Batman: Dead End

I had been hearing about his film making the rounds at comic book conventions across the country. It has now been posted on ifilm.com, so I decided to take a peek. And damned if it isn't as good as I've been hearing. It's plain to see that the movie's director, Sandy Collora, is greatly influenced by the artwork of the legendary Alex Ross. This is evident in his use of minimal light, especially at the beginning as he shows Batman (Clark Bartram) putting on his costume. Bartram just might be as close to being perfectly cast as any of the big-screen Batmen. The eight-minute film centers around another escape from Arkham Asylum by the Joker (Andrew Koenig, looking very frightening). Batman catches up with our favorite homicidal maniac in an alley. A brief fight ensues and the two adversaries each give the old "You made me what I am" speech to each other (just like in the first film) before Joker is snatched away. All I'll reveal is that two creatures from a rival studio make appearances, both have appeared in the DC Comics universe before. But it's quite a shock to see them here, especially the first creature to show up. With this minimal budget, Collora (who works primarily as a special effects man) shows that a humongous budget isn't totally necessary to make a captivating film. From this effort, here's hoping that Collora can get more work behind the camera. No matter what the budget.

Don't expect a crappy little amateur film. "Batman: Dead End" puts some of the superhero movies made these days till shame.

The style and atmosphere is even darker and more sinister then in the 2 Tim Burton Batman movies. You can say that "Batman: Dead End" is a more daring movie. The movie shows how the makers can handle several styles and it's the crew that really deserves credit. Everything works perfect especially the cinematography.

But let's not forget the cast. Clark Bartram is actually a very convincing Batman (Better then Val Kilmer and George Clooney anyway) and Andrew Koenig is the perfect Joker his character is actually much more different then from the original movie in a good way. The character is more sinister and psychotic in a scary way instead of an entertaining. The characters are much more closer then the ones from the comic books.

Sure the story is just beyond silly but that's not the point, the crew really showed how they can handle different moments and styles. This little film is filled with wonderful little moments and is a shear pleasure to watch.

Awesome fights, great make-up, wonderful costumes, excellent directing, great cast, most excellent cinematography and a great and daring atmosphere and style, what is there not to like?

8/10

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When you go into these fan made shorts it's hard to have any hope that they will deliver. How do you make something like Batman with a non-existent budget?

Standing at around the eight minute mark this short see's Batman hunting down the Joker on the streets of Gotham. Newly broken out of Arkham Asylum he isn't the only thing that hides in the darkness.

As hard as it is to believe but this is Batman vs Joker vs Aliens vs Predator and it looks fantastic! The sfx are considerably better than you'd expect and the whole thing is constructed so well I'm genuinely upset there isn't a feature length movie.

I'd consider this a must watch for Batman fans and would love to see more by these guys.

The Good:

Looks amazing

Great concept

The Bad:

Batmans costume looks naff

Things I Learnt From This Short:

If fans can make this masterpiece then what's the excuse for Batman vs Superman?

Clocking in at only eight minutes this fan film of Batman has more imagination than any previous version of the Dark Knight I've ever seen.

I would have like the film to have been a few minutes longer though. So they could have developed the story more and had less of a cliffhanger ending. The actor they cast as Batman is also, physically, the most believable Batman yet. Michael Keaton was never quite right as Batman and Adam West was just too campy as the Dark Knight.

Some people won't like the crossover of other famous movie characters appearing in the film, but I thought it was fun. The dialogue, what little there is, is a bit hokey, and could have been improved though.

I'd love to see a feature length version of this film! Maybe Ben Affleck and Matt Damon at Project Greenlight should get the filmmakers of Dead End a million dollars in financing so they can add another eighty-two minutes of footage to the story! And viola! We have a Batman: Dead End feature! Filmmaker and fanboy Kevin Smith loved this film so maybe Kev can get financing!

And if you read movie internet message boards a lot of hacks and wannabe filmmakers are ripping this film to pieces. I think they're just jealous cos they didn't have the balls or creativity to make their own Batman fan film.

A good job! Imperfect, but still good!

This is apparently a short piece of fan fiction--not a piece authorized or made by DC Comics. Despite this and a budget of $30,000 (a huge amount for a fan film--a tiny drop in the hat for a professional-looking film), it is very professional in style and is quite watchable to those who are not fans of the caped crusader (I sure am not a big fan, but I liked it).

The film begins with Batman having a showdown with The Joker--who is very, very well portrayed by Andrew Koenig. He is nothing like the Jack Nicholson version--more like a demonic comic book version. However, one this crook is dispatched, some MAJOR surprises are in store for Batman--ones that I don't want to divulge as it would spoil the suspense.

The bottom line is this is a terrific film--well worth a peek and only taking about six minutes out of your otherwise hectic lives.