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Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker [Region 2]

In association with Amazon.com
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Best Animated Batman Movie EVER!
Okay, out of all the animated films, this one is my favourite. The characters are extremely well drawn. Joker has a new style and looks great! It has flashbacks back to the original Batman and Batgirl and they just look amazing. It's really enjoyable and although I have never seen the Batman Beyond episodes - it was still a great watch.



Rating: 2 out of 5 stars - *Spoiler Alert* Mediocre film with one great scene
So the 2000 Batman Beyond film finally received an un-cut release. If you didn't enjoy the original cut, you'll be surprised by the rather brutal flash-back scene. Other than that, Return of The Joker just an extended episode of a very poor animated series.

The basic plot of BB:ROTJ is straight forward but cleverly inserts a twist but let's get to most significant aspect of this film. The Joker has returned years after his death witnessed both by Batman and Batgirl; However that night the was already marred with tragedy. The Joker weeks before managed to kidnap Robin (Tim Drake by then) and transformed him into his "son" completely devoid of sanity. This is where the film were was primarily censored in it's initial release and needless to say, the uncut version is leagues ahead. The highlights includes an extension of Joker's "home movie" of Robin being electrocuted and last but not least The Joker's death when he is shot by Drake with a trick "Bang flag" gun loaded with a spear. The Joker's final words were just mellifluous; He spouts "That's not funny, that's not..." before collapses to the ground. I can never get enough of this scene and truly mean it. Bruce Timm was always prevented to take The Joker under his true extremes because the restrictions imposed by network television, this is the shining moment of the character's animated career.

However, this film is just not par with this shining moment.Terry Mcginnis is a pretty dull character who's personality can be summarized as "teenager". You think Bruce, Barbra, and Tim Drake would be the main focus of this film but it's not the case. They are virtually little more then plot devices to be used to just cover the back story; You don't feel any of their personal investment in this film and as result, you could care less about any protagonist in this film.Now I will admit I did like the fact that Tim Drake was ultimately exploited as the host body of Joker, hence the reason of Drake's ordeal that fateful night. However that takes away a lot of the chutzpah of that great flashback scene. The Joker wanted little more than his own self-preservation and this all points to Bruce Timm's Joker as a very flawed incarnation of the character. In Timm's Joker episodes, excluding infamous "Joker Fish", he has always been too logical and worst of all, obsessed with killing Batman. What makes the best incarnations of The Joker so endearing in the comics, especially by Stephen Steve Englehart, is that he is NEVER after anything that could make sense to anyone else or material gain. He also could have cared less about his own well-being which is what makes him so dangerous, he's willing to loose it all just for that one sick "laugh". Most importantly The Joker realizes that a world without Batman is no fun, as Joker once said in comics "Who would I humble ? Mere Policemen ?". Granted, at the very least The Joker's plot in ROTJ is ultimately chaos but where is his trademark panache ? A giant laser making a smile face ? Where is the sadism ? Where the dark humor ? It's just not Joker, it's just far too mundane unless you actually care about J's targets that included everyone Terry cared about but I certainty didn't, not even Bruce who simply sat around during the whole movie.


Overall, I'd say this film is a miss. I'd only recommend it for the flashback scene but to stomach the rest of the film would mean loosing the impact of it.




Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - Animated
A friend of mine loves Batman so I bought him this DVD for a gift. He really enjoyed it. It's one of the best animated cartoons of Batman out there.



Rating: 2 out of 5 stars - Animated movie, "Batman Beyond". DVD.
This is a different Batman, Bruce Wayne has retired in this series, so we get a new rendition of the dark knight once again. Good animation, other than that though, it's really pretty much business as usual.



Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Joker's Back -- Put a Smile On Your Face!
December 2002 saw the return of the Joker, in a direct-to-DVD adaptation of the Batman of the future. McGinnis, it is explained, is the Batman, complete with jet packs and invisibility shields. To be honest, it took me a bit of time to get used to that. What, no cape & cowls?

The flashbacks took care of that doubt. In this universe, Batgirl does not lose the use of her legs and become Oracle, but becomes the next police commissioner. Sorry to you vets out there where this is old news, but Batman Beyond is a new one on me. I must look up these DVDs and watch the 50 something episodes.

Mark Hamill is devilish as the evil Joker. Harley and her nasty twin grandchildren. The Jokerz and the clowns. Put them all together and you get a recipe for mayhem.

The original uncut version was a lot more violent and thus not really a kiddie's cartoon. There are adult themes of relationships, of revenge and of trying to forget the past, but the past, not handled, comes back and bites you hard. Reconcile or die!

The DVD: Commentary by the Filmmakers*; Behind-the-Scenes Documentary; Deleted Scenes; Animation Tests; Music Video Crash by Mephisto Odyssey featuring Static X; Animated Character Bios; Interactive Menus; Production Notes; Trailers; Scene Access; Subtitles: English & Francais.

A fresh new look on the original icon created by Bob Kane, refreshingly so.

Recommended:

Batman Beyond: The Animated Series Guide
Batman Beyond, Seasons 1-3 (DC Comics Classic Collection)
Dc Universe Classics Series 4 Action Figure Batman Beyond Unmasked Variant




 
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