Batman:
Mask of the Phantasm
Directed
by Eric Radomski and Bruce W. Timm
Written
by Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Martin Pasko, and Michael Reaves
Featuring
the talents of Kevin Conroy, Dana Delany, Hart Bochner, Stacy Keach, Efrem
Zimbalist Jr., and Mark Hamill
76
minutes. Rated PG. Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1. 1993
This film, based on the Batman animated series (which in turn is of course
based on the comic book and more directly, the Tim Burton live action film
starring Michael Keaton) is one of the best animated movies I’ve seen.
The cell animation is simply terrific. I wish I had seen this on the big
screen; it would have looked great. The opening sequence, a long pullback
through Gotham city, looks fantastic, and the music, inspired by Danny
Elfman’s score for the Burton film, sets the mood perfectly.
The animation
is terrific. The artwork is art deco style, which somehow captures the
mood and the very essence of what Batman is perfectly. It’s dark, as Batman
should be, but lively and colorful enough not to be depressing and hard
to watch, like Spawn. The animation is very clean looking; it’s
some of the best artwork I’ve seen in a film outside of say,
The Lion
King. The action sequences are nicely done, with brief flashes of white
coinciding with the impact of fist on jaw or the like. My favorite shot
in the whole film had to be during one action sequence where a biker is
about to run down Bruce Wayne. He hops up onto the bike, and there is this
fantastic slow motion shot of Bruce coming over the top of the front wheel
and punching the biker in the face, while the background whizzes by.
But of
course, it’s not the action that makes this film - or any other Batman
story, for that matter - great. It’s a fantastic story, driven by one of
pop culture’s most fascinating characters. This film in particular is a
great look into Batman’s character, because it provides a look into Batman’s
early days, where he must choose between his true love or honoring the
debt of honor he feels he owes to his slain parents. This film isn’t nearly
as dark as some other incarnations of Batman I’ve seen, most notably the
brilliant graphic novel Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank
Miller, or Tim Burton’s genius 1989 live action film. It is a bit darker
than the TV series it apes, mainly because as a feature film it was able
to go a little farther than it would during kids TV in the afternoon, where
such brutal deaths such as a giant headstone crushing a mob boss to death
would not be acceptable. Still, the Phantasm (who manages to inspire real
fear in the viewer!) doesn’t slice anyone up with that nasty looking blade
it carries around, and the worse the Joker does is make an ancient mob
boss laugh to death. As a result, the film earned at PG rating, but still,
it’s nothing that today’s kids couldn’t handle, and it’s a lot more quality
viewing than something like Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie or something
similar.
The heart
of this film, and perhaps any Batman story, is vengeance. Batman has always
struggled with his vendetta, and in this film he must do so again when
someone arrives on the scene who takes their vendetta even further than
he does. He tells them that vengeance is not the answer, but how can he
say that without coming off as a hypocrite? When reunited with his lost
love, she says it best when he accuses her of merely following her father’s
orders: “The way I see it, the only one in this room controlled by his
parents is you.” And yet she herself takes the law in her own hands to
avenge her slain father. How far is too far? That’s what this film is asking.
Can a person be so consumed by vendetta, as Batman is, and still have a
soul? Alfred puts it best, in a scene of tenderness between him and Bruce
that I have never seen matched in an animated Batman story: "Vengeance
blackens the soul, Bruce. I've always feared that you would become that
which you fought against. You walk the edge of that abyss every night,
but you haven't fallen in and I thank heaven for that.” This is heavy stuff
for a movie who’s opening logo has Bugs Bunny munching on a carrot next
to the Warner Bros. logo (which, in fact, I think is an insult to the maturity
with which this film is executed).
The bottom line: Great story. Great script.
Great acting. Great animation. Great movie.
My review:
A
My advice:
Watch it back to back with Tim Burton's Batman.
Get the movie
poster!
