KAPOW! The poster for Leslie H. Martinson's Batman seems to scream it |
QUICK REVIEW:
Batman and 'the boy wonder', Robin, are up against a terrifying enemy: A collective of Gotham City's four worst criminals, who among other things dehydrate world leaders!
From the left, Burgess Meredith, Cesar Romero and Frank Gorshin as the film's three male villains |
They are The Riddler, The Joker, The Penguin and Catwoman, and they are all played with zeal and a speedy kind of mania by Frank Gorshin, Cesar Romero, Burgess Meredith and Lee Meriwether.
I found myself intensely wishing that Robin's (played by Burt Ward) mushy lips would do other things in Batman besides merely uttering idiocies. But alas. The very first Batman movie is a fatiguing, peppy, sexless, straight 60's-fantasy, which is completely relocated from reality and therefore lacks any kind of suspense. Still, it is worth a watch as a timely, stylish, psychedelic and über-enthusiastic entertainment production full of gags and yelling and noise of all kinds. It has a sensational amount of silliness and both the obligatory Batmobile, but also a Batcycle, a Batboat and a Batcopter ...!
And in case you're wondering, this is how Batman and Robin run through Gotham City in the film:
And this is how they climb tall buildings:
The film was released in the summer between the first and second season of ABC's Batman TV-series that feature almost all of the same actors, (Catwoman, however, was played by another actress.)
Batman is directed by Leslie H. Martinson (The Brady Bunch (1970-73)), a very productive mostly TV director.
Whether you'll enjoy the film depends mostly on your ability to experience the campy/innocent/silly dialog and production design as charming and funny. Ideally, Batman is experienced either with some kids, or under the influence of a joint.
Enjoy!
Watch the trailer here and at the same time enjoy Link Wray's classic theme here
Budget: 1.5 mil. $
Box office: Est. 1.7 mil. $ (US and Canada rentals)
= Uncertainty
What do you think of this the very first Batman movie?
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