dragonfire88's Full Review: Batman - Mask of the Phantasm
Batman became a popular character after he was first introduced. He has been featured in several movies, cartoons, and even a television show. I have come to really like the character since I have learned more about him in the last few years. The wonderful Batman Begins also really helped me finally appreciate the character. I recently watched the animated movie Batman: Mask of the Phantasm for the first time.
Someone wearing a full costume that included a cape and mask - the Phantasm - was killing people connected to organized crime in Gotham City. Unfortunately, some people, like City Councilman Arthur Reeves, was blaming Batman. Despite that, Bruce was trying to deal with the situation. He was also dealing with things from his past, including Andrea Beaumont, the woman he proposed to before she disappeared from his life. After several years, she was back in Gotham and Bruce’s life. Things were even more complicated by the fact that the Joker was also involved.
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm was based on the DC comic book character created by Bob Kane. This version was an animated movie created by the same people responsible for Batman: The Animated Series. I have only seen a few episodes of the cartoon so far. It did seem like the cartoon stayed true to the comics, especially the darker tone, while still adding some new things. The movie had the same style of animation that was used for the animated series. I think it was done well, though it does look slightly dated now. I believe it was all done with hand drawn animation, so of course it won’t look like the newer, computer animated movies.
There was a decent amount of mystery in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Someone was going after a specific group of people with connections to the mob. The motivation of the Phantasm wasn’t clear at first, but as more was shared, it did all make sense. The mystery wasn’t as strong as it could have been since the movie was limited by a shorter running time of only 76 minutes. The plot managed to be strong even with that limitation, so I’m sure it would have been much better if they could have made it longer. I didn’t figure out who Phantasm was, and thought that the revelation did make sense while also being a little surprising. I thought the plot was very interesting.
Even though Batman: Mask of the Phantasm was animated, it had a darker, more serious tone. I thought that worked perfectly for the material and for Batman in general. He is darker character, and that darkness needs to be included to have a good Batman movie. As far as I know, the animated series also had the same darker tone. Some viewers could feel differently and not like the darker tone and look of the movie.
When Batman: Mask of the Phantasm began, Bruce was already established as Batman, though it wasn’t said how long he had been fighting crime that way. There were flashbacks used throughout the movie that shared things from when Bruce was first attempting to fight crime, including how he first went out dressed simply in black clothes with a ski mask. He only came up with the idea of Batman later once he decided that he needed to do something to instill fear in the criminals he was fighting. I really enjoyed the flashbacks and felt that the helped to make Bruce a stronger character.
The flashbacks also showed Bruce and Andrea meeting and how their relationship progressed. As he was falling in love, Bruce was conflicted about getting involved and following his plan to fight crime. During the current time, Andrea returned to Gotham City and was once again involved in Bruce’s life. Things remained complicated between them. It was made very clear that they both still had feelings for each other. The movie was rated PG, so there wasn’t anything that attempted to hint at nudity like has happened in some of the other animated superhero movies made in the last few years.
Bruce was mostly shown working as Batman, though he did turn up in a few social situations. Most of the development for the character came from the flashbacks. I thought that the voice that Kevin Conroy did worked very well for the character. Alfred wasn’t around as much as I would have liked, but he had the best line in the movie. Andrea was Bruce’s lost love who had several complications connected to her life. She was an interesting character. Dana Delany did a good job with the voice. Andrea’s father was shown in a few of the flashbacks.
Arthur Reeves was a city councilman who didn’t seem to like Batman. Arthur was determined to prove that Batman was responsible for what Phantasm was doing. Arthur also had a connection to Andrea. I didn’t like Arthur. Commissioner Jim Gordon was only shown in a few short scenes, and he really didn’t have anything to do. Joker was already established as a villain and he was quick to try to take advantage of the situation to mess with Batman once again. Mark Hamil was wonderful as the voice of the Joker.
Main Voice Talent
Hart Bochner - Arthur Reeves Kevin Conroy - Bruce Wayne/Batman Dana Delany - Andrea Beaumont Mark Hamill - Joker Efrem Zimbalist Jr. - Alfred
DVD Information
I recently picked up a DVD that includes Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and Batman & Mr. Freeze: Subzero. This DVD has the full screen version of the movie and only has the trailer as an extra. I know the movie was released on DVD before this, but I have no idea what sort of extras might be included with that version.
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm was a very entertaining, well done animated Batman movie. It is one of the better Batman movies and deserves to be seen.
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