Batman: Return Of The Caped Crusaders (REVIEW)
Written By Jacob Chimilar (@sweetlows)
50 years ago we were introduced to the dynamic duo of Batman and Robin on a technicolor adventure every week (although many still saw it on black and white TV) stopping the likes of The Joker, Penguin, Catwoman and Riddler with the most outragous gadgets and dastardly evil plans with the most obtuse clues and crazy pop art fight scenes that today are so cheesy in the most wonderful way possible. Now our real life heroes of Adam West and Burt Ward are far too old to be a young playboy and his ward but they are still around to voice them and we should celebrate the fact they are willing to return to these iconic characters. This new adventure finds the dynamic duo trying to hunt down the Joker, Riddler, Penguin and Catwoman stealing a duplication ray to create their very own Gothams to rule.
I LOVED this movie. It was everything you could want in a return of the series that knows how cheesy it was and really enjoys poking fun at its most absurd aspects. Cameras that have a switch that goes from normal to a dutch angled "fight scene" mode. Remembering that even though there is crime to be fought you must be a law abiding citizen who looks both ways and crosses only at designated crosswalks. I don't really want to spoil too much of the film because it is such a treat to watch them going from silly situation to silly situation.
Adam West and Burt Ward are both totally game in providing their voices to the roles and Julie Newmar as the original Catwoman reprises her role decently as well, with cameos from the other two who were used in the later seasons and movie. The new voice cast also were decent replacements for their original counterparts, Penguin and announcer being the closest to their originals for me. There is a bit of a twist half way through the movie that slowed things down for me and took it into a place that I didn't enjoy as much as the first part but it still was a fun time nevertheless.
If you enjoy the fun that the TV show embraced then you will have an absolute blast with this feature length episode. I couldn't imagine this show working today but to bring it back knowing what it was is a nice break from the doom and gloom (but still good) versions we have gotten lately. Free of the constraints of the 60s TV budget this movie goes bigger in all the right ways by ramping up the antics and doubling down on the corny dialogue that has allowed the show to endure all these years later.
