La mujer murciélago

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of The Batwoman; here's the breakdown of my ratings:

Story: 1.25 Direction: 1.00 Pace: 1.00 Acting: 1.25 Enjoyment: 1.00

TOTAL: 5.50 out of 10.00

Even today, when I watch Batman 66: The Movie, I find it hard to believe somebody considered jumping on this bandwagon, even though the series was a massive success. So imagine my surprise when I came across this little Mexican picture. It screamed out for me to have a peek. And even though the silliness is still evident, especially in the costume department, these moviemakers decided to play it for realism. And it comes off slightly better than its male hero counterpart. Though I did miss lines like, "Someday's it's hard to get rid of a bomb!"

The writer, Alfredo Salazar, brings us the tale of the Mad Scientist trying to create the perfect human crossbreed. He wants his creation to have dominion of the seas, so he splices man's DNA with a fish. It's a strenuous transformation, and his mutations don't always survive. Therefore, he has his henchmen kidnap wrestlers in peak condition. Their disappearances and the rediscovery of their corpses become the police's number one priority. Unfortunately, they get nowhere with their investigations and have to bring in a third party to help them. Enter The Batwoman. In every respect, except for a few principal alterations, she is the female Bruce Wayne. One of the changes is that the authorities know her secret identity. Another is the dismissal of Alfred the Butler and Robin the Boy Wonder. They are replaced by her handlers-come-coworkers-come-friends, Tony and Mario, who work for different police agencies. Will she be able to terminate the doctor's evil plans in time, or is she the missing piece that will solve his puzzle? The plotline is basic DC sci-fi fantasy stuff of the 60s, and it's an enjoyable enough romp. However, it did need more comedic elements. The narrative doesn't cry out for it - the movie does.

Though Salazar provides us with a reasonable tale, the director, Rene Cordona, decided to stay with some of the more camp trademarks of the film and series. The Batwoman's attire is one of the chief issues. When she's wrestling in the ring, she dons a complete outfit, sans cape, similar to Batman's. However, when she's outside the ring, say, walking down the street and into police HQ, she assumes a skimpy two-piece bikini, Avec cape - Thank God they didn't get Adam West into speedos for most of his scenes. Then we get to the Evil Doctors mutation - who I fondly call Goldfish-Man or Carp-Kid. They have basically painted The Creature From The Black Lagoon's costume a lovely goldy-orange colour. Even though it's very comic'ish it's not too fearsome. They shouldn't have wasted money on the paint; he was scarier green. That said, Cordona isn't too bad a director. For a 60s moviemaker, he's pretty decent at capturing the fight scenes - which are better than the simple slugfests of its counterpart. And because the fights are more choreographed, they don't need the POW! CRASH! BOP! Exploding captions.

The actors and actresses are engaging in their performances. Though the characters are a tad two-dimensional, which was the case with comics back then, the cast does their best to instil extra life and credibility in them. Sadly, it doesn't always work out. But on the plus side, none of the cast is atrocious.

On the whole, The Batwoman is an agreeable and enjoyable flick worth one viewing, especially if you're a DC comic book fan - like me. It doesn't make my Guilty Pleasures list like Batman 66 does, but it's a different take on the hero and worth an hour and twenty minutes of your time - particularly on a lazy Sunday morning while you're munching on your breakfast.

Holy Carp-Kid Batwoman, it's time to check out my Holding Out For A Hero, The Final Frontier, and The Game Is Afoot lists to see where I ranked The Batwoman.

Take Care & Stay Well.

This is one strange little movie.Happened to pick up an english subtitled version of this one.It is known as Batwoman and was released during the Batman craze.Somehow DC comics didn't sue for the use of the name. Maybe because it was never really released in the USA.

Anyway a mad scientist is wanting to create a race of super gill men.He uses the glands of wrestlers because they are "perfect".I don't write them I just watch them.Wrestlers are winding up dead all over Acapulco so the call goes out for that mysterious crime fighter BATWOMAN!

She has the Batman cape, cowl and boots. Only Batman doesn't wear a bikini.I kept waiting for her to pop out of it during all of the violent fight scenes.No such luck guys.

The doctor succeeds in creating a gill man. Batwoman tosses acid in the scientist's face.He wants revenge and wants to make her into a gill woman.Will he accomplish the dastardly deed?Tune in tomorrow!Same bat time, same bat channel.

This is an average movie.Best thing to do is just turn your brain off, enjoy the local Acapulco scenery and while away 90 minutes watching this.

The Batwoman is the campiest movie ever made and I say that with great respect and admiration. Movies that are so bad they are good are hard to find and this one has it all. The well-endowed Maura Monti is Batwoman who wears a very revealing 2-piece bikini and a cape through most of the movie. She is called Batwoman but there is no bat about her - she is ALL woman! Not only is she the crime fighting heroine but she is also a pro wrestler and police agent who fights mad scientists. And what is a mad scientist who does not have a faithful servant name Igor and calls him Master? Well, this film has it all. Our mad scientist has created a fish man who is also a wrestler and now he wants to create a fish woman and that woman shall be none other than our favorite batwoman. He plans on creating an army of fish men/wrestlers to rule the sea! I admire his ambition. But the big question is will he get his woman, er I mean his bat, to create the first fish woman? I highly recommend this movie. It is so bad that it is good and highly entertaining.

From 1950 to 1980, cinema had the world in its grip. The power of film as a tool for political and religious propaganda had been firmly established after World War I and II. In countries like Mexico, Turkey, Iran, and the Balkans, the political and economic climate made it difficult to create a unique cinematic identity from scratch. Instead, they opted to clone the established and widely accepted American/British cinema, building their own film culture upon it. Copyright laws? Tossed out the window. But hey, many of the biggest names in non-English speaking cinema today grew up watching these films and found their passion for filmmaking through them.

LA MUJER MURCIÉLAGO (The Batwoman) is one such film, much like Drakula Istanbul'da (Dracula in Istanbul). While my home country, Turkey, boasts a rich collection of these types of films, Mexico undoubtedly takes the crown. The rise of technology and the blurring of artistic boundaries have made these films more accessible to a wider audience, allowing us to appreciate their cultural significance.

René Cardona is, without a doubt, one of the biggest names in this genre within Mexican cinema. His LA MUJER MURCIÉLAGO, a film that boasts cinematography even better than Adam West's Batman, is now streaming on Mubi in a remastered version.

Looking back from today, these films might seem raw and simplistic, but as I mentioned, their cultural impact is immense. They're a testament to a time when filmmakers in developing countries were finding their footing, experimenting with genre conventions, and creating a unique cinematic language that resonated with their audiences.

Mubi's Turkish subtitles for the film, as usual, leave much to be desired. Hopefully, they've done a better job with the subtitles for other countries. Despite this minor hiccup, LA MUJER MURCIÉLAGO is a must-watch for anyone interested in exploring the rich and diverse world of international cinema. It's a reminder that great films can emerge from unexpected places, and that even the most seemingly derivative works can hold hidden treasures waiting to be discovered.

Basically just a Santo movie with a female wrestler in the lead nipping like Santo in a sports car about the glamorous backdrop of Acapulco without ever attracting the attention of traffic cops or the public. Currently dropping in is the diabolical Dr Eric Williams (what kind of name is that for a mad scientist, even if he does have an assistant called Igor?), who travels the world in a yacht called Reptilicus harvesting wrestlers to provide components for his prototype fish-man Pisces (who rewards his master by putting more effort into clobbering Williams' goons than fighting The Batwoman).

Crime-fighting heroine Gloria is supposedly a millionairess who moonlights as the masked superheroine The Batwoman; keeping herself in trim when not fighting bad guys as a pro woman wrestler. (The bodysuit and trunks she wears to wrestle being far more becoming of a superheroine than the beach party bikini and cape she adopts a couple of times in the movie - and for the poster- as The Batwoman.) Like Yvonne Craig in the TV series, Maura Monti is far tastier without that stupid cowl covering her hair; and in the film's best (and probably most expensive) sequence she does battle underwater with Pisces wearing just a one-piece, after which Dr.Williams and Igor both get a good look at her without her mask without anyone being remotely concerned.