier ticket price, so consider it a blockbuster tax) The Batman is a three-course meal that should have been tossed aside sooner as a polished comic book extravaganza. Even after nearly three hours of Reeves' deep danky dive, you'll feel fulfilled, satiated, and a little addled, but if dank serial killer thrillers are your thing, you'll undoubtedly be eager for more. Gotham City is on the verge of a new mayoral election, as well as a murderous rampage. A masked guy known only as The Riddler (Paul Dano) is targeting the city's elites with cryptic letters written exclusively to "The Batman" (Robert Pattinson), the newfound vigilante attempting to scare would-be criminals. Selena Kyle (Zoe Kravtiz), a waitress at Gotham's grungy bar that also happens to be a favored market for huge crime leaders, turns out to be the key. Batman enlists Selena's assistance in piecing together the information needed to forecast the Riddler's next target and unearth decades of corruption in Gotham. The Batman is a character who dwells in a distinct cinematic universe. It's a methodical movie that takes its sweet time dwelling in the decrepit details. The plot is very similar to the serial killer formula of finding that first alarming murder and clue, leading to the next, learning more from each additional target to try and discern a pattern of connectivity, and finally learning that the grand scheme goes deeper than imagined, and is usually personal. It's more based as a detective procedural than any previous Batman incarnation, including missions where the Dark Knight goes undercover or enlists others to gather intel for his investigation If you've ever wished for the quote-unquote world's finest detective to spend more time sleuthing and less time typing at magic computers, now is your chance. This is a really dark and serious film, yet it doesn't feel claustrophobic. Fun can still be obtained, but on its own terms: satisfaction from developing momentum, seeing how this world mixes recognizable names and Batman aspects and learning more about the convoluted history of this city. Nobody is going to say something like, "I've had to acquire one of these."