Batman

I seriously hope that the director intended this film to be a comedy and didn't want the audience to actually take Batman seriously, because after a few minutes of this film, all seriousness is thrown out the window.

When I was young, I used to watch the old Batman TV series, so I kind of knew what to expect, but it has been quite some time since I've seen any of those episodes. The film was far cheesier and sillier that I expected. With all that said, I actually liked the film. I didn't think it was an excellent film, but it was worth my time.

Adam West and Burt Ward are hilarious in this film. The way they say things just cracks me up. The cast of evil-doers are quite good and funny as well: Lee Meriwether, Cesar Romero, Burgess Meredith, and Frank Gorshin. The rest of the cast pulls off a good performance as well.

I don't know that I would recommend this film to everyone, but if you're a fan of superhero films or just like old campy movies, then this is the film for you. If you do see it, I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading,

-Chris

Having, losing, gaining... to a generation of kids this WAS Batman. Only when Tim Burton reinvented the big screen perception of the "caped crusader" did it become outdated.

The third of the new films, Batman Forever parodied this film and the series with a "holy" joke. Unfortunately the movie in question was the first to be directed by Joel Schumacher, and so was consequently brash and bereft of wit. Yes, thanks to ShoeMaker this version of Gotham has suddenly become the coolest yet again.

It's all such brilliant fun, awash with the irony so gloriously absent from Batman & Robin. Michael Keaton was a wonderfully dark Batman, but the other two were planks. Adam West is knowingly hammy as the title role, and relishes the deliberately cheesy lines. He has a potbelly and a costume that looks like it was made out of an old binliner. Anyone who cannot see the genius of that is beyond help. Burt Ward's brilliantly overacted Robin is also hilarious, and far less irritating than the asinine Chris O'Donnell version.

The Batmobile is ace, too. I remember having a chunky Corgi model of the car that shot out matchsticks across the room. Much better than a CGI-enhanced penile extension. Even the rubbish filmed backdrops are fun. Everything's a bat-something in this film, a rope ladder having a large "Bat Ladder" sign tied to the end.

This is a fantastic movie, how could anyone not love it? Some hilarious scenes include the shark fight, the trap door spring and Batman with the biggest (and longest-fused) bomb in history. Look at this dialogue exchange where they try to work out which supervillain is behind the mayhem: "But wait! It happened at sea. See? C for Catwoman." "An exploding shark ... was pulling my leg." "The Joker! It all led to a sinister riddle. Riddle -er. Riddler?"

Fortunately, it turns out they're all involved, along with Burgess Meredith as the Penguin. The scenes set on the villains' hideout are shot with the camera at slanted angles, an inspired touch. All the poor things about this film work in its favour - Cesar Romero as the Joker looks about 80 and clearly hasn't bothered to shave off his moustache, but it works, as does the full-bore "acting" of Meredith and Merriwether. Only Frank Gorshin as the Riddler slightly disappoints; though that's because he's nowhere near as over the top. He is, of course, infinitely preferable to Jim Carrey. Anyway, they all work superbly together and the film doesn't feel top-heavy. A huge flaw of the new series, where more than one villain never quite clicked, can you imagine Nicholson, Pfeiffer, Carrey and DeVito all in the same movie? Of course it'd be impossible not just in budget but in egos, so having modest TV actors here serves the story well. One strange element of characterisation is seeing the Joker getting bossed around by the Penguin, something that would never happen in the comics.

Some of it's so wilfully silly it almost goes too far. If you put your tongue into your cheek you may choke, and seeing a Pentagon head playing tiddlywinks eggs the joke a little, though the whole thing is so well-meaning that you simply can't hold it against the movie. The plot, though, really isn't up to much at all, something I never noticed as a child (but then I never realised it was a comedy when I was a child, either). A repetitious sequence of events that sees the villains constantly trying to destroy Batman and Robin from afar, the heroes trying to locate their secret base. It goes round in circles, but a glorious "Biff! Pow!" fight on a submarine and a sideways swipe at eugenics make sure it all ends in style.

Lastly, look out for the scene where Ward and West run up and down on the spot ("Luckily we're in tip-top condition!") while a film background of a street and the theme tune play - a classic. Simple, silly fun and almost relentlessly appealing. So much so I nearly added another point to the total... 6/10.

The Joker, The Riddler, The Penguin & Catwoman have joined forces to wreak havoc on Gotham City......and then the World! Can Batman & Robin save the day?

Remember when Batman was fun? Not a serious scene in sight, no tales of revenge or personal demons to burst from the screen in a day glow burst of thunder. For many of us who grew up in the 60s and 70s this was the only Batman that mattered, pure unadulterated fun, all campy veneer and skin tight Technicolor suits. This full length outing for the dynamic duo is of course just an extended episode from the joyous TV series, just add a bit more money and you got a Bat Boat, a Bat Helicopter and erm, erm, Bat Shark Repellent! It's just wonderful I tell you.

How any of the actors kept straight faces is anyones guess, but they did, and they collectively delighted millions of children and like minded adults in a way that can't be described to the none believers, thank holy god for the caped crusaders that always kept us safe. 8/10

Footnote: Watching now in my middle years I ask any red blooded male this; is there anything more sexy than Lee Meriwether in the Catwoman suit? No wonder my Dad was a fan of the show back then...........

For folks my age, despite the more serious Batman films that began in the 90s, this frankly is how I like my Batman. Funny, tongue in cheek, and populated by some really great players who look like they were having a ball doing this film.

The Batman series in the Sixties ran for three fun filled seasons with Adam West and Burt Ward playing the dynamic duo. They got their shot at big screen laughs and took it and ran. The three most popular Batman villains all got into the film and Frank Gorshin, Burgess Meredith and Cesar Romero all did one glorious job in overacting their characters to the max.

The plot if you can call it that involves these dastardly people having invented the ultimate dehydrating machine and they capture the nine members of the UN Security Council and hold them for ransom. Also involved is Lee Meriweather taking over for Julie Newmar as Catwoman.

And part of the plot is for Catwoman to put on some sexy street clothes and pretend to be a Russian journalist Miss Kitka for whom Bruce Wayne is ready to share stately Wayne Manor with. Not to mention getting Dick Grayson a mother figure. Of course that would compromise their alternate identities, but is there no end to the dastardly plots that this crew can think up?

Batman also marked the farewell performance of Reginald Denny as a silly English millionaire who the villains take over a submarine he owns and use it for their own evil plans. Denny looked like he was just well into the spirit of all the fun involved.

This is how Batman should be.

If you can't appreciate the sublime glory that is the 1966 version of "Batman," I pity you, brother. There's nothing quite like Adam West dashing around a pier, holding a bomb with a ridiculously long fuse, declaring, "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb!" There's nothing quite like Cesar Romero's refusal to shave his moustache before putting on his Joker makeup. There's nothing like Romero and Frank Gorshin getting in a cackling contest as the Joker and the Riddler. For that matter, there's nothing like the Joker and the Penguin deciding that they need to don masks in order to commit crimes...

Comic book dorks whine and complain about the 60's-era Batman - I say that such people don't recognize how great the 60's Batman really was - the best fictional characters are the ones who can stand up through the decades to dozens of different interpretations. There's room in the world for Tim Burton's Batman, Adam West's Batman...heck, maybe even Joel Shumacher's Batman. Like "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai," "Rocky IV" or "Flash Gordon," this version of Batman is one of the great goofy pleasures of movie-watching.