When The Batman was announced, attentions immediately turned to who would be donning the mask of the caped crusader. After a little while, it was revealed that Robert Pattinson would be playing Bruce Wayne – following in the footsteps of Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton and Val Kilmer.
Pattinson shot to stardom when Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire released in theatres back in 2004. Both before and after then he’s played a variety of different characters in different pictures over the years, proving his ability to tackle any genre, though not every film was a success.
Best: The Lost City Of Z (86%)
Released in 2016, The Lost City of Z told the story of British explorer Percy Fawcett, who journeys into the Amazon. Once there, he discovers evidence of a previously unknown, advanced civilization that could have once lived in the region. Scientists mock his belief, believing the Indigenous population to be brutes and savages, but an undeterred Fawcett returns to the jungle in an attempt to prove them wrong.
Pattinson plays Corporal Henry Costin, who declines the invitation to go along. It’s a deep movie, rich in storytelling, and having star-studded actors like Charlie Hunnam, Sienna Miller, Tom Holland and Ian McDiarmid on board, certainly helps. Fawcett’s fate is unknown at the end of the blockbuster, which only adds to the intrigue.
Worst: Bel Ami (27%)
Bel Ami sees Pattinson portray Georges Duroy, a broke former soldier living in Paris in the 1880s working as an office clerk. He meets an old friend named Charles Forestier, who helps his social standing improve by helping him get a job at the conservative newspaper La Vie Francaise, eventually having his diaries from the war published.
And that’s it. Even at 92 minutes, the movie feels long and going by critical reception, it’s no surprise it scored a lowly 27 percent. Not Pattinson’s finest hour, but there’s worst yet to come.
Best: Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (88%)
Pattinson takes on the role of Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It’s one of Harry’s toughest years at Hogwarts, with the Boy Who Lived forced to take part in the Triwizard Tournament, alongside fellow champions Cedric, Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum. At the end of the year, Harry then faces Lord Voldemort, narrowly escaping death in the spooky graveyard of Little Hangleton.
Cedric isn’t so lucky, however, and is brutally slaughtered by Peter Pettigrew on Voldemort’s orders. It’s one of the saddest moments in the entire series, but it’s a belter of a movie. Therefore, it’s no surprise it scored so highly among critics.
Worst: Remember Me (27%)
Remember Me is a love story, one where Pattinson portrays the role of Tyler, who falls in love with a girl called Ally. The pair spend the whole movie tip-toeing around each other and look destined for a happy ending when they cozy up towards the final moments of the film. However, in a ruthless move, it’s then implied that Tyler dies on 9/11.
The movie faced criticism afterward, with the Rotten Tomatoes’ review labeling the ending as “borderline offensive.” And this isn’t the only flaw, with the site’s consensus also saying it suffers from an “overly maudlin script.”
Best: The Childhood Of A Leader (89%)
Releasing in 2015 was The Childhood of a Leader, starring Pattinson as Charles Marker. The British actor isn’t the main character, with Berenice Bejo, Liam Cunningham and Stacy Martin all getting more screentime.
That said, he still features in the big twist, which involves Charles actually being the biological father of the main character, a young boy. The youngster temporarily retreats to the French countryside with his father and mother, with the latter there to negotiate the Treaty of Versailles. Over the course of the movie, Charles develops a huge ego, terrorizing other children nearby. It ends with him becoming a military leader of a fascist state, providing a warning about the dangers of such arrogance among those with power and wealth behind them.
Worst: Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (25%)
While it was Harry Potter that catapulted Pattinson into the spotlight, it was The Twilight Saga that truly catapulted him to superstardom. The movies were huge box office hits and Breaking Dawn: Part 1 was no exception, raking in a huge $712,205,856 worldwide. To put this into context, only Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 made more.
However, many could have been forgiven for wanting their money back. It’s described as, “Slow, joyless and loaded with unintentionally humorous moments.” Many weren’t impressed and even diehard fans had their complaints, which speaks volumes.
Best: The Lighthouse (90%)
Pattinson stars alongside Willem Dafoe in 2019’s psychological horror, The Lighthouse. The two men try to keep their sanity intact while living on a mysterious and desolate New England island in the 1890s, with the British actor taking on the role of Ephraim Winslow. He and Dafoe’s character, Thomas Wake, clash throughout the movie – with the film showing a twisted tale of loneliness and masculinity.
The ending is dark but that doesn’t stop it from scoring highly. The RT review lauds the performances of Pattinson and Dafoe, labeling them as “powerful” and director Robert Eggers is praised as a “filmmaker of exceptional talent.”
Worst: Little Ashes (24%)
Set in Spain between the 1920s and 1930s, Little Ashes tells the story of 18-year-old Salvador Dali, who Pattinson portrays. Dali arrives at art school in Madrid and becomes friend with the place’s social elite, poet Federico Garcia Lorca and Luis Bunuel.
Salvador changes over the course of the blockbuster, both in his life and regarding his political viewpoints, but critical reception labeled it as a drab movie, for the most part. It was released in 2009 but didn’t take off, either at the box office or with the critics.
Best: Good Time (92%)
These days, there’s a meme of Pattinson doing the rounds on social media. It shows him wearing an Adidas tracksuit on the set of Good Time back in 2017. Unfortunately, it takes the attention away from what is a splendid blockbuster, one that takes the gold medal when it comes to Pattinson’s movie scores on Rotten Tomatoes.
The British actor plays the role of a bank robber who does everything to free his disabled brother from prison, throwing himself into a journey through New York’s dark and dangerous criminal underworld to achieve his goals. In the end, Pattinson takes responsibility for his crimes, while his brother is able to join a therapy class. It’s a movie that shows the closeness of family and, according to Rotten Tomatoes, nothing the Brit has performed in is any better.
Worst: Queen Of The Desert (18%)
When you’ve got a cast starring Pattinson, Nicole Kidman, James Franco and Damian Lewis, you expect a pretty decent movie. After all, the quartet is all, individually, established in their line of work and are some of the biggest faces in Hollywood. However, unfortunately, critics felt that Queen of the Desert was anything but.
Telling the story of British traveler, writer, archaeologist, explorer, cartographer and political officer, Gertrude Bell, it was a laborious experience. And it’s low scoring was certainly justified, with many leaving movie theatres rather groggy and sleepy after 128 minutes of drab storytelling. Kidman was the only one who emerged with any credit, but even she could be forgiven for taking the paycheque on this one.
