Tickets sold out immediately for 2022’s brand new “The Batman” movie’s “Fan First Premiere” screening on March 1.

The ticket bonanza seemed to reinforce the idea that the hype for the film was very existent and incredibly expressive. Audiences sat down and awaited for the opening credits to roll… it was definitely a moment of awe for many of them.

There’s something special about watching a movie in the cinema as intended. Though “The Batman” is the first film from Warner Bros since the pandemic to not be released on HBO Max, the same experience in IMAX wouldn’t have been possible at home. With the peak intensity of the Batmobile’s violent exhaust roar, the horror of the film’s soundtrack and the thump of each punch, “The Batman” simply requires a theater for watching.

“The Batman” movie runs a wild two hours and fifty-six minutes—credits included. Even though it appears lengthy on paper, this film couldn’t have been made any other way.

There is an element of incredible suspense in this film, one that “The Batman” director Matt Reeves grasped by learning and applying from other cinematic masterpieces. Like some of his other franchises that terrified audiences from years ago, this movie was a geniously-made horror flick.

Reeves takes note of many well-executed styles from typical horror films like “Saw” and “Se7en” and applies them to the detective superhero film that “The Batman” seems to become.

Shocking, suspenseful and mysterious, “The Batman” manages to place sense to the darkness everyone has come to know Batman for.

The film takes lots of pride in showcasing the community’s reaction to the menacing figure that lurks in the dark. The worldbuilding creates an extra level of immersion and suspense for the audience to see play out on screen, in which they can invest in not only the city of Gotham, but also the characters that are within it.

This film is riddled with wonderful performances from Robert Pattinson, who plays the daunting dark-eyed Batman, Zoë Kravitz who plays the vengeful Catwoman, Paul Dano who plays a brutal Riddler and Colin Ferral who plays the “Goodfellas”-inspired mob boss known as The Penguin. All of these actors coming together and putting their efforts into their performances  magnificently captures the city of Gotham and the underground world within it.

One of the most shocking factors that audiences discovered was how sadistic and intense this new Batman film could be.

Matt Reeves is capable of capturing gruesome elements in a PG-13 film. While it appears to be watchable by children, it is everything but that.

This film does something most of its predecessors failed to do—make Bruce Wayne a viable and investable character. Time and time again, we’ve seen the vengeful Bruce Wayne try to cope with his parents death and support the city of Gotham, yet the villains always seem to take his spotlight. The villains are seen to be the more intriguing character while Batman’s only trait is to blow punches and use technology to defeat them.

This film throws you right in and makes you watch Batman slowly unravel a mystery full of traps and mysterious clues that result in many mistakes along the way. Batman’s pretentiousness, blind spots and failures are used to hurt Gotham City, and he is forced to deal with the consequences of his actions.

The film deals with heavy subjects. Whether it be death, heartbreak or even the world of prostitution and criminal mob bosses working with political figures, “The Batman” creates a world similar to ours and makes the audience emotionally invested in the universe.

The soundtrack is beautifully grand, bold and tense—which adds more dark to the night—and  complements the wonderfully noir-inspired cinematography that captures criminals and heroes.

As an establishing film, the writing in “The Batman” is beautiful but wickedly creative. Watching the film play out is like watching a story you could create yourself, as if it was a creative dream put on the screen.

The question that remains is whether or not “The Batman” trumps the well loved “The Dark Knight” directed by Christopher Nolan.

“The Batman” does its best at fixing every mistake “The Dark Knight” failed and neglected to address. Giving depth, realities and challenges to Bruce Wayne and not making him just a character to fight the bad really reflects well in this film. It also acknowledges the horror he brings to the city as the masked vigilante adds more intensity to it.

During most chase sequences, the audience remained on the edge of their seats. When the built-up justice was bound to be delivered, everyone could feel the emotional attachment, anxiety and excitement each fan had—something that was more intense that the famous Dark Knight franchise brought.

Many superhero movies create excitement by using nostalgia and feed you what you want, but an amazing film can give that to you by simply building off its foundation to create something new.

That is what “The Batman” does.

Inspired by what made cinema what it is today, nothing in its genre can compare currently to the ruthless, no holds barred story “The Batman” shows to its audience.

Gabe Kanae can be reached at jaedynyoung@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.