The Batman Review: 7 Ups & 2 Downs

1. Alfred Is Slightly Undercooked

The Batman Alfred 2022
YouTube/Warner Bros Pictures

Firstly, Andy Serkis is a brilliant actor who nails his role as Alfred. Sadly, even his performance wasn't enough to keep the butler's head above water in this Batman retelling. That's not on Serkis - it's just clear that Matt Reeves plans to flesh the character out in subsequent sequels, and that never really gives him enough to do here.

Pennyworth isn't akin to Jared Leto's Joker in Suicide Squad (it's nowhere near that level of missed opportunity), but Alfred should surely feel like a central figure in Bruce Wayne's ongoing battle with mental fragility. He's literally the closest human being to Batman, and yet that never truly comes across.

He's background noise.

One gets the feeling they could've done loads more with Alfred. Why cast someone with the skills of Serkis and then reduce them to being one of the least-engaging characters in a story focused on exploring Wayne's crippling self-doubt and rage?

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.