THE ANIMATED BATMAN ADVENTURES #9 - 'Batman: The Dark Knight Returns' (2012)

After adapting "Batman: Year One" into an animated film, it was only proper that DC and Warner Animation would tackle one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) Batman stories ever told. Frank Miller wrote "The Dark Knight Returns" in 1986 as an attempt to tell the "final" Batman story. It became one of the most influential comic book stories of all time, having influenced darker storytelling at both DC Comics and Marvel.

The story introduces us to a 55-year-old Bruce Wayne that has been retired over the past ten years. He's had an unspecified falling out with Dick Grayson and he lost Jason Todd, a moment that is suggested to have made Bruce retire in the first place. In this alternate version of the 1980s, crime has run rampant since the disappearance of the Batman and there are even more gangs out on the streets, none more dangerous than the Mutants.

Commissioner Gordon is on the brink of retirement but still wants to take down the Mutants before he finally has to be put out to pasture. He is aware that Bruce, still a daredevil who seems to be searching for a good way to die, was the Batman and they've maintained a friendship since Wayne's retirement.

Soon, though, the runaway crime and a gnawing voice in the back of his head urges Bruce to don the cape and cowl yet again. Once he returns, some of his older friends want to play as well, including a seemingly healed and rehabilitated Harvey Dent and a certain Clown Prince of Crime that has been in a catatonic state since the disappearance of his "darling."

The movie stays largely true to the source material thanks to how they adapted it. The film was originally released in two parts to accommodate for the budget. Eventually, Warner Bros. combined the two parts into one larger film and this is how I would recommend that you watch the movie.

In the movie, it was great to see a Batman that was still a bonafide badass but showing his age. During one scene, he is tracking down a gang of thieves and they hear creaking above them. One of the thieves notes that back in the day, Batman never made any noise, revealing that the Batman is not as sharp as he used to be... but that doesn't necessarily make him any less dangerous as he is able to use his still sharp mind to accommodate for any loss of physical strength.

The movie is also great at capturing that alternate '80s reality where Reagan is still the president and there were a lot of concerns about his actions and his relations with the Soviet Union at the time. The trap here would have been to try and force this movie into a more modern setting where it might not have worked as well, but thankfully the movie avoids that trap.

The animation is pretty spectacular as well and you feel every punch and kick during the film's various fight scenes. More importantly, it comes as close to capturing Miller's art style from the comics as we were ever gonna get. I felt like I was watching the comic book story come to life and that's the best compliment that I could give to the artstyle.

The voice acting, for the most part, is pretty spectacular. David Selby could have been a little bit better as Gordon and I feel he was trying a little too hard to make Gordon sound old, but it's not terrible. The best voice actor is Peter Weller as Bruce Wayne/Batman. I was a little hesitant when they first announced his casting back in the day because I just didn't know how it would come off.

Thankfully, he has all the force, quiet wisdom, and menace that the voice needs at various points in the movie. Weller does a great job and is probably only second to Kevin Conroy as my favorite actor to have ever voiced the character. Michael Emerson also does a pretty solid job as the Joker and while no one will ever top Mark Hamill in this department, Emerson gives a decidedly quiet and creepy performance that perfectly contrasts with all the chaos he proceeds to deal out.

Ultimately, this is a fantastic adaptation of Miller's classic story. It is still one of my favorite animated films featuring the Dark Knight and I recommend it for everyone who claims that they are a fan of the Bat!

5/5 STARS

THE ANIMATED BATMAN ADVENTURES #8 - 'Batman: Year One' (2011)

"Batman: Year One" adapts one of Batman's greatest storylines from the comic books, originally written by Frank Miller in 1987. The movie, like the comic book, tells an elongated version of Batman's origin story, particularly how he got started as the Caped Crusader. It is also an origin story for James Gordon, the police lieutenant that will eventually go on to be Gotham PD's commissioner.

In the movie, Bruce Wayne has officially returned from his trips abroad. Gordon has arrived after something in Chicago forced him to move with his pregnant wife, Barbara. When Batman finally appears, it is Gordon's job to take him down. The only problem is that Batman is taking down the bad guys, including the corrupt cops that also give Gordon a tough time through the story.

The best thing that I can say about this movie is that it is a true adaptation of the story it comes from. Almost beat for beat, this is the story ripped straight from the pages of the comics. In other words, all the exciting action and the intriguing story of how Bruce becomes Batman is featured in this movie.

The biggest problem with the movie is that... well... it's a solid adaptation of the comic book storyline. What I mean by this is that the comic has the liberty to jump around a bit with its storyline. It doesn't have to fill in the gaps as much as a film might need to. This movie runs at a brisk 64 minutes and some of the scenes could have benefitted from a few little additions that could have better connected some of the scenes. It's not a major problem, but it is there and additional connective tissue could have helped here and there with this adaptation.

One highlight of the movie is the voice acting. In this regard, I'm mostly talking about Bryan Cranston being cast as the troubled Gordon. Cranston is one of best actors currently working and his voice gives Gordon the weight the character deserves. He's quite fantastic as are most of the other voice actors in the movie.

The weakest voice actor, though, is surprisingly Ben McKenzie as Bruce Wayne/Batman. He's kind of bland when he narrates as Bruce Wayne and his Batman is nowhere near as intimidating as he needs to be. If McKenzie's name sounds familiar, he would go on later to play James Gordon in the show "Gotham". Don't get me wrong, his voice acting could have been a lot worse and he ultimately passes thanks to the fact that the film focuses more on Cranston's narration as Gordon, but McKenzie's voice just could have been a lot better.

Despite a few criticisms, though, this is a pretty stellar and faithful adaptation of Miller's masterful origin story for the Dark Knight. The animation and the strength of the story is more than enough to make this a worthy addition to Batman's animated legacy!

4/5 STARS

THE ANIMATED BATMAN #7 - 'Superman/Batman: Apocalypse' (2010)

Wow, after enjoying "Superman/Batman: Public Enemies", I was surprised by how much I was disappointed by "Superman/Batman: Apocalypse", the standalone sequel to the first film. In this movie, a Kryptonian craft crash lands into Gotham Harbor. Batman goes in to investigate only to find a female very similar to Superman.

The woman is Kara Zor-El, Superman's cousin who was also sent to Earth when Krypton was about explode. Batman doesn't trust this new arrival while Superman automatically trusts her because she is his family. Meanwhile, Darkseid is out there somewhere planning an attack on Earth and, somehow, Kara is the key to his domination.

Batman's fears about Kara are not totally without merit as Kara has been having visions of a dark future. Still, his goal is to keep her locked up. Superman wants to show her the world and all the wonderful things within it.

The movie is called "Apocalypse", but the truth is that it should have retained the title of the original comic book storyline that it is derived from, "The Supergirl from Krypton". Supergirl's arrival on Earth and figuring out her visions is the main driving force while Darkseid's story is mostly in the background and only comes to the forefront in order to be an obstacle for our heroes later on.

There are moments where the movie almost picks itself up. An army of Doomsdays shows up in Themiscyra but this turns out to be a dud. Wonder Woman joins the fight against Darkseid, but she too is ultimately wasted it seems.

Yes, the animation is good and the voice performances (featuring Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly, and Summer Glau) are rock solid. However, they are all failed by a very generic and rather forgettable story. The action also doesn't feel as memorable as the set pieces featured in "Public Enemies" which is yet another disappointment.

Ultimately, I don't have much more to say about this film. It wasn't the worst thing that I've ever seen, but it may have been something even worse than simply being bad... it's forgettable.

2/5 STARS

THE ANIMATED BATMAN #6 - 'Batman: Under the Red Hood' (2010)

"Batman: Under the Red Hood" attempts to jam quite a bit of storytelling into its roughly 70 minute runtime. Thankfully, it's pretty damn successful at this mission. In the movie, the Joker has kidnapped Jason Todd, the second person to become Robin. After savagely beating Robin with a crowbar, the Joker leaves Jason to be blown up just before Batman can get to him.

Fast forward to the present day and there is a new player in Gotham. A mysterious figure called the Red Hood is taking over the criminal underworld from Black Mask. He also seems to have a pretty obvious connection to Batman. It is up to the Dark Knight to figure out who this man is and what his connection is to Bruce Wayne.

Of course, anyone who is a fan of Batman already knows who the Red Hood is, but I like that the movie makes itself work for anyone new to the storyline that may not have read the comic books. The movie combines several storylines into one including "A Death in the Family", "The Killing Joke", and the original Red Hood storyline in the comic books.

The first strength of the movie is the voice acting. Bruce Greenwood, Jensen Ackles, and Neil Patrick Harris do fantastic jobs as Batman, Red Hood, and Nightwing, respectfully. The voice acting does lead to my one surprising disappointment. John DiMaggio, an extremely talented and dependable voice actor, comes off as a very average Joker. He's definitely no Mark Hamill and I was surprised by just how bland his performance was.

That aside, the story is amazing. Again, I'm surprised by how much the filmmakers were able cram into this movie. They make the various plot threads work and they all build towards a pretty emotional ending.

The action is another highlight, especially the confrontations between Batman and the Red Hood. They are very well done and pack an emotional punch that also matches the emotional story being told. Sure, they can't get away with showing as much blood as they probably wanted to, but I'll forgive that since the lack of blood is necessary to gain a PG-13 rating for an animated film.

Ultimately, this is one of Batman's better animated outings. The animation, the story, and the voice acting (for the most part) make this a stellar Batman adventure that anyone can enjoy!

5/5 STARS

REVIEW - 'The Adam Project'

"The Adam Project" is the latest collaboration between actor Ryan Reynolds and director Shawn Levy after their surprise hit "Free Guy". Like that film, this movie is filled with plenty of heart and it made me think of "Back to the Future", "Time Cop", and "Field of Dreams" all at once.

In the movie, Adam Reed is trying to escape from his own timeline on a mysterious mission to change something in the past. While he was trying to get to 2018, he ends up crash landing in 2022 and meets his 12-year-old younger self (which I will now refer to as Younger Adam) who quickly figures out who his older self is and why he is traveling back in time. In the meantime, Younger Adam and his mother are both at odds with each other and dealing with the loss of Adam's father which has happened a little over a year earlier.

Hot on Adam's tail are troopers from the future that are trying to stop Adam from accomplishing his rogue mission. With Younger Adam in tow, Adam must now try to get to 2018 in order to finish his mission. To say anymore would be to spoil the movie further and I don't want to do that.

The first thing I can say is that I think that "Deadpool 3" is in good hands now that Levy has been tapped to helm that project. The action in this film is pretty spectacular and well choreographed. There are some pretty cool weapons from 2050 and this leads to some unique fights throughout the movie.

My only real problem with the movie and I just want to go ahead and get it out of the way now is that some of the special effects don't look all that great. In particular, they de-age a certain character in the movie and it is probably one of the single worst uses of the technology that I've seen up to this point. They would have been better off using good old fashioned makeup on the actor in question to get the desired effect.

The most important part of this movie, though, is Adam. This is a tortured character dealing with some dark things in his past and both Reynolds and Walter Scobell, the actor playing Younger Adam, are up to the task. They have great chemistry together and they both turn in heartwarming performances in between all the witty banter and putdowns that they sling at each other.

The supporting characters, which includes Zoe Saldaña, Mark Ruffalo, and Jennifer Garner are also great and help bring the story home. I was honestly surprised by this movie. It moves at a brisk pace with a surprisingly short runtime but the movie uses that time extremely well.

It may not be the most innovative story ever told and we've definitely seen the various elements that build this movie several times before. However, the performances and a story with a heart of gold help deliver a movie that is fun for Ryan Reynolds fans, time travel fans, and it's just plain fun for the whole family.

THE ANIMATED BATMAN #5 - 'Superman/Batman: Public Enemies' (2009)

Based on the graphic novel by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness, "Superman/Batman: Public Enemies" sees Lex Luthor becoming President of the United States. At the same time, a meteorite made completely out of Kryptonite that could destroy the planet is heading our way. Luthor has his own plan for dealing with the meteor and has enlisted a group of superheroes to work directly for him, including the likes of Black Lightening, Power Girl, and Captain Atom.

Superman and Batman, however, don't trust the new president. They know he's up to something but they can't prove it and their opinion is unpopular due to the seeming fact that Luthor seems to have gotten the country's problems under control. Sure enough, Luthor requests a meeting with Superman and betrays him. Luthor then blames Superman for the death of another character and places a massive bounty on his head.

The first thing that I can say about this movie is that I was surprised by how much I loved this movie! The animation is beautiful and smooth. The only problem I had here was that every superhero had overly exaggerated physical appearances. It reminded me of how superheroes were drawn in the 1990s thanks to the influence that Image Comics had on the industry at the time.

The action is pretty spectacular as well. There is a long sequence where Batman and Superman had to fight multiple supervillains and superheroes when they come after Superman for the bounty. Action can look good in animated films but not usually in a way that is overly impressive. Here, it looked fantastic and only at the end does it go a little too overboard.

The voice acting is on point here as well. The filmmakers were smart in casting both Kevin Conroy and Tim Daly as Batman and Superman, respectfully. They not only have great chemistry, but they also have great banter as well and you really feel their friendship come through as you watch the movie.

In addition to our main heroes, Clancy Brown was also brought back as Lex Luthor from "Superman: The Animated Series". Brown is pretty much a great actor all around and always turns in a great performance. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that he plays a Lex Luthor that is not only menacing but is just charming enough that you buy him as the President of the United States.

Speaking of which, I'll admit that when they did stories back in the day where Luthor was President, I didn't really buy into those stories. Yes, in this land of superpowered beings, I still couldn't bring myself to believe that anyone would be dumb enough to elect President Luthor. However, I've since survived the Trump years and understand just how real this possibility could be in the world of superheroes.

The only point where I did almost fall off from the story was near the end when Batman and Superman had to deal with the meteor. This felt like something completely out of place when they spent most of their time trying to stop Luthor. It's not a deal breaker but the meteor storyline does stick out like a sore thumb at times.

Finally, this movie clocks in at just over an hour. Normally, when these animated films try to cram a massive story within an hour, they can come off as a bit rushed. Thankfully, this movie uses its time well and almost everything feels like it has a place (again, the ending is a little weird). It doesn't feel rushed and it actually felt like it went on a little longer than it did, but in the best way possible.

I kind of came into this movie with a little apprehension. I don't know why, but I just didn't think it would be as good as other animated films featuring the Dark Knight. Thankfully, it became one of my favorite animated movies to feature Batman and the fact that it also stars Superman is an added bonus! I definitely recommend this feature for anyone looking for a thrilling animated feature starring Batman!

THE ANIMATED BATMAN #4 - 'Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman' (2003)

In 2003, Warner Bros. Animation decided to release another straight-to-video film set in the universe of "Batman: The Animated Series". The movie is set after the events of "Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero" but obviously before the events of "Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker". Therefore, there are some continuity elements to the movie.

For example, the movie explores the end of Bruce Wayne and Barbara Gordon's relationship. Also, Dick Grayson is not featured and while not explicitly stated in the movie, this decision to not include him was to say that he had already moved on to Blüdhaven which was established in "Return of the Joker".

The new movie shows that there is a new vigilante in town named Batwoman. She is not as concerned with the whole "no kill" thing like Batman is and this is what makes Batman want to track her down. Meanwhile, Bruce finds himself entangled with a woman named Kathy Duquesne, a daughter of a notorious crime boss.

The movie's art style takes after the animation found when "Batman: The Animated Series" became "The New Batman Adventures". I was, admittedly, never a fan of this animation style when it changed and so the animation here doesn't really do anything new or innovative.

In fact, the story feels a bit generic. It feels like this is one of the show's lesser episodes except given a longer runtime. I found that I really didn't care about this film's version of Batwoman or the story that revolved around her. By the end of it, I must admit that I was ultimately bored with the movie.

A second problem with the movie was with the film score. Lolita Ritmanis did the score here and before this, she was known for her work on "Batman Beyond". While her scores on that show was good, the score here was repetitive and generic, with one theme playing on repeat throughout the whole damn thing. The score helped define just how generic this movie really is.

At the end of the day, this is one of the more forgettable stories in the Dark Knight's animated adventures. The movie doesn't add anything new what had already been done before it and while it may not be the worst Batman story ever told, it may be something just as worse. It is completely and totally forgettable.

THE ANIMATED BATMAN #3 - 'Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker' (2000)

After the release of "Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero", there was going to be an attempt to make a third film set in the timeline for "Batman: The Animated Series". The new film was going to be called "Batman: Arkham" and feature Batman battling his greatest foes within Arkham Asylum. However, another animated series had become quite popular by the time of this film.

"Batman Beyond" was set in the future featuring an older Bruce Wayne who was using a young man named Terry McGinnis to carry on the mantle of the Batman. The show, against all odds at the time, became an instant hit as a show that successfully carried on the traditions of "The Animated Series". That meant that a straight-to-video movie was inevitable to capitalize on the show's popularity.

Therefore, "Batman: Arkham" was put on hold and "Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker" took its place. However, it was not smooth sailing for the project after it replaced the original film. In 1999, a mass shooting occurred at Columbine High School. This caused a renewed interest in violence featured in entertainment directed towards younger audience members.

"Return of the Joker" was originally intended for a release in early 2000, but was delayed to December 2000 so that filmmakers could make some changes to the film. That means that there is two versions of the film that now exists: the original that was released in December 2000 and an unrated of version of the film that was released years later. The changes to the film mostly revolve around a character who is killed in a different way than he is in the original release.

In the movie, no matter which version you watch, a gang known as the Jokerz has been stepping up their domestic terrorist attacks. They have been stealing high tech components for unknown reasons. It is eventually learned that this is due to the fact that the gang is now being run by the original Joker himself, a character that has somehow cheated death from years prior. It is now up to both Terry and Bruce to figure out how this can be and how to stop Batman's original archnemesis.

I would say more, but that would lead to too many spoilers. All I can say is that this film has plenty of twist and turns that not only tells you how the original Joker is back, but it also goes out of its way to tell you what happened to the original Batman's allies from the original animated series.

This movie is a huge improvement over "Sub-Zero", the direct-to-video Batman film that preceded this title. It leans into the strengths of both "The Animated Series" and what was being done in "Batman Beyond" at this time.

Will Friedle is fantastic as Terry McGinnis as always and Kevin Conroy is always perfect when he chooses to play Bruce Wayne. Both Friedle and Conroy prove to have great chemistry though this should come as no surprise to anyone who is familiar to the show on which this show is based.

It would probably help newcomers to the movie to watch "Batman Beyond" before tackling this movie. Beyond that, though, there is plenty of solid action, twists in the story, and great voice performances that carry this movie. It is one of Batman's better animated films and I definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in Batman's animated adventures!

THE ANIMATED BATMAN #2 - 'Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero' (1998)

In 1997, Warner Bros. released "Batman & Robin" into theaters. At the same time, Warner Bros. Animation was going to release "Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero" on direct-to-video, a spiritual sequel to "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm". Unfortunately, "Batman & Robin" ended up being the film that it ended up being. Warner Bros. decided to hold off for a year before finally releasing "Sub-Zero" in '98.

The end result is a film that is better than the movie it was supposed to tie into, but a film that also doesn't work as well as its immediate predecessor, "Mask of the Phantasm". One of the problems is that the filmmakers tried to use traditional animation combined with rather average CGI shots, something that was common in animation at the time. The second problem is that it was trying to continue Mr. Freeze's dramatic arc that started in "Batman: The Animated Series".

The story picks up with Mr. Freeze in the Antarctic. He is still trying to find a cure for his wife Nora while she is in suspended animation. Unfortunately, a submarine shows up and disrupts Mr. Freeze's rather tranquil setting. Nora is knocked out of her tank and only has a couple of weeks to live unless Mr. Freeze can find a donor. That donor ends up being Barbara Gordon, a.k.a. Batgirl and after she is kidnapped it is up to Batman and Robin to find her and to bring Mr. Freeze to justice.

So, in order to fully understand this film, you would need to go back and watch "Heart of Ice" at the very least. This is an episode of "The Animated Series" that introduced audiences to Mr. Freeze and it also happens to be one of the finest pieces of television ever produced. That means that this movie is also an inferior sequel to a much better storyline that was featured in the show. It ultimately works, but the movie is rather average.

Even the music, which was not done by the ever dependable Shirley Walker, can't live up to the quality that was set in "The Animated Series" and "Mask of the Phantasm". I remember when I rented this from the video store back in the day that I was really looking forward to watching it. Unfortunately, I ultimately ended up forgetting the movie shortly after watching it and, to be honest, I'm having a hard time remembering the movie after having just watched it for this review.

Ultimately, while the movie is not bad, it is a rather skippable film unless you're just a completist when watching anything even remotely related to "The Animated Series". It is better than "Batman & Robin", but of course that doesn't really mean much at the end of the day.

THE ANIMATED BATMAN #1 - 'Mask of the Phantasm' (1993)

Batman has had a long and storied history in the realm of cinema. There have been several live action films over the years. Also over the past several years, there have been several animated films featuring the Dark Knight. This series aims to take a look at most of these animated adventures.

There is no better film to start with than 1993's "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm". The movie was the first for Warner Bros. Animation and it was originally intended to be a direct-to-video film. Warner Bros. then decided that it would be released theatrically and this resulted in two things. The first was that the production team only had eight months to get the film together in a time when it took 3-5 years to complete an animated film project!

Secondly, it also didn't give the studio much time to market the film for its theatrical release. This meant that when it was released, it didn't do very well at all in the box office. Thankfully, when it was finally released on video, it became a massive success and has gone down as one of the best stories ever to feature the Dark Knight.

The movie is primarily based on 1987's "Batman: Year Two". In the movie, Batman faces off against the Phantasm, a new villain that is killing off old mob bosses. Batman is quickly to blame due to a series of unfortunate events. So, not only does Batman have to figure out who the Phantasm is, he also has to clear his name.

The case is also tied into Batman's past from before he donned the cape and cowl. In flashbacks, we learn that Bruce Wayne almost didn't become Batman at all. Despite being obsessed for most of his life with fighting crime, there was a brief moment where he became involved with Andrea Beaumont, a woman whose father appears to have been in league with the criminals the Phantasm is now trying to take down.

The movie came from "Batman: The Animated Series" that started in 1992. The show had become a huge success and was noted as also being even more serious than the live action films being produced at the time. This story is no different as it tells a darker story than what was being made for the box office at the time.

One of the big differences with this movie over the show, though, is that it doesn't have to deal with the Standards and Practices that regulated the television series. This meant that the Phantasm could kill their victims and they can even show a few drops of blood here and there. The filmmakers behind this movie took the material deadly serious and it shows.

The movie is still tied to its parent television show, but this is a good thing. The series is still one of the finest shows ever produced and this movie is a shining example during the show's most popular time. It should have stayed straight-to-video as these animated adventures seem to thrive in that domain, but it ultimately found its audience.

One final shoutout has to go to Shirley Walker, the composer of the movie's score as well as the composer for the show on which this film is based. In the show, she took the theme developed by Danny Elfman for the Tim Burton films and then developed her own style based on that iconic score. With this movie, she took the themes that she had been developing for the show and took them to the next epic level. Sadly, Walker died in 2006 due to complications related to a stroke, but her work will live on forever thanks to films and shows such as this one.

At the end of the day, though, no matter where the movie comes from, "Mask of the Phantasm" is still one of the best Batman adventures ever told on film. It is a tight yet strong film that should satisfy any Batman fan that happens to come upon it.

REVIEW - 'THE BATMAN'

Years ago, when I learned that Marvel had made a deal with Sony to bring Spider-Man into the MCU, I wasn't really all that excited by the news. At the time, we had already had two different cinematic versions of the character almost back-to-back and I was burned out. It was up to "Captain America: Civil War", the film where the MCU Spider-Man first appeared, to convince me that Tom Holland's Spider-Man was the genuine article and a Spider-Man I wanted to follow.

So, why am I mentioning this Marvel character in my review for a DC Comics movie? Because I had those same burned out feelings going into "The Batman". I had already seen multiple iterations of this character over the years and I was heading into this film without that usual excitement that I would have for a new Batman film.

I say this because that means that this movie had a tall order to pull me back into the franchise. Thankfully, director Matt Reeves delivers what I think might be the best film in this long running franchise. In this new iteration of Batman, the vigilante has been operating in Gotham for almost two years now and takes out his vengeful anger on the criminals who stalk those who can't defend themselves.

Unfortunately, there is a new villain in town calling himself the Riddler. He's a sadistic and anonymous madman that is targeting powerful people in Gotham including the mayor. The Riddler then leaves behind riddles directed at the Batman, seeming to indicate that the Dark Knight will have some sort of role to play in his sadistic schemes. Finally, Batman has a proper damned detective story to solve!

Meanwhile, Batman is feared not only by the criminals in Gotham but also by the citizens. His brutal tactics have criminals running scared, but what does his quest for vengeance mean to everyone else. The only one seeming ready to defend him is Lieutenant James Gordon, played perfectly by Jeffrey Wright, someone who I thought was perfect for the role the instant they announced his casting. Thankfully, he delivered and he may be my favorite actor to have ever taken on the role.

Now, how about our new Batman, Robert Pattinson? To be honest, I think that he may also be one of the best if not the best actor to play the role. He's not as connected to the Bruce Wayne side of things as much as other actors, but the story establishes that at this point in his career, Bruce is far more obsessed being a vengeful knight than trying to put on a good face as Wayne.

In addition to Pattinson's performance, Zoë Kravitz is good as Selina Kyle. Without spoiling anything for those not schooled in the comics, her story is mostly inspired by her role in Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's "The Long Halloween" storyline. In fact, most of this movie's story is inspired by that famous storyline so if you're looking for where Reeves got most of his inspiration, then look no further. There are other inspirations from the comics but to note them here would be to have more spoilers than I want to reveal here.

Like previous Batman films, there is plenty of action to go around, but what I loved the most about this movie is that it is also a compelling detective story involving the utterly creepy Riddler. This time, the master of riddles isn't messing around and is obviously inspired by the Zodiac Killer. On top of that, there are some genuinely creepy moments with this character and he is definitely one of the more effective villains found in a superhero film these days.

Finally, I will admit that the film's runtime could have been shaved here and there and there was no real reason for this film to be pushing close to three hours with its runtime. However, the runtime didn't affect me anywhere near as much as I thought it would. I can understand the runtime turning some people away, but it really didn't bother me by the time the credits rolled.

Truth be told, the more I thought about this film, the more I loved it. I dare say that I found it to be more enjoyable even over "The Dark Knight". That means that, yes, I'm saying that this is most definitely my favorite Batman film of all time. That means even more when considering how low my excitement levels were going into the movie.

"The Batman" is a fun and scary ride that pushes the boundaries of its PG-13 rating to deliver one of the Caped Crusader's best cinematic adventures!