I’ve been invited to an advance screening of “Batman Begins” this Monday evening. When I get home, I’ll write up a fast, spoiler-free review…presuming there’s anyone left on this board who HASN’T seen it yet, thanks to the preview screenings at recent Wizard conventions.
PAD
• 
Actually, PAD, can you give us one spoiler? That would be if the BatVisa make an apperance.
k,thnxs.
Boy, do I remember that. I saw it at a screening for DC editorial and freelancers. Everyone was watching with a sense of trepidation, because the buzz had not been good. And we quickly realized as the film unspooled that the negative buzz hadn’t even begun to encompass just how bad the film was.
But the low point was the charge card. When Batman whipped that out, there was–no exaggeration–an agonized scream from someone in the audience, like that of a dying soul. The source? Denny O’Neill, seated right behind me. Certainly that protesting outcry of pain reflected the thoughts of all of us, but Denny was the most vocal about it.
PAD
Youch. I think my brain must have simply blocked that bit from being written into permanent memory. Thank IDOC*.
-Rex Hondo-
* “Insert Deity Of Choice”
Actually, I almost saw it last Monday. The Loew’s Boston Common cinema was doing a press/special screening. I got a pass from the comic book store I shop at, but by the time I arrived, the theater was booked up. 🙁
Another quick spoiler request: does Scarecrow live (the first three movies offed a villian each…)?
BatVisa? Do I even want to know the context?
I didn’t even try to get into the showing in Philly last weekend. But I am going to see it on IMAX this weds.
After seeing Spidey 2 in IMAX last year I really think that’s the way to go with superhero flicks…..and heck, it’s only about $1 more than regular theaters and usually less crowded.
In case you decide you do want to know the context, snowcrash:
In “Batman and Robin”, Poison Ivy has used some kind of pollen to make everyone present at some charity auction she’s crashed … enamored … of her. (Of course, with Uma playing her, you don’t really need the pollen … anyway ….) Batman and Robin start trying to outbid each other for a date with her, to the point that … Batman whips out his Bat-ty credit card. ($1 million credit limit, was it, or $10 million?) Yah. (For the record, while his Batman was pretty close at times to … ’60’s TV [at least part of that is probably director Joel Schumacher’s fault], I liked George Clooney’s portrayal of Bruce Wayne. Conversely, I liked Kilmer’s Batman, in “Batman Forever”, while his Bruce Wayne – and maybe he was playing on the idea of Wayne as the false, shallow identity – just seemed too dead to me. I’ve thought it might have been interesting to have them both in a Batman movie, with Clooney as Wayne and Kilmer in the suit.)
BTW, PAD – what are you doing on here at 3:26 in the morning?? Is that how you can be SO prolific -you have the ability to go with just a handful of hours of sleep a night? Or did you just not have to be up in the morning? Either way, good for you 🙂
This may sound cruel, but it’s comforting to know that Denny O’Neill can be driven to the point of screaming out loud. We ordinary slobs make you guys into gods, and it’s nice to have a reminder that you’re mortal.
Now you, Mr. D., I know you’re mortal. You have kids, get frustrated, and I suspect you even go to the bathroom (no, I haven’t followed you there). But I know there was no bathroom on the Enterprise. Those people evolved beyond that need. And for the longest time, I suspect O’Neill supported the belief that he was of that elite. I’m glad that’s done with.
I never went to see what Schumacher did in that last one because a) I saw teh But-butt and Bat-nipples in a promo; b) Arnie was all wrong for Victor Fries – would have made a much better Bane, if Bane had been written properly; and c) in an interview before the film’s release, Clooney said his inspiration for how to portray the character was Adam West. I knew at that point it was going to suck Bat-balls.
Thomas Reed: At least on Enterprise, the ship still had sanitary facilities – there were a couple of shower scenes, and in one ep where Hoshi and Trip were stuck in decon and dying, she threw up into a toilet. Admittedly, by TNG, they seemed to get by with a small alcove containing a sink and a towel…
I can only hope that the villains don’t die at the end of the movie, nor does the romantic interest learn Batman’s true identity either if divulged by the butler (“Holy What’s It All About, Alfie?”) or from Bruce himself. 😀
Well, while his full review won’t be airing until Wednesday, “Mr. Moviefone” (who now does movie reviews as well as showtimes, in phone-ins to radio stations) gave this preview of his review yesterday:
“Katie Holmes: No gøddámņ good.
The rest of the movie: Fan-freakin’-tastic!”
I haven’t been to a convention in something on the order of close to twenty years, but I don’t mind spoilers. In any case, write what you want to write: it’s your weblog, sir.
(Of course, with Uma playing her, you don’t really need the pollen … anyway ….)
For me, the greatest of BATMAN & ROBIN’s many crimes was that it made Uma unattractive…a real achievement there. I love Uma but she played Poison Ivy as though she were RuPaul channeling Mae West. Awful.
Arnie was terrible as Mr. Freeze as well but there were moments where they got it right…the problem is that they couldn’t decide if he was a tragic figure or a comedic one so they did both. You have a great shot of his tears over his wife’s body freezing on his cheeks followed by some godawful pun “Ah am pooting you in da coolah! Get it? Coolah! Is funny because Ah am cold!” I wanted to gouge out my eyes and stuff them into my ears but figured that this would be perceived by many as an overreaction
Most of you are braver men (& women) then me. I never made it to Batman & Robin. The movie before that one killed 80% of my desire to see another and the trailer ads killed the other 20%.
Please, let this one bring the series back to greatness.
“Please, let this one bring the series back to greatness.”
It’s disputable whether the live action franchise was ever actually anywhere near great. We were able to forgive a LOT back in the day, just to get a comic book movie, but I couldn’t manage to sit through the firt Batman when I tried to watch it again a few years back. They just got so much WRONG.
Rubber suit. Batman killing people. Nearly univerally horrible casting. The insipid Hollywood need to add a love interest when one is not necessary, repeatedly. Abysmal fight choreography largely attributable to the RUBBER FREAKING SUIT. Probably the only two good things were the atmosphere and Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of the psychotic aspects of the Joker.
And it was all downhill from there.
I’m giving this one a chance. The previews have managed to get my hopes up despite myself. Well, also despite another RUBBER FREAKING SUIT. If have faith in the cast, so if they can actually make him look like a martial arts master instead of a Rock-em Sock-em Robot, and he doesn’t whack anybody, I should be happy.
If not, I still always have Mask of the Phantasm.
-Rex Hondo-
Personally, I have no intention of seeing it until it finds its way to the discount DVD bin. I’m so sick of Superman and Batman when there are hundreds of other DC characters that would be great on the big or small screen. How about a Green Lantern movie? It would be the perfect venue for CGI effects. With all the insipid teen dramas on Fox and the WB, wouldn’t a Legion TV series seem like a perfect fit? Anyone feel the way I do about this?
Sadly, as has been shown in previous discussions here even, it’s difficult to get interest in even as major a character as Wonder Woman, much less the Legion, or any number of other characters most people have never even heard of.
-Rex Hondo-
I’ve heard that despite the big marketing push and their near-sacred status among comic book lovers, some are worried that the Fantastic Four movie might not go over because to the general public, it’s an unknown quantity…
Exactly which Batman flick was actually good?
The first one should have been called “The Joker” because it was the only good thing about it. No disrespect to Burton, but he was the wrong director for the thing. Two words told me how bad the movie was going to be: Michael Keaton. Who could forget his “Chuck Norris” voice: “I’m Batman” He sounded like a bad imitation of a character from the Birdcage trying to sound Mocho.
Look, I am just as much a comic fanboy as anyone else. Every movie or TV show they make I’m there for. Even the aweful Lundren Punisher, I was there for even those all the fanzines at the time railed against them not using the Tee-Shirt and using one of the worst actors on the planet to play the role. I even own the God-aweful 1990’s Fantastic Four flick – and if it wasn’t for the Captain America movie that is the one I’d rate the worse.
But the first Batman was bad. I believe that it gained a lot of attention for the following reasons:
Batman is an ICON, hard to beat that.
Tim Burton had already made a name for himself
Correct villian casting
Fanboys were STARVED for big-budget movies (yes, I waited in that long line too for the first showing.)
Prince Soundtrack – which seemed to get more buzz then the movie at the time
When people came back to talk about the movie one heard about Jack, one heard about Jack, oh, and one heard about Jack. So I don’t get why so many praise this one. It made a ton of money, that was cool. But the failings of the movie became more and more obvious with the sequels. I knew it was over when I heard this line on the trailer: “It’s the car, the chick dig the car.” Lord help me, I am shocked they continued making Super Hero movies after this.
Umar, if you haven’t already, check out Mask of the Phantasm. I’d say it counts, since it did receive a theatrical release. It hardly needs to be said, but the animated Batman of the last decade or so is so much better, and certainly closer to the comic, than any of the live action portrayals to date that it’s practically obscene.
-Rex Hondo-
Y’know, everybody hates the BatVisa gag. I love it, personally. Its so jaw-droppingly bad and lame its genius. The same thing can be said for Arnold’s Mr. Freeze performance. “Everybody CHILL!!!” “ICE to MEET you!” The puns are deliciously bad. I don’t find the movie entertaining as a film, and its really clunky with wayyyyy too many different tones clashing, but some moments are so subpar it elevates them to a special kind of glory.
As for the other live action ones: First one is ok. Not a classic, not a glory film, just ok to good. The 2nd movie I love just because its so freakin insane. Its probably not a “real” Batman movie but its a totally unhinged Burton Batman movie. And I love, love, love Michele Pheifer (dammit, is that how you spell her last name?) as Catwoman. She’s heartbreaking and completely freakin nuts. The 3rd movie, to me, was really only saved by the Herculean efforts of Jim Carrey. The man deserves some sort of humanitarian award for that. And for the 4th, well, see above.
Also, for the record my favourite Batman movie is: Batman Beyond – Return of the Joker. Mark Hamill’s performance in that is head explodingly good. And everything else about it rocked too. Yes, I think a Batman Beyond (a series basically made to sell more toys) movie was the best one out there. No joke. Please, don’t hit me. (Note: I’m talking about the Unedited version here. Don’t even watch the regular release.)
I really should watch “Mask of the Phantasm” again. I think I have it on VHS around here somewhere, I should go track it down. As in, right after this post.
On a semi-related note, while I went through the standard fanboy “hate hate hate Joel Schumacher”, I think “Phone Booth” totally redeemed himself. Great little piece of limited focus screenwriting, excellently shot and awesome performances by Colin Farrell and Kiefer Sutherland.
I think with my posts alot of people probably think I have the crappiest taste in movies, but, oh well.
Mask of the Phantasm. Right-o.
Well, since we’re traveling down Memory Lane anyway…
What I recall from the first movie.. isn’t the movie, but MTV.
First, it seems that they were playing Prince’s Batman video about every 12 minutes.
And when that wasn’t playing, there was [and no I don’t recall the actor’s name] a guy telling me how I could win the Batmobile because of some contest. (I think the same guy that plugged the contest played a part in the first movie as well?)
Now, what’s really scary is that I can recall clearly, several scenes of Jack as Joker. They’re in my brain right now, clear as day.
But not Keaton’s Batman. My second clearest memory? Prince’s mostly confusing video where he had no clue if he was the Joker or Batman… or Prince, for that matter.
Now that I think about it… I wonder who ever DID win the Batmobile? Hm. “Where are they now?”
RLR
1There is no way that Joel Schumacher had anything to do with such a fine film as Phone Booth, I have to look this up on IMDB!
Dear God, how is, what does, why is…fhqwagads
*Brain implodes*
Right. So, maybe Batman and Robin was just a fluke – or maybe Phone Booth is the fluke – All I know is that I enjoyed the first two Batman movies (then again I was a little kid at the time), was disappointed by Mask of the Phantasm and haven’t seen it since, and am looking forward to Batman Begins making up for the terrible Batman 3 and 4. (This is all IMHO of course… Maybe not IMHO as much as IMO.) I also look forward to reading Mr. David’s review!
TallestFan, I wasn’t even really counting Batman Beyond, only looking at the theatrically released movies, but Return of the Joker (hmmm… another Mark Hammill movie with the initials ROTJ. COINCIDENCE!?) floored me when I saw the director’s cut. Nicholson may have nailed the psycho-killer aspect of the Joker, but Hammill nails the full range. I still get a bit of a chill remembering the “Home Movies” scene.
Haven’t seen Phonebooth yet, but anyone who’s seen Falling Down can attest that Schumacher had it in him to do right by Gotham City, which is what makes the last two movies so sad, wasted potential.
And on a side note, don’t even get me started on R. Kelly. City of justice, city of love my ášš…
-Rex Hondo-
“(Note: I’m talking about the Unedited version here. Don’t even watch the regular release.)”
The unedited one never got released over here (though I did manage to catch about the first 3rd on Toonami at one point)
I’m probably going to catch flak for this, but I think I have an explanation for the most outlandish parts of Batman Forever and Batman and Robin, and it parallels what Dr. Fredric Wertham (mistakenly) claimed.
In 1980 I happened upon a night location shoot for The Incredible Shrinking Woman in the Eagle Rock section of L. A., where a supermarket had been taken over and redressed to be the supermarket in the movie. I watched Joel Schumacher there, as he worked.
He was the living, breathing stereotype of the limp-wristed, screaming queen. It was like watching Starina from The Birdcage directing a movie, only moreso.
It’s no wonder to me that he envisioned Batman in the way that he did.
I’m probably going to catch flak for this, but I think I have an explanation for the most outlandish parts of Batman Forever and Batman and Robin, and it parallels what Dr. Fredric Wertham (mistakenly) claimed.
In 1980 I happened upon a night location shoot for The Incredible Shrinking Woman in the Eagle Rock section of L. A., where a supermarket had been taken over and redressed to be the supermarket in the movie. I watched Joel Schumacher there, as he worked.
He was the living, breathing stereotype of the limp-wristed, screaming queen. It was like watching Starina from The Birdcage directing a movie, only moreso.
It’s no wonder to me that he envisioned Batman in the way that he did.
Hasn’t anyone mentioned the FIRST Batman movie? No, not the one with Keaton, the one with Adam West. “Somedays you just can’t get rid of a bomb!” C’MON! THAT’S COMEDY!
“Please, let this one bring the series back to greatness.”
I said “the series” and I just meant Batman as a whole.
The 1990 Batman was pretty good. Batman Returns was a half great/half “what were they thinking” film. I still contend that it would have been a great film without the sewer bird. With DVD is a great movie. It’s like Jeff said in Coupling.
“It depends on how you watch it.”
But the best Batman film of that time period? Mask hands down. Greatness. Now let this film return it there.
Okay, I’ll admit this up front: I loved the original Batman TV series with a passion when it first aired. But being as I was six years old at the time, I’d like to think I’ve grown marginally more sophisticated over the past four decades. Maybe that’s why I hated the last two Batman films so much: I felt they were still being pitched at the six year-old me: lots of flashy colors and noise, but at their cinematic hearts, nothing of any real substance.
Several months ago, Warners sent a group of us genre journalists over to London to cover Batman Begins (you can read my take in the current issue of Starlog with Bale on the cover) and the thing that really struck me was how dedicated everyone was to making that film as realistic as possible. I know that sounds crazy, but everything has to be grounded in some reality, even if it’s an exaggerated reality. The sets are very much based on real urban centers and walking through them, you felt you were in a real city, unlike the last two films with their cartoony shapes and gargantuan statuary. The Batmobile was designed as an urban assault vehicle, as opposed to the ridiculously over-designed Batmobile of the previous films. The guys who designed and built the current Batmobile told me they had the actual car up to 80-100 miles an hour during a couple of sequences. If they tried that with the previous Batmobile, there would have been chunks of fiberglass littering the landscape. Even Batman’s costume was based on real technology, from the materials used for the under-suit, to the cape, which utilizes actual stealth material.
I know I sound like some Warner Bros flak, talking about how great everything is, but the point I was trying to make is that Nolan was taking great pains to base his Batman on some kind of reality, even it’s a heightened reality. If you create that kind of foundation, viewers may be more inclined to believe what they see, even if it’s a guy in a Bat suit. I guess we’ll know if that’s true or not in a few days.
I’ve often said that in Batman and Batman Returns, Burton got the tone and the look right, but had characters on the screen that shared little but names with their printed page counterparts. (To this day, I remember a tv “behind the scenes” special for Returns in which he explained the redesign of Penguin, stating, “In the comics, he’s just this funny-looking guy in the tux. There’s nothing scary about that.” Hey, Tim…THAT’S THE FLIPPIN’ POINT!”)
Now, by contrast, Batman Forever had the characters much more on-target, but the look and tone all wrong. (With one noteable exception: Two-Face started off great…until he became nothing more than a glorified henchman for Riddler.)
And Batman & Robin? Well, I’ve always loved movies, and was a film student in college. I’ve seen many a movie I didn’t like. B&R was the first – and, to date, only – movie that made me want to walk out. (Yep…you guessed it…hit that point with the credit card gag.) The only thing that prevented me from doing so: the friend I was with drove that day, so me walking out wouldn’t have done much good. I do, however, think that Clooney could have made a great Bruce/Batman with a different script and director.
Er, actually, Joel Schumacher is a quite talented director whose greatest sin on the Batman series is that he was tragically off on that particular character (either that, or couldn’t overcome manic studio interference). Check out a film he made called TIGERLAND. Excellent basic-training drama about a troubled recruit. That and the previously-cited PHONE BOOTH, which was not Great but did work on its own level, long ago got me to forgive him for his sins toward Batman. It’s time to take him down from the cross on this one, folks.
I think my enjoyment of the film franchise began and ended with the first movie (The Burton/Keaton/Nicholson one, not the one with powdered UN representatives and Bat Shark Repellent). I agree with the sentiment that Jack sort of stole the show (although I do remember Keaton trying to outchew Jack in the scenery-munching department with the “You wanna get NUTS?! LET’S get NUTS!!!” scene).
“Returns” was a mixed bag. Michelle Pfeiffer was great, DeVito was surprisingly menacing, and Chris Walken makes anything worth watching once (Otherwise I’d never have sat through “Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead”). On the other hand, my negative feelings can be summed up in five words: “Circus Freaks and Penguin Commandoes.”
“Forever” was kind of meh. Kilmer did a good Batman but a cardboard Bruce Wayne. Jones and O’Donnell did absolutely nothing for me and Jim Carrey was playing Jim Carrey.
“Batman and Robin” is dead to me. I refuse to believe that celluloid trees died to make this movie.
The positive buzz the new movie has been getting has me cautiously optimistic (likewise, the new trailers and commercials for the FF movie has me thinking that it might not end up being an unforgivable pile of suck after all). The negative reviews (what few there are) only seem to bemoan a certain lack of Jokerness (a lack that is supposedly going to be taken care of in the inevitable sequel). I’m ready for DC/Warner Bros. to give us something of actual quality after inflicting “Catwoman” upon an unsuspecting public.
The main problem I had with Val Kilmer in the role was that he seemed to have the personalities backwards. Bruce Wayne was brooding and depressed, but Batman was popping one-liners and flirting with the girls.
Well, to be fair to Mr. Kilmer, it probably had more to do with the writing and directing than his acting abilities, but still…
-Rex Hondo-
For the previous four recent Batman movies, I liked the first two from Burton, and hated the two from Schumacher.
I tried to get tickets for a screening tonight, but I didn’t win – since I’ve not won tickets for any of the four screenings I’ve entered in the last month, I’m thinking that their “computers” still remember the email I sent them for royally fudging the answers for the Hitchiker’s Guide screening tickets (such as the fact that they couldn’t spell Zaphod correctly, and that one character is called Ford Prefect, not Mos Def).
I accidently posted my Batman Begins comment in the Blade Runner thread.
Sorry about that Peter.
Regards:
WSJ3
Rex Hondo
You are correct. I like the Batman animated series, but the art REALLY grabbed me with Batman Beyound (I just loved how they related it to Bruce Wayne’s and gotham’s past – had many cool moments. “Have you ever fallen for the wrong girl” “Let me tell you about a girl named Selina Kyle.” Cool dialogue there.
But I wasn’t thinking about the animated stuff. I stand corrected. I think I’ll pull that sucker out the watch it before I see my midnight showing of Batman Begins. And those of you who got early and IMax screenings, I’m so jealous you’d have to put a dress on me and sit me in the corner. I couldn’t get the tickets in time, they sold out liek as soon as they were announced.
I turned into a huge Batman fan right around the time the first Burton/Keaton movie came out. I loved it…truly loved it, flaws and all.
Then I got more into the comics, and the really basic concepts about Batman, and over the years, I’ve really come to view the 4 movies as interesting takes…well, some interesting, some not so interesting. And mostly, they looked great, and were better than nothing. So I thought, at least until that drek called Batman and Robin came around. Anyone that was surprised at WB attempt to make a movie called Catwoman need look no futher than the sick joke the WB allowed Schumaker to turn Bane into. Batman and Robin reminds me a what might happen if you based a script off a 6 year old’s thoughts on the characters, if all he was exposed to were the action figures.
Anyway, I love Mask of the Phantasm, and most of the associated animated fare. It got that even the comics based on those shows felt more like “my” Batman than the current mainstream books (I think that was somewhere in No Man’s Land…my collection ends around there).
I’m trying to talk my wife into getting the Season 1 DVDs…hinted that they would make a great father’s day gift, but her “no animation” attitude seems to be winning out.
Loved the original Burton “Batman”, even though it should have been entitled “Joker”. “Batman Returns” I could give or take. “Batman Forever” did even less for me but it had it’s moments. However, “Batman & Robin” is the only movie I have ever walked out on AND got my money back (only 10 minutes into the film). I hated it from teh very first spoken line (“I want a car, checks dig the cars” (cringe!)). I have yet to see any more than those 10 minutes!
As for “Batman Begins”, saw the screening at Wizard World Philly. LOVED IT! It blows the first Burton flick away! Can’t wait to see it again.
I have hopes for this one. There hasn’t been a Batman movie yet. There have been storyless, overdone pieces of objet de crap, but no Batman… and that includes the cartoon. To be fair it’s only because animation bites… the take is right, but jerky movement and near stop-action rendering makes it unwatchable. I’d love to see someone change that (well, Incredibles was great, but that was CGI).
*sigh*
Since Brian Geers mentioned the previews for “Fantastic Four” :
I am also cautiously optimistic about the movie; when I first saw the full preview, I was pretty pleasantly enthused. It looks like – even with Alba, who doesn’t even seem as too young as I expected – they do a pretty good job of depicting the characters. Except … the more I see it, the more I’m worried that they’ve screwed up Doom. To the point that it may seriously bug me.
No knock on Julian McMahon – I like his work, and was glad to hear that he was cast. (Of course, I might also have liked James Earl Jones’ voice 😉 ….) Just, the character of Doctor Doom itself appears, from the previews, to perhaps have been changed beyond my point of acceptance. We’ll have to wait and see …. (Or, I know, I could read the novelization, by a certain Mr. PAD … but I hate spoliers, let alone knowing the entire story before seeing the movie. I have a few novelizations I have to catch up on ….)
I’ll echo some of the comments above: for my money, the Animated Series is probably the truest representation of the character outside of the comics (and, during its moments of greatness, sometimes surpasses the comics). The animation -despite its rocky points early on- was excellent, the voice casting was dead on, and you can tell the creative staff was committed to quality. Even the Animated Series’ expanded universe -Batman Beyond, New Adventures of Batman and Robin, and, to an extent, the Justice League series- is better quality stuff than most recent major movie fare… it certainly stays truer to character and hits the marks with far more accuracy.
My girlfriend and I have been working our way through her Season sets, and I can’t recommend them highly enough. The regrettably few commentary tracks alone make it worth the buy. Listening to Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski riff on one of the best lines of the series- “I threw a rock at ‘im!” – is worth the price of admission alone. Not to mention watching the Joker’s voice come out of Mark Hamill’s mouth… truly freaking creepy.
I hear lots of good things about the newest live action entry, and I’m really hoping that it holds up to the hype.
Hi gang. We just finished doing the screening here about an hour and a half ago, and judging by reaction from the crowd, this is a bona-fide mega-hit.
There are some elements that don’t quite hit the plausibility mark, but without giving anything away, I can definitely say that this film is the best representation of the character bar-none that has been put on the screen. Period!
I hope that Peter’s review echoes this sentiment, and I urge everyone to go and check it out for themselves. You will spend some of the most enjoyable hours you’ve ever spent in a theater!
I dunno if anyone here has ever even heard of it, but my all time favorite part of the Batman franchise (with the exception of Frank Miller’s “The Dark Knight returns.”) is the old “Superman with Batman and Robin” radio series from the ’40’s. Great voice acting, and easy to find…..I have a couple of the tapes around somewhere….The plots were good, the actors great, and you had to use your imagination to the most extreme degree. They should bring those back.
woah, man. Mask of the Phantasm. Pretty decent, if the pacing is kinda a little too mellow for my tastes. Still a few excellent moments scattered throughout make it worth a view.
For the record, after that long-delayed 2nd viewing, my standings go:
1) Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (unedited)
2) Batman Returns
3) Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
see if Begins can work its way up there, but I think those 3 are really, really solid works of Bat-entertainment.
(side note #1 – the copy of Phantasm I had was on a SLP VHS tape that also included “Batman: Subzero” and the two Ewok movies. Kooky.)
(side note #2 – I retate, and stress, if you haven’t seen “Return of the Joker”, leave the computer right now and go see it. Unedited. Or the directors cut. Or whatever. But, yah, its awesome.)