Batman Beyond - Return of the Joker

Rating:
Summary: About Time...
Review: WB may have been wise in censoring this film for the littler audience batman beyond may have. but it was a huge disappointment to the more grown up audience. i loved the the original batman cartoons and i was definetely eager to see this film when i saw a trailor. i was deeply disappointed to have to wait a couple more months then expected and even more disappointed that i was waiting for a kiddie, watered-down film. but i bought it instead and still loved it. but i signed ever petition i could find for an uncut version. and it finally came. so all i have to say is...about time....

Rating:
Summary: This blows away live action
Review: When I saw the original VHS release, I was expecting a sort of watered-down, cartoonish movie, like Mask of the Phantasm (as great as that one was). I was surprised to see a film that puts the last two live action movies to shame. Return of the Joker is a dark, plot driven, action movie with enough twists to rival the Joker himself. The action was amazing (live action can't do this much without breaking the bank), the story was intriging, and the music helped drive the movie (a mix of techno and orchestra). I had no idea that it was an edited, watered-down version that I was watching.

This uncut (original cut) release is something else with a PG-13 tag. It may rival even the Tim Burton films. Parents, if you think that the original release was a bit too dark and violent for your kids (over protective as you may be, unless they're like 3), do NOT get this version for them! This release is for older fans and movie buffs only. If they can sit through Batman and Batman Returns they'll be fine with this though. Many scenes were changed Joker doesn't just laughing gas Bonk in the beginning, he flat out soots the "bang" sign into his chest. Also, in the flashback where Joker originally dies, he doesn't get elecrocuted off screen. He doesn't even get electrocuted. He shares the same fate as good ol' Bonk thanks to Tim Drake (Robin). Also the hand to hand fights are a little longer and flow a lot better. There are some others, but you can see them for yourself. The widescreen format also helps it feel more like an actual movie and not just another episode. SoI definately recomend this version of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker to any Batman fan.

Rating:
Summary: They've finally released the original
Review: (Note: I'm referring to the uncut version with the black border.)

I beg to differ with other reviewers: this film, while not for 5 year olds and similarly-aged tykes, is well suited for older kids, because it teaches them a valuable lesson about the entertainment they're accustomed to--one they must learn anyway to avoid a world of make-believe and patronization. It teaches them the truth behind the popular fantasies of superheroes--namely that even the best and brightest of us can grow dimmer with age, and suffer trauma and horrifying memories; that even the best and brightest of us are prey to the fundamental limitations involved in being human.

With television we allow our children to watch portrayals of superheroes where a brave and invulnerable hero fights dastardly villains who will always return to pester him. The villains never actually commit crimes redolent of those committed in the real world, children are never harmed, and though people get hurt, no one ever dies.

The original version ROTJ starts out with this mode in mind, and then destroys it. All our accepted conventions are brutally taken from us, and we are forced to accept what we'd prefer not to. The violence-totally unglamorous-of the flashback sequence is rooted in deeply moral truths: we get no enjoyment out of it but only a rising horror, and sit back nearly as traumatized as the characters onscreen. Here, every death counts--every blow inflicted flies out from people pushed to limits of anger, hatred and fear.
ROTJ will not harm your children, but might destroy your children's faith in conventional super heroics, because it applies the harsh light of moral reality upon a potentially dangerous, delusive fantasy. Children, who excel in make-believe, are quick to see through the lies of adults when prompted to do so.

So kudos to Paul Dini, whose scripting career has showed he isn't afraid to go over the edge. His film can be seen as the endgame for Batman: the hero can no longer remain perpetually young but grows old and enfeebled; his surrogate family rejects him, the worst imaginable incident of his career occurs, lives are taken, people are forever scarred, and the fragility of human lives and affections are brought painfully to notice.

So please, see this BEFORE the cut version. The edited version was reworked by only a few minutes, but it takes only a few delicate cuts to do major damage to movie this carefully put together and thought out. A heart surgeon can kill his patient with just one misplaced slice, and a good censor can destroy the heart of a film with just a few canny moves. Anyone who defended the edited version without having SEEN the original was simply whoring for the WB.

Some of these ignorant viewers have used the argument that leaving out violence strengthens the films impact, since "what you can't see is more genuinely terrifying than what you can." But this is NOT something as silly as a matter of some blood being removed-this goes much deeper. Because we never expected in a million years to see what we see in the flashback sequence, viewing it forces us to confront events so unsettling and unexpected that we couldn't feel their impact if they were hidden from us. The violence has not been merely toned down--the entire direction of the film has been altered and serious issues have been evaded. They didn't simply cut this film, they remade parts of it.
What happen to Robin (Tim Drake) is what this film turns upon, and the WB made what happened to him a thousand times less shattering by chopping out and then totally changing his most climactic act. In doing so they intentionally absolved him from the moral responsibility and complicity involved in the film's violence and how it's presented.
The people who argued that such butchery was for the best essentially admitted that they didn't care about how violence of an unsettling nature was treated in a movie-they just were alarmed at the notion of upsetting violence, so they decided it shouldn't be there. They just assumed that what was a matter of moral examination was simply one of extra gore. They didn't mind that a faceless company stepped in AFTER a film has been made, forced its makers to bowdlerize it, and then tried to pretend the true film never existed. (Paul Dini was understandably [upset].)

Think about this: the only reason you can see this film is as it was meant to be was because the WB corporate leadership didn't step in to delay the original's release soon enough to prevent screener copies of the original from being sent out. (As custom with movies about to be released.) So when the cut version premiered, fans alerted by the screeners call foul, raising a huge outcry. That is why you can now see this film as it was created and all that prevented the WB from pretending the original version never existed. What the WB practiced was post-production censorship-that of the worst kind. Had they stepped in during the scripting stages, the filmmakers could have fully reshaped the movie to fit the changes. Instead they were forced to edit at the last minute and insert new scenes into sequences that didn't fully fit. It's thanks to the dedicated fans that cared enough to speak their hearts that we can see this film in its genuine form. As for you cowards who, without viewing the original, argued the cut version forced upon the filmmakers the more effective and a wiser choice--may you, who colluded in corporate thuggery, get what you fully deserve.

And as for those of you with open, clear minds and a respect for the intelligence of their older children: be responsible parents and watch this movie with your kids before discussing it. You'll have a lot to think about.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Batman DVD to date
Review: I know that a lot of people give Batman Beyond a hard time, but this DVD should blow all the naysayers away. As a comic book enthusiast and long time fan of the Batman character and series, I went into this story with more knowledge of the characters than most and I found it to be extremely well done and well thought out. There are twists and moments I really did not expect from an animated film living in the 'Family' section of the DVD's. It is much darker and grittier than what you might expect from Batman Beyond, harkening back to the days when Tim Burton made Batman movies the way they were supposed to be made. You get a glimpse into the Darkness that haunts Bruce Wayne and those who step into his world. Nothing is glossed over. I would strongly recommend that parents preview the movie before letting younger children watch it, as it does deal with some very strong material.

Overall, this is an excellent movie, and I highly recommend it to fans of the Batman Comics, Animated Series and Tim Burton Movies. This is Batman as it should be done.

Rating:
Summary: Not for little kids
Review: My kids like it, but thank goodness they're too young to understand parts of the plot. An insane asylum, with pschosurgery and torture... not want you want your little ones watching!

Rating:
Summary: RE: UNCUT VERSION..please read, February 17, 2002?
Review: ... The upcoming "Return of the Joker" has the scene that completely changes how the characters are viewed -- mainly, the completely "different" way in which the Joker dies, and who (not accidentally) kills him. It changes the whole movie.
There is also, a great deal of symbolism lost -- Like the very first scene, which is cut.
Don't buy the edited version, unless it's for your kids. The unedited version is much more violent.
In the end, it's not the best in the current crop of Batman animation being released. It was good, but not great.
"Sub-Zero" was great.

Rating:
Summary: Call me a die-hard purist but...
Review: this ain't Batman. ... The only part where this movie shines is the flashback to where the REAL Batman has his final meeting with the REAL Joker. The rest of the movie is either predictable, derivitive, or just plain flat. Do yourself a favor and rent this before you buy it. I give it 2 stars for at least having Batman in it. Otherwise it would rate no stars at all.Hey, am I the ONLY one who is bothered by the fact that we had a chance to have a Batman movie where he has a final, climatic showdown with the Joker, only to have it cut up and sandwhiched into a Batman Beyond movie.Think about it! You were cheated! There should have been two movies here. A Batman-Joker movie, and then the Batman Beyond movie as a sequel. Instead we get neither. This [stinks]!

Rating:
Summary: Finally, Batman is back, pure and untainted by WB censors.
Review: This movie, to put it plainly: ROCKS. I owned a copy that I snagged off [other online store] a while back. I refused to even touch that horridly watered down version that was released several months ago, because I would only watch the movie in it's pure form. However, my copy had very poor picture and sound quality, even though it was probably one of the better copies avalible. Now though, Warner Brothers has wised up, and they've released the Dark Knight of tomarrow on the format that he deserves, without having the violence and drama cut out. I suggest any parents looking into this film buy the version that's already released, because this film is pretty violent, and contains blood. Also, there are some phycological themes that might freak the little munchins out. However, any mature Batfan who wanted to see this movie, but refused to give into WB's butchering, this is the version you've been waiting for. Finally, Batman is back, pure and untainted by WB censors.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome!
Review: Thank You Warner Brothers! Thank you for finally comming to your senses! Thank you for finally realizing your mistake and releasing this awesome movie in its complete un-cut, un-edited glory. Thank you for realizing that a majority of Batman fans are not 10 year old boys.

Rating:
Summary: Uncut finally! The Joker in all his twisted glory!
Review: I had the pleasure of viewing the uncut version of this movie, as well as the edited version, and can say without hesitation that the uncut Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker is a far better movie. The edited version made some fairly short cuts and alterations, but what was changed is EXTREMELY significant to the story, and this uncut version displays that excellent and tragic tale as it was meant to be shown. Never has the Joker been portrayed as well as in this animated film, with his combination of humor and murderous psychopathic behavior. The backstory is a treat for all Batman fans, and the main plot flows nicely. This one is a must-buy for any animation fan.