Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker Review
by Tim Wick
I should not have been able to see this movie. Warner Brothers will not
allow me to see this movie. The WB axed six important minutes from this
brilliant animated film and released it straight to video. In order to see
what the makers of the film intended, I had to find a bootleg copy. If they
ever see fit to release the original version, I will most certainly buy it.
I'm not going to hold my breath.
I was a Marvel Comics kid. I grew up on the X-Men and Spider Man, not
Superman and Batman. I will anxiously await Sam Rami's upcoming Spider Man
feature film more than I would ever await another Superman or Batman film
because that is who I am.
Still, there is something about Batman that draws just about every fan of
the
genre. Maybe part of it is the truly wonderful rogues gallery that
comprises
his regular adversaries. Many of these characters have really come into
their own under the sure hand of Bruce Timm and Paul Dini - the minds behind
the WB's Batman, Superman and Batman Beyond animated series. Mr.
Freeze was not much of a character before the WB series, for instance. Now
he is a great character. But all of Batman's adversaries pale in comparison
to the Joker.
I never liked Jack Nicholson's portrayal of the Joker. To me, it was always
Nicholson playing the Joker rather than just seeing the Joker on screen.
Even the animated series pulled their punches in regards to The Joker. The
Joker isn't funny. He is dangerously psychotic. He is homicidal. He is
willing to do whatever it takes to get what he wants.
Return of the Joker nails the Joker. He is not funny. He says things that
are funny, but never in a way that makes you want to laugh at them because
there is always an edge behind it.
What makes the WB series work over the Batman film franchise (yes,
including the first one) is the time spent developing the hero's. The
series
isn't called The Joker, it is called Batman Beyond. We should be
spending at least half our time understanding Bruce Wayne and his protegee,
Terry McGinnis. Timm and Dini understand this. We know the Joker is dead
but he is back. We know that something about the way the Joker was killed
is
haunting Bruce Wayne and Commissioner Gordon even now. We see how the Joker
affects them even now.
The movie has great animation and terrific action sequences, but what sets
it
apart is the way it depicts the Joker. You will not see that if you buy the
version that has been released.
The WB has chosen to sanitize it for young children. By doing so, they have
ripped out the heart of the story. This is the same studio that
mis-marketed
the Iron Giant last year. It is the same studio that had so little faith in
The Matrix that they banished it to an April release date. They are the
same studio that is most likely ending the run of Batman Beyond so they
can
show more episodes of Pokemon despite evidence that the craze is starting
to dwindle. How much do you expect their choices to be good ones?
Nothing that was cut was something I would not want my child to see when he
is five years old. It is harsh and a little scary, but it will only damage
him if I forget how to be a parent.
I can't talk about what is cut without spoiling the film. Nor can I tell
you
where to look for a bootleg copy. I'll bet one of your friends has one.
Ask
them to show it to you and then go to Ain't-it-cool-news and link to the
sites that detail the cuts made to the movie. Then write the WB to tell
them
they are idiots. Be polite. Encourage them to release a directors cut and
tell them you'll be happy to buy one once it is released. The world should
be watching this film and not the butchered version that has been put out
for
public consumption.
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