The caped crusader, the dark knight… Batman; whatever you call him, he’s back. “The Batman” isn’t a superhero movie, at least not how you’d think of one. The film has all the workings of a Batman superhero movie: sinister villains, fighting, action, the batmobile, and of course, Batman seeking justice for his city by his own rules. However this time around, the movie is darker, grittier and digs into the psyche of Batman, his enemies and the forlorn city of Gotham.

Batman delves into Gotham’s underbelly when a sadistic killer (the Riddler) – whose derangement leaves you wanting to try to laugh in hopes of making the discomfort he instills more palatable – leaves a trail of cryptic clues addressed to the batman. As the evidence begins to lead closer home and the gravity of the killer’s plans become clearer, Batman must forge new relationships, unmask the killer and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has plagued Gotham for so long.

Directed by Matt Reeves, The Batman was released in theaters on Mar. 4 and has since received an 85% on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8.4/10 on IMBD. With a budget of $185-200 million and a nearly three-hour runtime, the movie stars Robert Pattinson (Batman) accompanied by Zoë Kravitz (Catwoman), Paul Dano (Riddler), Colin Farrell (Penguin) and Jeffery Wright (James Gordon).

Due to his most well-known role in the melodramatic vampire saga, Twilight, Pattinson has been seen as an “angsty teen heartthrob.” When he was first announced to be playing Batman it led to backlash from viewers. Junior David Simmons said, “When I heard that Robert Pattinson would be playing Batman I thought it made no sense but after seeing the movie I definitely think they made the right choice.”

Pattinson has spent years trying to bury his teen vampire image by taking on more artistic roles in movies like Good Time and The Lighthouse. These complex roles seem to have prepared Pattinson for Reeves’ abject take on Batman and his more isolated, detached Bruce Wayne. As opposed to a suave heir to a fortune going about the night, kicking ass in a cool expensive suit, this Batman is a tortured mind in meticulous thought. He is detached from our world, only seeing the sin and corruption in Gotham as he seeks to eradicate it.

Since the movie came out there has been debate as to whether or not The Batman has topped Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. Some people, like senior James Lieske, believe that the movie was too long and didn’t have enough action to hold their attention.“What I believe sets the dark knight above The Batman is the dedication Heath Ledger had to the role of the joker. He played the part as not a typical joker and that really stood out to me, which really sets The Dark Knight movie apart from The Batman,” Lieske said.

Those in support of the new batman argue that the point of this movie wasn’t to have an action-packed superhero, it was to dive deeper into Batman as a person, not just a superhero. Senior class president Dylan Safai said, “I thought (The Batman) was better since as a stand-alone movie it was able to deliver the same breath as The Dark Knight Rises was able to, without needing two other movies to support it.”

If you keep anything from this article let it be that this isn’t a superhero action movie with some drama like previous batman movies. No, this is a dark and gritty noir film accompanied by engrossing action; it’s about a hero consumed by his contentious crusade for vengeance and the harrowing complexities of him, his lawless city, and the tortured people within it.