Film review: The Batman
The superhero movie reinvented as noir-ish detective thriller
To spend 86 minutes in the company of Don Letts – DJ, film-maker, musician, social commentator and “thoroughly engaging raconteur” – is an intense pleasure, said Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian. As this “gripping” documentary explains, Letts was a rebellious kid who, after literally setting fire to his classroom desk, played a vital role in London’s music scene in the late 1970s.
As a DJ at the Roxy in Covent Garden, he helped create an unlikely alliance between punks and Rastafarians, and struck “a powerful cultural blow against racism”. Having used his Super-8 camera to shoot memorable footage of The Clash and the Sex Pistols, he then directed music videos, formed Big Audio Dynamite with Mick Jones, and made films. He speaks eloquently about punk rock – a living genre, in his view – but everything he says is “a manifesto for humanity and creativity”.
Narrated by the man himself, Rebel Dread “communicates that a life spent chasing the next great song is a life well lived”, said John Nugent in Empire. Letts has a knack of finding himself in the right place at the right time, and the film evokes an “incandescent” era when music, fashion, politics and art were all in radical flux. It’s vibrant, fast and funny, if a little one-sided.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It does sometimes verge on hagiography, agreed Saskia Baron on The Arts Desk, but Letts has had such a dynamic career that the lack of critical voices is forgivable. There’s a wealth of great archive footage and memorable anecdotes from the likes of John Lydon. The section on Letts’s first visit to Jamaica to explore his roots and meet the reggae bands he idolised is particularly fascinating. This is an entertaining gallop through an “extraordinary” life.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Taking aim at Venezuela’s autocrat
Feature The Trump administration is ramping up military pressure on Nicolás Maduro. Is he a threat to the U.S.?
-
Comey indictment: Is the justice system broken?
Feature U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan has indicted former FBI Director James Comey on charges of lying and obstructing Congress
-
Government shuts down amid partisan deadlock
Feature As Democrats and Republicans clash over health care and spending, the shutdown leaves 750,000 federal workers in limbo
-
Mustardy beans and hazelnuts recipe
The Week Recommends Nod to French classic offers zingy, fresh taste
-
Susie Dent picks her favourite books
The Week Recommends The lexicographer and etymologist shares works by Jane Goodall, Noel Streatfeild and Madeleine Pelling
-
6 incredible homes under $1 million
Feature Featuring a home in the National Historic Landmark District of Virginia and a renovated mid-century modern house in Washington
-
The Harder They Come: ‘triumphant’ adaptation of cinema classic
The Week Recommends ‘Uniformly excellent’ cast follow an aspiring musician facing the ‘corruption’ of Kingston, Jamaica
-
House of Guinness: ‘rip-roaring’ Dublin brewing dynasty period drama
The Week Recommends The Irish series mixes the family tangles of ‘Downton’ and ‘Succession’ for a ‘dark’ and ‘quaffable’ watch
-
Dead of Winter: a ‘kick-ass’ hostage thriller
The Week Recommends Emma Thompson plays against type in suspenseful Minnesota-set hair-raiser ‘ringing with gunshots’
-
A Booker shortlist for grown-ups?
Talking Point Dominated by middle-aged authors, this year’s list is a return to ‘good old-fashioned literary fiction’
-
Fractured France: an ‘informative and funny’ enquiry
The Week Recommends Andrew Hussey's work is a blend of ‘memoir, travelogue and personal confession’