The Batman (4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review)

Matt Reeves (War for the Planet of the Apes) directs this latest reboot of the Caped Crusader, The Batman. With Robert Pattinson donning the cape and cowl, Reeves gives us a dark and brooding crime story of a young Bruce Wayne/Batman, not unlike the animated series that bears the same name.

Also like that animated series, this film reimagines the supervillains of Gotham, giving us a menacing portrayal of The Riddler by Paul Dano and in makeup making him unrecognizable, a Penguin by Colin Farrell who is less cartoonish and more pathetic and dangerous.

In this story, the Batman finds himself trying to solve the mystery of a ruthless serial killer who is killing the elites of Gotham City. His only assistance comes in the form of the slinky night prowler Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz), who is somehow connected to mob boss Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) and the only seemingly incorruptible cop on the Gotham Police force, Lt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright).

This is dark, this is brutal, this is a film that is grounded. The action sequences are limited to things that could happen in the real world. For example, when Batman jumps off a building to make a daring escape, he must zip himself up in a wingsuit, which is a real thing, and the landing is rough. The car chase may stretch reality, but the Batmobile is a down-to-earth muscle car. And the fights are street brawls.

Robert Pattinson does an extraordinary job as Batman, resurrecting the character after what, in my opinion, was a terrible run by Ben Affleck. Pattinson is brooding, dangerous, and full of angst. The sultry and powerful Kravitz packs her own punch as well as Kyle, the soon-to-be Catwoman, and the pair offer up some palpable on-screen chemistry that makes watching them and this film an absolute delight.

The Batman (2022)

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The Video

The Batman arrives in a HEVC 2160p (4K UHD) encodement with Dolby Vision HDR framed at 2.39:1. It has a MaxLL of 413 nits and a MaxFALL of 65 nits. This disc will push your display to its limits. It will test the ability of your display to handle black levels and shadow details. It’s dark, very dark, those blacks are inky, but they look great, and there’s very little noise or crush. The Dolby Vision offers excellent range as we see superb delineation between darks and lights, pitch black and bright sparks. One of the greatest test scenes is when the Batmobile makes its big appearance in the car chase with Penguin. In comparison, the Blu-ray does not have such deep black levels and looks just a little bit noisier – and forget about the streaming version. Not only does the gamma look a bit raised in comparison, but there is also apparent noise and other issues in the stream, and I’m on a hardwired gigabit broadband connection.

The Audio

This will most definitely become a show piece audio mix with it revving engines, gunshots, high-flying sound effects, and bombastic low end. The dialogue comes through clear, and the dynamic range is fantastic. In comparison, the streaming, lossless Atmos on HBO Max is dynamically squeezed.

The Supplements

The Batman comes with an extra special features Blu-ray Disc with over two-hours of bonus features. Warner Bros. provides everything from looks at the costumes, deep dives into how some of the action sequences were developed and deleted scenes. What we don’t have is a feature-length audio commentary, but the deleted scenes have optional audio commentaries.

• Movies Anywhere Digital Code
• Blu-ray w/Feature Film
• Blu-ray With Special Features
• Anatomy of the Wing Suit Jump (1080p; 00:06:29) – A signature stunt and one of the coolest gadgets in Batman’s arsenal, this featurette looks at the creation of the wing suit from idea to execution. Cutting-edge drone photography and LED-based virtual production bring the entire sequence to life.
• Vengeance in the Making (1080p; 00:53:41) — Matt Reeves returns to Batman’s detective roots with a new take on an 80-year-old tale. This main documentary explores how Reeves and his cast and crew brought one of the biggest productions of the Caped Crusader to life.
• Unpacking the Icons (1080p; 00:05:47) – A piece about craft, and a portrait of each of the main characters through the props and costume details that define them. Fans get an extensive look at gadgets, weapons, and tools used by our favorite characters in the world of The Batman.
• Transformation: The Penguin (1080p; 00:07:59) –Witness the incredible transformation of Colin Farrell into the iconic Penguin. This piece reveals the make-up process and how the look created the character. Colin also shares how the prosthetics helped him find the voice and personality of Oz.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 00:07:47)
• Deleted Scenes w/Commentary

The Final Assessment

This is the best entry in the Batman big screen franchise since The Dark Knight. DC seems great at doing Batman and great at doing single asset franchises, and this is proof. This 4K release is also top of the heap. Highly recommended.

The Batman is out on 4K Ultra HD Combo May 24, 2022 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

• Rating Certificate: PG-13 (for strong violent and disturbing content, drug content, strong language, and some suggestive material)
• Studios & Distributors: Warner Bros. | DC Entertainment | 6th & Idaho Productions | Dylan Clark Productions | Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
• Director: Matt Reeves
• Written By: Matt Reeves | Peter Craig | Bill Finger (Batman created by)
• Run Time: 176 Mins.
• Street Date: 24 May 2022
• Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
• Video Format: HEVC 2160p (4K UHD)
• HDR Format: Dolby Vision (HDR10 Compatible)
• MaxLL: 413 nits
• MaxFALL: 65 nits
• Primary Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Compatible)
• Secondary Audio: English DD 5.1 | English Descriptive Audio (US) | English Descriptive Audio (UK) | French DD 5.1 | German Dolby Atmos | German DD 5.1 | German Descriptive Audio | Italian Dolby Atmos | Italian DD 5.1 | Spanish DD 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH | French | German SDH | Italian SDH | Spanish | Danish | Finnish | Norwegian | Swedish