Rating: 
Summary: A Worthy Addition to the series
Review: But it's way too short. At only 76 minutes you begin to wonder why they bothered. The story is barely given a chance to be intriguing and it is told in a very confusing way with too many flashbacks and flashbacks that go into their own flashbacks. But it still retains that dark edge the 2 previous movies had and many visual thrills.This movie tells the tale of how Bruce Wayne became Batman in a little more depth than the live-action films and gives us the discovery of the Batcave in a slightly different way than that in BATMAN FOREVER. The Joker is as crazy as ever, the thugs and hoods are as nasty as they have always been and the identity of the Phantasm surprised me. Although much of Danny Elfman's theme is missing the music is still powerful and involving. The animation is very good and has many elaborate `sets' and locations. The visual style still sticks to that of the comic book like glue and it all makes for a very exciting film. Even if it is a bit of a confusing one, especially for kids. The DVD is in Dolby 2.0 Surround and is anamorphically enhanced at 1.78:1. The picture is a little grainy but is clear and clean enough to make it worthwhile. The soundtrack is full of life and the score is well recorded and adds immensly to the atmosphere.
Rating: 
Summary: Batman Rules!
Review: I own everything on BATMAN! Nuff Said
Rating:
Summary: Bat Walker
Review: After Danny Elfman, nobody could do a fantastic composition for a Batman feature -or T.V. show, for that matter -than Shirley Walker. Of course I'm talking about the 90's. Walker's Batman theme is heard superbly on this CD, with a chorus that's kind of reminiscent of Basil Poledouris' "The Hunt For Red October"; the only difference is that the chorus here is in Latin. You can tell that there is an influence from Elfman in the action tracks, especially 'Joker And Phantasm Fight' and 'Ski Mask Vigilante'. But Walker's best pieces of music are 'The Big Chase' and 'Batman's Destiny', where she demonstrates she has got the capacity of writing good action music. The only bad thing about this album is that 'Ski Mask Vigilante' and 'The Big Chase' were edited for this CD. And there were some music which were left out. However, you can appreciate Shirley Walker's talent as a composer for action movies. Too bad she is underrated in this field, maybe because she is a woman.
Rating:
Summary: Hyperbolic.
Review: This is a major work of modern art, the kind of film DVDs were invented for. As you watch it, you are torn between enjoying the fast-paced action narrative, or wanting to freeze each frame to savour the astoundingly rich and resonant images, all magical outpourings of pure Pop Art. The animation contrives to allow you do both - the slightly stilted movement simulates the act of reading a comic book. The visual architecture is breathtaking, huge art-deco nightscapes painted with Precisionist depth - imagine 'Metropolis' redesigned by Georgia O'Keeffe. This architectonic geometry extends to every aspect of the narrative - the reeling choreography of the set-pieces, including a spectacular showdown between Batman and the Joker in a disused, explosives-primed, futuristic theme park, all swirling, carnivalesque horror; the complex double narrative, switching between the present day plot (who is the strange Phantasm wiping out the city's gangsters?) and the lengthy flashbacks retailing the protagonists' history; the film's themes, criss-crossing the past, present and future, especially the way the two leads (who meet in a graveyard, and visit a futuristic exhibition) are emotionally paralysed by their need to avenge an horrific past, but also the trashcan of American pop culture, the dregs of which are brought to grotesque, surreal life here. These intersections - of image, plot, environment and character - combine to create an artwork of unutterable beauty, its nostalgia for a period of characteristically American (rather than blandly global) pop culture echoed in the tragic melancholy of the characters, a sadness the equal of Tim Burton's Batman classics.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome flick, okay DVD
Review: This is a beautifully done animated film based on the Batman animated series. This film is better than the live action films though unfortunately shorter. The animation is top notch, the music is cool, and the story is great. The only thing that bugs me is, once again, Warner Bros. doesn't do a Special Edition DVD. The only special features are the trailer and scene selection.
Rating:
Summary: Gotham City's savior
Review: Gotham City's gangsters are being eliminated one by one and the Dark Knight is mistakenly blamed. During Batmans investigation he discovers a new villian, The Phantasm. Also the Caped Crusaders archrival the Joker becomes involved. Amist flashbacks of his lost love from ten years ago he must put together the pieces to solve the mystery and clear his name. Fans of the television series and comic books will eat this movie up. This film reveals many things about Bruce Wayne's past. Along the way we learn the origins of Batmans costume and how it was designed to strike fear into his enemys. The voice overs are all top notch from Kevin Conroy, Dana Delany and Mark Hamill. Batman fans rejoice, the movie you have been waiting for has finally arrived on DVD.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Bat Man Movie
Review: This, in my opinion, is the best Bat Man movie ever. It's got everything: great plot, great villians, great music. Here's the basics plot...Someone's been going around killing well known criminals, witnesses see a dark shap in a cape and assume it's Bat Man. The cops go on a man hunt for him. Meanwhile Bruce's old flame shows up and complicates matters. Bruce has a lot of flashbacks about how he first met Andrea and how he became Bat Man (lots and lots of flashback) Meanwhile Sal the Weezer figures he's next on "Bat Man" kill list so goes to an old partner to seek his help, the Joker. Well Joker figures out that it's not Bat Man doing the killings (it's funny, i won't ruin it for you) and they all (Bat Man, Phantasm, and Joker) show up at an old World Fair thing and duke it out. The ending is a bit of suprise (at least it was for me) Like I said, this is a great film, so watch it
Rating:
Summary: Batman the way the it oughta be!
Review: I am a true Bat-freak and I must say that Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is easily the best animated Batman movie ever and second only to the first Tim Burton directed Batman as the best Batman movie ever. Phantasm shows the origins of the Batman costume and even gives a glimpse of what Bruce Wayne would have been like if there had never been a Batman. Phantasm has the dark, edgy feel that is the true Batman, not the neon crap that the last two theatrical movies have been. The voice acting in this movie, as well as all of the animated Batmans, is superb. I can't think of anyone who could have done a better job than Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill did as Bruce Wayne/Batman and the Joker. They are perfect.
Rating:
Summary: In your face Schumacher
Review: This is the kind of movie that has Disney shaking in their boots. You mean a cartoon doesn't have to have stupid songs that sound the same in every movie. You mean a cartoon doesn't have to have characters that look and act the same from one movie to the next. You mean a cartoon doesn't have to have the same formulaic plot recycled again and again; or have annoying sidekicks; or be chalked full of empty sentimentality. NO, NO, NO, NO, NO it doesn't! And, BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM proves it. While, the live-action Batman movies, are nothing more than 90-minute commercials (I'm also surprised that I didn't see the words "POW" or "BAM!" flash across the screen during the fight scenes of Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin)-- BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM concerns itself with the history of the character. Batman is a character who has been around for over 60 years. It also, takes a daring approach: relying on good storytelling instead of hype to capture our attention. The plot of the movie concerns Batman investigating a series of gangland murders: but on another level, it concerns characters that cannot escape their past. I like how, in flashback form, the movie portrays the past as bright and full of promise, and then cuts to a present on the verge of ruin. One scene in particular is when a young Bruce Wayne visits the Gotham World's Fair and takes a ride through an exhibit called: "The City of Tomorrow." When next we see "The City of Tomorrow" it's old, run down, and now serves as hideout for the Joker. This is the Joker at his finest hour. A Faustian character, not just the devil incarnate, but also a man in torment. The Joker, however, is not the real villain here. The real villain, of this movie, is fate-- and how sometimes things turn out not the way, we would have hoped. One of the most haunting images of the movie is the final one. A grief-stricken Batman rests high amongst the rooftops, like some gargoyle, only coming alive when his city needs him. BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM is Batman as pure mythos, stripped completely of its commercialism. Funny how an animated feature makes its characters seem realistic and three-dimensional, while the live-action version makes its characters one-dimensional and silly.
Rating:
Summary: Better than Burton...
Review: Ironically, this animated film comes across as the most grown-up adult retelling of the Batman legend. It's filled with believable human moments and a view of the Batman from without and from within. This serviciable little vehicle fulfilled all my Batman desires far better than any of the live versions. It is full of qutable memorable moments: We see why people fear the Batman the moment he first dons the mask when alfred, who bathed him as a child... nah... that would be telling. We see the agony and the pain of Bruce's loss and hear the line... "It just doesn't hurt as much anymore..." We see the true insanity of the Joker, stripping away the clownish veneer forever... If all... heck, if any of the live films had been this good people would be lining up for Batman-X by now...
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