Netflix is about to remove the best superhero movie of the decade

Some have argued that it's also the best film featuring its lead superhero ever.

The 2022 film saw Robert Pattinson step into the shoes of billionaire Bruce Wayne, with its story focusing on his early years as the caped vigilante Batman.

The movie sees him pursuing a sadistic killer plaguing Gotham known as The Riddler (Paul Dano), who leaves behind him a trail of cryptic clues.

The Dark Knight's investigation results in him crossing paths with many major figures in his city's underworld, including gangster Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), his underling Oz Cobb/Penguin (Colin Farrell) and burglar Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz).

"As the scale of The Riddler's plans becomes clear, Batman must bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that plagues the metropolis," the plot synopsis reads.

Co-written and directed by Matt Reeves (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), the superhero flick also features Andy Serkis, Jeffrey Wright, Peter Sarsgaard, as well as notable small roles for Irish actors Barry Keoghan and Peter McDonald.

Upon release, The Batman was a smash hit with both audiences and critics, earning praise for its detective noir-inspired story and visuals, its gritty performances, its action set-pieces and its soundtrack.

In fact, at the time of its release, JOE made the big claim that it was even better than Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight.

A sequel has been in the works for the past few years, while the film also spawned an equally beloved 2024 spin-off TV series.

Titled The Penguin, the show focused on Farrell's character.

While the series was airing, JOE chatted to the Irish Oscar-nominee about the strong Irish connections in both The Batman and The Penguin.

We asked Farrell if he was aware when he joined the 2022 blockbuster that there was going to be such an Irish presence in the franchise going forward.

JOE also asked if that was something he encouraged on The Penguin.

And while Farrell said this had nothing to do with him, he was quick to praise his Banshees’ co-stars Gleeson (who appeared in the recent Joker sequel) and Keoghan, stating it was their talent alone that led to them being sought out to join the superhero franchise.

You can see his answer in full below:

“No, I wasn’t aware of it and didn’t encourage it. Nothing to do with me, no. That’s just Barry’s talent and Matt Reeves being drawn to Barry’s talent and Brendan’s talent and [Joker 2 director] Todd Phillips being drawn to Brendan’s talent.

“So, no it was nothing to do with me. I didn’t even join the dots. Really cool to hear that, actually. That’s cool.”

You can check out a clip of Farrell making these comments below.

As for The Batman, you can check out some of the glowing reviews for the blockbuster here:

Chicago Reader: "Robert Pattinson shuts all his haters up with a vulnerable and terrifying performance in Matt Reeves’s The Batman."

Houston Chronicle: "(Matt Reeves) transcends the clichés with a masterful, often tense and noir-as-night twist on the mythology that ranks with Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight as the best of all the Batman movies."

National Newspaper Publishers Association: "Reeves, Pattison and the talented cast and crew have created a crime/action/drama extraordinaire. A close to perfect superhero film that nips at the heels of the untouchable The Dark Knight."

Slate: "I left it still humming that Nirvana song and wondering what this messed-up new Bruce Wayne, cape streaming moodily behind him as he rode away on his bat-motorcycle, would get up to next."

The Batman was added to Netflix in Ireland and the UK last December.

It will be removed from the streaming giant next month, however.

Monday, 16 June will be Netflix users' last day to watch the superhero flick on the service.