Review: Batman - The Movie (1966)

In 1954, came "Seduction of the Innocent". This book, written by American psychiatrist Fredric Wertham, was a full-blown attack on comics, claiming them to be a huge corruptor of the youth of America. Several heroes were targeted, but the worst recipient of this attack was Batman & Robin, as Wertham went on to claim Batman & Robin as homosexual lovers.

As a result of this book, the Comics Code Authority was put into place for all comic properties, and, by force this time, the Batman comics got significantly lighter, campier, and dumber.

Whatever darkness Batman had was now gone, and in its place was full-blown science fiction, with Batman & Robin now travelling through space, time, and fighting aliens. Even characters like Batgirl and Batwoman were introduced to refute alligations of a homosexual relationship between Batman and the Boy Wonder, not to mention the introduction of Bat-mite and Ace the Bat Hound.

Sales got so incredibly bad for Batman comics that DC Comics was considering cancelling the character altogether. But thanks to Batman: The Movie (1966) and its television counterpart, this never happened.

Batman: The Movie (1966), for this reason alone, is the most important Batman movie ever made. Not only did the movie bring Batman into popular consciousness, as well as make several of our elders Batman fans in the process, but it also helped increase sales of Batman comics, saving the character from being killed off.

But that is not why I'm going to give this movie a favourable review. Batman: The Movie (1966) gets a fair rating from me because it's enjoyable and funny to watch.

I could very well be wrong about this, but assuming you are indeed a fan of Batman, you probably love the dark, serious Batman we know of today, right? We'll...so do I. In fact I prefer it by a large margin. But that isn't to say that this movie isn't worth watching because it's the exact opposite of our preferred Batman. It's funny, cheesey, stupid, ridiculous, and I love it for that.

The plot itself is nothing to get excited about (a dehydration ray is stolen and Batman & Robin must get it back), except for the fact that four Batman villains: Joker, Penguin, Riddler, and Catwoman, are the main villains Batman has to go up against.

Really, gags aside, everyone in this movie is so much fun to watch. Adam West and Burt Ward are a delight as both Batman & Robin, with their "amazing" skills at solving Riddler's puzzles, and their hilarious & unexpecting one-liners ("Holey heart-failure!"), to name a few. These guys know the role they play isn't a serious one, and take it upon themselves to deliver the most entertaining performances possible.

The villains...what can be said about the villains that doesn't already apply to Batman & Robin (other than the whole good and evil thing)? They're just as over-the-top, just as goofy, just as entertaining to watch.

Now...the gags...I wont say much about the gags, because these gems have to be seen to believed & it's better if I don't spoil them for you, but I will say that you can expect lots of ludicrous things from this movie when Bruce Wayne & Dick Grayson are able to suit up into their superhero alter egos by simply flicking a switch as they slide down a pole.

With all that said, the film does have its small moments where it comes to a hault. There's a love story here that is only in place to advance what ever plot the film has, and I admit, the scenes revolving around Bruce Wayne and Kitka kinda drag, but from these moments spring more ridiculous moments (include one that doesn't quite refute the homosexual claims made agains the characters years earlier).

In the end, you really should go into this movie expecting a lot of fun, stupid stuff to happen. Wanting a serious Batman film? I don't think I need to tell you where to go to see that. But nevertheless, Batman: The Movie (1966) is worht seeing, and not just because of its importance, but because it's just a really fun time. The movie never tries to be anything more than a ton of campy and jokes, and on that level, it succeeds greatly.

Final Grade

Batman: The Movie : 8/10

Columbia made their serials, and 20th Century-Fox made its camp-fest. Next week, I look at Warner Bros. turn to bring The Bat to the big screen.