Batman: Return of the
Caped Crusaders (2016) – After fifty years, Adam West and Burt Ward reteam
with Julie Newmar to bring the ethos of Batman
back to life in an animated film that captures perfectly the spirit of 1966. Return of the Caped Crusaders is one
sustained self-aware giggle as the audience revels in every alliteration,
pow-biff-bam, and straightfaced platitude that West & Co. deliver with the
same wry camp from the 1966 television show. This installment finds less
attention paid to the Joker/Riddler/Penguin/Catwoman team-up and more focus on
a Batman descending into darkness, replete with metafictional nods to grimmer
’n’ grittier interpretations of the character. Yet despite the character’s fall
from grace over the course of the plot, this film never feels out of place with
the culture of the classic television show; it’s all done with a wink to the
camera, an embrace of the audience, and most importantly an abiding love for
the character of Batman. The filmmakers have even captured the frequently
nonsensical attitude of Batman ’66,
with headscratching science, overly complicated plots, and plot resolutions
that practically have speed lines coming off of their rapid conclusions. There
are also great one-off gags that one could imagine the show featuring, such as
a temporarily unemployed Alfred Pennyworth resorting to rifling through
dumpsters, replete with a rickety shopping cart. Overall, it’s just a real
treat to hear West & Ward back in the voiceover equivalent of ill-fitting
spandex, and it’s evident that the filmmakers are having just as much fun as
the moviegoing public. The best compliment one can pay the delightful Return of the Caped Crusaders is that
it’s so much of a piece with Batman ’66
that you shouldn’t be surprised if you see more of Adam West around these
parts...
Justice League Dark
(2017) – Meanwhile, over in DC’s more self-serious animation department, Justice League Dark follows on the new
Justice League animated films with a look at DC’s magical underbelly, complete
with a “darker” R-rating that doesn’t actually manifest itself as it did in The Killing Joke. I think this might be
my favorite of the new wave of DC animated films that began with Justice League: War, in part because
this actually feels like something new rather than a different paint job on
more of the same. Not that the new Justice League or Batman cartoons have been bad,
per se, but they’ve been a little forgettable. (I haven’t rewatched any, for
the record.) Justice League Dark
feels more – pardon the pun – magical because most of these characters
heretofore haven’t gotten their day in the sun. Magicians Zatanna (Camilla
Luddington, late of the Tomb Raider
games) and John Constantine (Matt Ryan, late of NBC’s Constantine and CW’s Arrow)
join Batman (Jason O’Mara, still growling his way through the role) and the
spectral trapeze artist Deadman (Nicholas Turturro, who plays Deadman as a
wise-cracking Jersey boy) to thwart a magical threat of global, demonic
proportions. The film descends into a generic urban fight scene by the middle
of its third act, but the character work up to that point ends up holding the
audience’s attention, even as deep cuts like Etrigan the Demon and Swamp Thing
show up (always a treat for this viewer!). Justice
League Dark is, well, darker than its counterparts, but the grim humor that
emerges makes these characters more than likeable and leads me to want more of
this sort of thing.That does it for this week’s edition of “Monday at the Movies.” We’ll see you next week!
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