The Batman Proved People Hated Twilight For The Wrong Reasons

Robert Pattinson’s portrayal of Bruce Wayne in DC‘s The Batman shares certain qualities with his role as Edward Cullen in the Twilight saga, yet he was criticized for his acting in the vampire romance movies but praised for the comic book film. Matt Reeves’ The Batman faced the challenge of reinventing the Caped Crusader as a grounded hero ten years after Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy raised the bar for realistic adaptations of the DC hero. Yet, The Batman measured up to the task and delivered an innovative take on a gritty Batman.

Robert Pattinson has been building a successful acting career with roles such as Ephraim Winslow a.k.a. Thomas Howard in Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse, Neil in Tenet, Preston Teagardin in The Devil All The Time, and Bruce Wayne in DC’s Elseworlds movie, The Batman — all of which have helped the actor leave behind his controversial time as Edward Cullen, the vampire protagonist of the Twilight franchise. Despite his proven talent, Robert Pattinson has been criticized for his wooden, awkward, and even creepy performance in the Twilight movies. However, Edward Cullen and Bruce Wayne aren’t too different from each other.

Pattinson’s Batman Owes A Lot To Edward Cullen

Although reactions to Robert Pattinson’s casting as Batman weren’t unanimously positive at first, his performance has been widely regarded as a positive aspect of the movie. Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne starts out as a shut-in misanthrope with a quiet, brooding attitude. His stoic demeanor leads to awkward social interactions, though he doesn’t seem to mind them due to his obsession with one single goal. Unlike other Batman portrayals, Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne is far from being a playboy celebrity. Instead, he’s an outcast who receives weird looks whenever he’s in public.

Likewise, Robert Pattinson’s Edward Cullen is reserved, serious, and intimidating due to his odd behavior around people, even after opening up to Bella Swan. Edward’s self-loathing slowly unravels as he grows obsessed with Bella, though he isolates himself even more as the story progresses. Robert Pattinson portrays Bruce Wayne and Edward Cullen’s odd personalities and inner conflict quite effectively, but Twilight‘s many other flaws led his performance to come off as stilted and unintentionally funny, even though Pattinson’s acting skills weren’t the problem.

Related: The Batman 2 Risks Losing What Made Pattinson’s Batman Unique

Why Twilight’s Movies Were So Divisive

Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight novels were a massive phenomenon that rivaled the Harry Potter franchise in the late 2000s and early 2010s. The easily accessible but timeless premise of an impossible love between a human and a supernatural being landed at the right time, and the rise of social media helped it become a pop culture behemoth. However, Twilight‘s weaknesses were evident since the first movie adaptation was released. The Twilight movies were heavily criticized because they barely featured vampires and werewolves in their full glory, fell short in various technical departments like visual effects and make-up, and struggled to choose between a serious tone or a campy one.

Most importantly, the Twilight franchise was filled with problematic implications, including Edward and Bella’s toxic relationship, as well as Edward’s disturbing behavior, which included stalking Bella and watching her while she slept. The somber performance required from Robert Pattinson limited his portrayal and made his already questionable actions seem more perverted. Robert Pattinson simply had no material to play with. Edward had no chance to break out of his creepy mold throughout five Twilight movies, whereas The Batman‘s script justified Bruce Wayne’s personality with a character arc that left him with a very different outlook on life before the first sequel, Matt Reeves’ The Batman – Part II, was even announced.