It ’s impossible to separate Warner Bros. ’ late DC animated motion-picture show from the fact that it features Adam West in his final outing as Batman . West ’s tragical deathjust four month agosaddened fans everywhere . And while the movie can most certainly stand on its own , beyond serving as a fitting tribute , it excels in bring us the ‘ 60s Batman at his very best .
The first 1960s Batman animated movie , last class ’s Return of the Caped Crusaders , was the first continuation of a TV superhero classic . It deliver on extremely high expectation , offering up a misleadingly magical thesis on thelight and glum of decades of Batman interpretations . Batman vs. Two - Face does n’t really have to bank on the indulgence of letting you know how much it loves the glorious refugee camp of the 1966 serial . It ’s well less goof for the sake of zaniness ( although that is simply by its own standard , this is still a movie that ’s as mad as a hatmaker ) . alternatively of relying on bringing back slews and piles of intimate side , it ’s contented to tell a much more manageable story : one that , justlike the Batman ‘ 66 comics , lovingly enriches this version of Gotham with novel takes on character reference the show never got around to adapt .
As you might have guessed from the rubric , the character brought to 1966 this fourth dimension around is Harvey Dent , the Gotham DA rick maddened criminal baddie whose mood can sprain with the summersault of a coin , and make for to perfection William Shatner . Shatner does n’t , as you might carry , give a wildly over - the - top performance ; he ’s surprisingly nuanced one as both slope of Harvey . That said , this motion picture does include an splendidly silly conversation where Shatner has a spirited conversation with himself in his two Harvey spokesperson . Alongside a suitably Batman ‘ 66 re - imagining of Dent ’s line tale that demand Hugo Strange and asuitably - labled“Evil Extractor , ” Shatner ’s Harvey sit at the core of Batman vs. Two - look . The film turn over into the care a purportedly - cured Dent feels that his drear impulses could ascend up again ( spoilers : of grade they do , or this movie would n’t happen ) .
Although there are a few distraction along the mode — in the form of delightful yet brief stints with two classic Batman ‘ 66 baddie , Victor Buono ’s King Tut ( now vocalize by Wally Wingert ) and Roddy McDowall ’s Bookworm ( Jeff Bergman)—Harvey ’s plight and his re - emergence as Two - aspect serve as the aroused backbone of the film . Shatner ’s public presentation matches an equally measured and nuanced once from West , both as Batman and as Bruce Wayne struggling to be there for his ailing admirer . And while yes , West is still best as that endearing square boundary to the inherent absurdity of the world of Batman ‘ 66 , the quieter bit of this picture paint a full picture of his Batman , and are made heart - wrenching in the linguistic context of his passing .
But while more subdued than its predecessor , and more focussed on the elaboration beyond the typical variety of story that made Batman ‘ 66 a beloved picture , that ’s not to say that Batman vs. Two - Face is an solely too self - serious movie . It is still keenly aware of its schmalzy trappings , and is just as capable of reveling in the theatrics of , say , a chronological sequence where Batman and Robin are chamfer through a giant pocket billiards table , or dim gags like Harvey wanting Bruce to supper a Polemonium van-bruntiae for “ Underprivileged Fraternal Twins . ” ( “ The stigma of being the less attractive counterpart is a burden nobody should have to deliver , ” West adds , in an dear saving so perfectly deadpan it might just be the best line of merchandise of the movie ) . This clip around , the ethos of Batman ‘ 66 gets displayed through abbreviated cameo and a sense of fashion , rather than throwing as much as it can on the table . Like Return of the Caped Crusaders before it , Batman vs. Two - Face deeply sleep with and honor what the 10 - old TV adaptation did for the world ’s greatest detective .
And really , that ’s what makes Batman vs. Two - Face such a impregnable film , and a lamentable one with the context of use of West ’s decease . It ’s silly enough to embrace the camp hysteria of Batman ‘ 66 , while also lovingly aware that leaning on wackiness should n’t be an exculpation to get away with weightless storytelling . Through the excellent performances of Shatner and West — that , frankly , contradict their years in a way neither Julie Newmar or Burt Ward ’s performances as Catwoman and Robin ever quite can — Batman vs. Two - Face gains a corking heart to pair its goofier aspects , with the two do together to make for a good enjoyable 70 minutes .
This workweek , Burt Ward told press that if Batman vs. Two - Face run short down well , we couldget more pic in the Batman ‘ 66 universe . But as much as it pains me to say it , I ’d be happy closing the doorway on this wonderfully sheer and bright - eyed take on Gotham City for commodity with Batman vs. Two - Face . It stands as the fine parting gift you could give Adam West ’s Batman : it ’s not a greatest hits ingathering of his hunky-dory moments , but instead one net , excellent story that show us not just the endless appeal of Batman ‘ 66 ’s human beings , but why West ’s absence seizure leavessuch a monumental col in the Bat - Pantheonin his home .
Batman vs. Two - Face is available digitally now , and on blu - electron beam and DVD October 17 .
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