THERE'S A DARK, cloaked figure haunting criminals in Gotham City. At first, many people think it's Batman, but this new mystery man doesn't just catch criminals, he kills them.
Not just any criminals, either, but specific ones who have something in common. Bruce Wayne discovers that on the way to unmasking the Phantasm and clearing his own name. Wayne also finds time to renew his relationship with a woman he almost married before he became Batman.
This animated feature is not a perfect movie, but it's an enjoyable one. Like the animated TV series it is based on, it strikes a balance between the adult darkness of the recent Tim Burton movies and the childish silliness of the old TV show.
More than anything, this version of Batman recalls the original Bob Kane comic books of the 1940s: dark with light touches, cartoony yet realistic.
It's rated PG, but it's a soft PG. People are killed, but we don't see blood spilled; the on-screen violence is mostly old-fashioned fisticuffs. The Batman comic books today are much more violent than this movie.
Animation fans will be dazzled by the opening credits, which promise a deeper and richer animation than the TV show has. Unfortunately, that three-dimensional Gotham City exists only in the credits, and the animation of the rest of the movie is like the TV show - pretty good, but a disappointment after the opening and certainly not on a par with the recent Disney movies.
The casting of the voices is excellent. Kevin Conroy has that perfect manly baritone that one imagines Batman to have. Dana Delany co-stars as the woman who comes back into Bruce Wayne's life. Then there are the unexpected surprises, like Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as the butler, Alfred, and Abe Vigoda as a dying mobster.
Mark Hamill makes a delightful Joker, as fans of the TV show are well aware. Near the bottom of the credits, I spotted Marilu Henner's name among the "additional voices," and I may go back just to see if I can find her.
If you're a Batman fan, you won't want to miss this one. If you once liked Batman but were turned off by Tim Burton's excesses, particularly in the second movie, this might bring you back to the fold.
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