THE BATMAN Star Robert Pattinson Talks About How His Batman Is an Ineffective and Bad Hero
It turns out that Robert Pattinson’s version of the Dark Knight in The Batman is an ineffective version of the character that really isn’t good at what he is trying to do. In fact, he’s making things worse and might just be part of the problem of Gotham City. This is certainly a different approach to the character, and it’s going to be interesting to see how that’s all going to work in the story.
During a recent interview with GQ magazine, Pattinson offered this new insight on the character, explaining:
“Normally, in all the other movies, Bruce goes away, trains, and returns to Gotham believing in himself, thinking, I’m gonna change things here. But in this, it’s sort of implied that he’s had a bit of a breakdown. But this thing he’s doing, it’s not even working. Like, it’s two years into it, and the crime has gotten worse since Bruce started being Batman. The people of Gotham think that he’s just another symptom of how shit everything is.”
Pattinson went on to discuss the psychology of his version of Batman and how it’s specifically different from what fans have come to expect from the other movies. While the character is driven by the death of his parents, it’s not in the typical way that we’ve seen from Batman in other iterations:
“All the other stories say the death of his parents is why Bruce becomes Batman, but I was trying to break that down in what I thought was a real way, instead of trying to rationalize it. He’s created this intricate construction for years and years and years, which has culminated in this Batman persona. But it’s not like a healthy thing that he’s done ... almost like a drug addiction.”
Pattinson revealed that he’s seen a rough cut of the movie and shared his thoughts on it, saying:
“I watched a rough cut of the movie by myself and the first shot is so jarring from any other Batman movie that it’s just kind of a totally different pace. It was what Matt was saying from the first meeting I had with him: ‘I want to do a ’70s noir detective story, like The Conversation.’ And I kind of assumed that meant the mood board or something, the look of it. But from the first shot, it’s, Oh, this actually is a detective story. And I feel like an idiot, because I didn’t even know that Batman was ‘the world’s greatest detective’; I hadn’t heard that in my life before—but it really plays.”
The actor went on to say:
“It’s a sad movie. It’s kind of about him trying to find some element of hope, in himself, and not just the city. Normally, Bruce never questions his own ability; he questions the city’s ability to change. But I mean, it’s kind of such an insane thing to do: the only way I can live is to dress up as a bat.”
Damn, I can’t wait to watch this movie! Here’s the synopsis:
Two years of stalking the streets as the Batman (Robert Pattinson), striking fear into the hearts of criminals, has led Bruce Wayne deep into the shadows of Gotham City. With only a few trusted allies -- Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis), Lt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) -- amongst the city's corrupt network of officials and high-profile figures, the lone vigilante has established himself as the sole embodiment of vengeance amongst his fellow citizens.
When a killer targets Gotham's elite with a series of sadistic machinations, a trail of cryptic clues sends the World's Greatest Detective on an investigation into the underworld, where he encounters such characters as Selina Kyle/aka Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), Oswald Cobblepot/aka the Penguin (Colin Farrell), Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), and Edward Nashton/aka the Riddler (Paul Dano). As the evidence begins to lead closer to home and the scale of the perpetrator's plans becomes clear, Batman must forge new relationships, unmask the culprit, and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has long plagued Gotham City.
The Batman opens in theaters on March 4th.