Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to "Tales of the Longbox" here on Reaction & Review. Tonight, guys, we're closing out this edition of "Tales of the Longbox" with a movie that I've been really curious about for a long time. The movie came out in 1966. That movie is "Batman: The Movie".
Oh yes, guys, this is the film that I've been really anticipating the most out of this entire marathon. Which is funny to say, considering that I haven't really covered a lot of DC Comics films throughout most of this marathon, outside of that "Wonder Woman" animated movie. And while I will admit that I had thought about switching the placement of this movie with "Ultimate Avengers: The Movie", I ultimately stuck to my guns here and decide to end the marathon with this movie instead.
Now, for those of you unaware, this movie is based off the Batman series from the 60's starring Adam West. Now while I haven't seen any episodes from that show, I am aware of certain aspects from it, such as it being a campy, goofy comedy series rather than the straight-up dark and serious stories we have with the Dark Knight today. And while I do enjoy some of the serious aspects of Batman, I'm also somebody who really enjoys campy humor, as long it's done properly. And considering that this film is based off the Adam West series, I think this will cover all of that perfectly.
So, I'm really looking forward to seeing how all of this will play out. I'm hoping for it to be amazing, but I would also be shocked if this thing somehow, someway, ends up sucking hard! I have a feeling that it won't, but you never know with this series. Really, guys, the only way I'm gonna find out how good this movie can possibly be is if I shut up and I push play, and I'm gonna do that right now. So, without further ado, it's time to kick back, relax, and check out "Batman: The Movie".
4 minutes later
So, apparently there exists a Bat Copter at the airport for anytime Batman and Robin need it. I gotta say, that Bat Copter looks really fucking cool. Hell, now that I'm looking at it more, I kinda want one of those of my own. Whether it's the real thing or even just a model of the copter would be perfectly fine with me, either way.
2 minutes later
OK...I love how when they drop the "Bat Ladder", there is a *literal* tag on it at the bottom, telling you that it's a Bat Ladder. Holy shit, that is so stupid, and yet so lovably awesome at the same time! That is just fucking hilarious as shit, guys.
4 minutes later
Wait, so that shark really did explode after being sprayed with the "shark repellent bat spray"?! OK...well, I've now learned that shark repellent bat spray is fucking deadly as shit. You learn something new everyday.
12 minutes later
Oh my god...there's a *literal* penguin submarine, and it even has little webbed feet acting as the rotors! I am *loving* this movie, guys, more and more with each passing minute. This is just amazing!
18 minutes later
I'm sorry, guys, if I'm not saying a whole lot right now, I'm really just kinda getting sucked into the story here. I'm really enjoying it so far and I'm hoping it stays this way throughout the remainder of it.
6 minutes later
OK, you know what? Out of all the vehicles I've seen so far in this movie, these, uh...parasol-looking vehicles, I guess, are probably the goofiest thing I've seen so far in this film. Mind you, it's funny as hell, but still, did you *really* need that many for all of the villains to ride on? Just something to ponder a little bit/ on, you know what I mean?
12 minutes later
So, this new weapon is able to turn people into literal ashes...O...K. Granted, it is really creative. Odd, and kinda morbid, but still, I gotta give some points for creativity.
18 minutes later
Once more, guys, I'm awfully sorry that I haven't been really saying very much. I know I should be commenting more on the movie itself. But I honestly have been so enamored with the movie that I just want to see where it's going to go next.
The Review
Well, guys, that was "Batman: The Movie". And, uh...wow, what a film indeed. Let me go ahead and shut the movie off here...OK. Sorry, guys, I had to take a moment away from my laptop here to digest everything I had experienced for myself. I know, for some people, that may not seem like I took a little time away for myself, but, then again, this is the kinda thing I have to work with when writing reviews rather than doing a video of them.
But anyway, let's talk about this movie, shall we? Now, I don't want to be those kinds of people who reminisce on how movies were made back in the day are so much *better* than how movies are made today. Because honestly, that isn't really fair to all modern movies. There have been some good ones out there. Granted, I haven't really seen a whole lot of them, but I do know that they exist. You just have to look for them yourself instead of just calling everything "slop" or "cape shit" online for the sake of bitching. That being said, I will say that this movie does something, at least when compared to other superhero films in the last few years, that I don't see very much of anymore. It knows how to have fun with itself. And, unlike certain superhero films where they are going through extensive reshoots and rewrites to their movies, this film knew what it wanted to be right from the word go, and it stuck by it all the way through. Which is something that, again, I don't see a whole lot of superhero films, let alone certain big blockbuster movies do anymore. And I think that more recent movies should take a cue on how this film was able to have fun with itself, while also knowing what it wants to be, rather than trying to rewrite and reshoot everything just for the sake of it.
Now, with all that out of the way, I should probably get back on track here and actually talk about the movie itself. I'm gonna start with the writing. And honestly, guys, the story in this movie is absolutely ridiculous. But then again, seeing as how this movie is pretty much an extended episode of the Adam West "Batman" series, it's to be expected. Now again, I know I have never seen any episodes of the show before, but I'm also aware that this series has been referenced in other movies and TV shows of the like, so I have a better grasp of it thanks to that, and also having seen this movie. As for the writing itself, well, it's more of just Batman and Robin trying to stop our villains consisting of Penguin, Joker, Riddler, and Catwoman from taking over the world. And that's the best way to simplify it. And you may have noticed that I didn't really react a whole lot to the film, other than the beginning bits of it. I was really invested into what was going on in the movie that if I tried to explain every bit of detail about the story, I would be spoiling it for you guys. Now granted, there really isn't much of a plot here, but I still feel like not spoiling any of it for you guys. Because I feel like this is one of those movies that you have to experience for yourself to show how overly ridiculous and fun this movie truly is.
That said, however, I will say that while the story here is completely ridiculous, it's not overly stupid either. There are some threads of logic here that make some level of sense. For example, Penguin has disguised himself as a pirate captain that they kidnapped way early on in the film, and is trying to gain access to the Batcave to find out where it's location is. Batman and Robin easily discover that it's just Penguin being a terrible disguiser, but they still go through with it anyway. But, instead of just blindly following Penguin's suggestion, they actually have a can of sleep bat spray to keep him knocked out, so that way, Penguin won't know where the Batcave actually is. And also, when they reach the cave, long after they knock out Penguin, they also wake him up by using "wake spray" to wake him up. Yes, seriously, that is an actual thing that Batman and Robin apparently have. But still, though, it actually does make some level of sense, since they already saw through Penguin's disguise and are taking extra precautions before going through with it. The only bit that I would say is sorta weak is how Bruce didn't discover that Kitka was easily Catwoman in disguise. Though honestly, I would just chalk that bit of logic up as a case of Superman Syndrome in this case.
As for the characters, well, it's obvious that all of these characters are from the Adam West series. So naturally, all of them are goofy and over-the-top, as is the tradition of it being from a campy series. I do want to mention the villains, though, for a moment. Because, I noticed something peculiar about one of them. Now again, the villains in this movie range from Joker, Penguin, Riddler, and Catwoman. And of all the villains in this movie, Joker is the one who feels like he has less of a presence here, unlike the other villains. Which is interesting, because when I think about how over-exposed he has been within the last number of years or so, him being just one of the gang is actually a really refreshing take on him, because I'm one of those people that is just sick and tired of the Joker entirely. So him taking a back seat here in this movie is honestly a *huge* breath of fresh air here. Now oddly enough, the one villain who gets the most screen time here is Catwoman. Which makes sense, considering the amount of time she spends with Bruce in this movie. Penguin feels like a second in command of the crew, while Riddler is there to give out his riddles through a missile. And no, I'm not kidding about that either. That's how he is able to give out his riddles while Batman and Robin try to solve them. It's incredibly stupid, but still very charming at the same time.
And that's one of the best words I can describe this movie's writing. It is so filled to the brim with campy charm that I loved every moment of it. Nothing about this movie feels boring. In fact, after watching this, I really want to see if I can track down the series on DVD at some point, because this movie was just so good to where I want to see *more* of it! That's how good this movie's writing is. And to top it all off, the acting here is also fantastic. I'm talking everyone from Adam West, to Burt Ward, to Cesar Romero, to Burgess Meredith, to Frank Gorshin, and to Lee Meriwether as Catwoman. All of these actors are great here, and I'm even going to include all of the supporting cast members that didn't have as big of a presence in this movie as the others did. All of them turned in fantastic showings. If I had to nitpick at all, I would say that Burt Ward's holy-insert pun here could possibly annoy some people. But honestly, that's not really enough for me to ding on his performance here. All of the acting here is great, and again, considering that they were reprising their roles from the show into this movie is certainly a huge treat here.
Special effects are the one thing that could potentially turn some people away from this movie. I say this, because a lot of the effects in this movie are on the cheaper side. For example, the shark that is biting onto Batman's leg is totally fake as shit, and the fight sequences are laughable at best. But I also have to remember that this movie is, again, apart of a TV show that was pretty much living on a low budget to begin with. And for those people who haven't seen it, if you're someone who has never seen anything related to the Adam West series, then it's possible that you may be turned off by these cheap effects. However, as someone who's into these sorts of films to begin with, I love it. Everything about this movie looks cheap, but it's also very charming, and I could tell that there was a lot of thought and love put into this movie. I got a huge laugh out of that submarine that looks like a penguin, and the fact that they even gave the rotors webbed feet is such a nice attention detail that even I wouldn't have thought of something like that. It's really cool to see that in action, plus all of the Bat vehicles are really cool, too. Same with the costuming. All of these costumes are great and iconic. Guys, special effects in this movie, while on the cheaper side, are great for the standards of the 60's show.
Camerawork here is really good. The lighting is also really good. Sound-mix is also mixed fine. The score is great. In fact, looking at the credits, the music was done by Nelson Riddle. He's also the same person who did the score for one of my favorite John Wayne movies called "El Dorado". So yeah, I can tell you guys that the score here is fantastic just based on that alone.
And ultimately, guys, when everything is said and done, am I able to recommend "Batman: The Movie"? Well, what do you think? Absolutely, guys, you bet your ass I can recommend this movie. This film is, quite possibly, one of the best superhero films I've ever seen. It really is that awesome. It's also really funny, too. But then again, we're talking about a movie that's based off a really campy TV show, so that's sort of a moot point. But yeah, guys, this film is fantastic. It may even rival some of my other favorite Batman movies that I've seen and own on DVD and VHS. I'll probably have to rewatch some of them to give my full assessment on it, but either way, this movie is going to have a *very* happy spot on my DVD shelf next to them. Hell, I may even watch it again at some point very soon. Although now that I think about it, I kinda want to see if I can track own the series on DVD somewhere. It shouldn't be too hard to find, possibly for cheap. So, I'm gonna go see if it's running online somewhere for a cheap price. If not, then I can just wait and buy the series at one of my local video stores. But yeah, guys, I can totally recommend this film to both fans of Batman and comic book movies in general. The movie is absolutely amazing, and I can't wait to watch it again soon.
And so, we come to the close of this year's "Tales of the Longbox" marathon. And speaking of marathon's, the next one is right around the corner. Where in it, I'll be taking a look at a group of movies dedicated to Lupin The 3rd. Oh my god, I seriously cannot wait for that one. But until then, guys, take care, and I'll see you all later. Peace.
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