Review of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000) by Donald N — 13 Jul 2007

(Note: The version of the movie I watched was the neutered, edited one. This review is representative of the edited version and the edited version alone.).

Batman has always been one of my favorite noir series of all time. That being said, the only live-action Batman movie that I truly respect is "Batman Begins". I also entertain myself with the Adam West cheese every so often, but most of the time, I like my Batman dark. Frankly, when I started watching "Beyond" on TV, I didn't really warm up to it right away. It always struck me as a weird mix between the Batman animated series and Spider-man. I have come to hate Spider-Man with the close of the its trilogy. The character of Terry is less whiny than Spider-Man, which is odd, because Terry is voiced by Will Friedle, once a member of "Boy Meets World". Cue chills down my back. Eventually, the series warmed up to me, proving to be a good, but lightweight version of its previous series. It wasn't until I watched this movie that I saw how good the show can be, albeit the movie feels like a very long episode of the series. The story is a good mix of drama, action, and comedy, touching on why I love Batman. Going further in, there are some creepy moments dealing with the original Batman's final fight with the Joker. This brings a certain amount of credibility to "Beyond", connecting it to the brilliant "Batman: The Animated Series". Even though I watched the edited version, most of which bypasses some aspects of the seriousness with the original Batman's last encounter, it still is effective. The voice acting is superb. Friedle really shines here and Mark Hamill is delicious as the Joker. For the masses, Hamill will always be Luke, but to all us nerds, he has paid his dues and has claimed his place in voice acting history. The animation, sadly, is lacking. It's still well-animated, but it doesn't stretch beyond the TV show. "Return of the Joker" is a Batman adventure that you should see if you are a fan. Not quite "Batman: TAS", "Batman Beyond" holds its own.