Rating: 
Summary: I'm lucky...
Review: Today, I finally recieved and watched the uneditted version of the movie in question... which deserves five stars, but lost one in my book for lack of artistical freedom. The uneditted AVI runs at 270+ MB, has the usual screen messages from time to time ("Not for sale. If you rented this tape, please call 1800 NOCOPY") and Japanese subtitles put on by whoever digitized it (They're over the screen warnings) but these are minor annoyances which are quickly ajusted to.I saw the two things I wanted to see: 1) Terry holding his own with out the fancy new batsuit 2) A transition into a more detective form of the dark knight again The end, when Terry is standing on a rooftop like the classic batman did, and they play TAS theme (in an electric guitar form) it's just so powerful... I half-expected him to pull out the hook-gun or the bat-a-rang, and catch it on some flagpole, and glide into the darkness. An exellent film which will make a welcome addition to my DVD collection if or when it is released in it's original form. For now, I'm thinking of converting the AVI to a VCD format and burning it on a CD-R as a temporary solution:).
Rating: 
Summary: "Batman Beyond" Awesome!
Review: What a GREAT show! Batman Beyond is definently the BEST animated 1/2 an hour show around! I can only hope to see more of this AWESOME show. So tune in on the Kid's WB! Check your local listings. I'm 58 and it's still timeless. You have to watch this with your family, all mine watch this GREAT show! It's so ahead of it's time. So keep up the GREAT work on this show!
Rating:
Summary: New era, new Batman
Review: With FIVE new Batman DVD's being released on April 23, 2002 (including Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker: The Original Cut!) and Justice League quickly becoming the biggest show on Cartoon Network, I thought now would be a fine time to revisit Batman Beyond: The Movie. I remember the night when 'Rebirth' (aka BB: The Movie)premired. I had a history project due the next day, but I made sure to block out an hour to watch the new series. I was definitely NOT disappointed. Unfortunately, the series didn't always live up to the high quality of that first night, or the quality of the shows before it. Fans who have watched all three seasons of Batman Beyond know that while the episodes have been good, only a third of them really harkened back to the spirit of the original series. Most of season 2, for example, was wasted with teen angst plots (a tough love boarding school, a psychotic robotic girlfriend) underdeveloped villains (a father is laid off, builds a power suit and turns to crime, a terrorist organization with a new ripped from GI Joe), and the character Max, the annoying sidekick who more often than not robbed Terry of character development by doing things for him. Granted, the episodes were always fun to watch, but they never really had the emotional and intellectual impact Batman: TAS was famous for. On the plus side of things, most of the episodes in the 1st season were excellent, and this DVD manages to deliver six of those. BB: The Movie starts out with an intro that manages to develop the original Batman (Bruce Wayne), and set up why he gave up the cowl. It's a breathtaking opening, and features the new Batsuit in a not-quite futuristic world. The story then moves on to introduce Terry, the new Batman, his chance meeting with Wayne, and his motivations for donning the suit. There are lots of classic moments in this two-parter: Bruce beats off a gang of Jokerz, smirking at their attempts to imitate the original clown prince of crime; Terry banging on the gates to Wayne Manor, demanding for Bruce to let him in because he has vital info concerning a viral plague; Bruce and Terry talking about the death of Bruce's parents and how Terry's situation is similiar. All in all, a nice self-contained movie that sets up the characters and villains well. The other four bonus episodes on this disc are just as great. One episode is a teen angst episode about a boy and his robot, but it's well done in the way that it focuses more on the boy than Batman, which is how the majority of the villains in the original series were introduced. Another episode has the return of Mr. Freeze (need I say more?). The third episode features a romance similiar to the Batman/Catwoman relationship of the past, and, though melodramatic at times, is fun to watch. The weakest episode is The Winning Edge, which features someone selling Bane's venom formula to kids on the street. The 'say no to drugs message' becomes overly obvious, and the surprise villain isn't really that great. However, six episodes still means two hours of entertainment, which makes it just as long as any feature length film. I'd give this disc a solid recommendation except for one problem: One of the episodes, Black Out, is missing. Not only was this a fantastic episode, it also ruins the chronological order of the episodes on this DVD (all the episodes are in order, with the omission of Black Out). Because of the new DVD's, petitions have been created to release all Batman Beyond episodes on DVD. This might mean if you buy this disc now, another edition might come out later with the missing episode on it. This is nowhere near definite, but it's something to consider. Based solely on this disc, not on what special editions the future might bring, I recommend Batman Beyond: The Movie. Great animation, music, and acting make this a must-have.
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