Customer Reviews

Batman Beyond - Return of the Joker [VHS]

5 star:		(151)
4 star:		(66)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

The original Batman animated series of the 90's might have been aimed towards children, but it was so well written and slick that older audiences enjoyed it as well. While I was a big fan of that original series, I'll admit I really wasn't too fond of Batman Beyond (although the idea behind it intrigued me). I had originally seen the original cut version of "Return of the Joker", and I somewhat liked it, but when I heard about the uncut version finally getting released, something told me I had to see it. I will tell you that in every way, shape, and form, this uncut version tops the cut one. The uncut version clears up some holes from the cut one that were created so the more "violent and mature themed" scenes could be cut out, plus we get to really see just what kind of lunatic the Joker is, I mean who would do that to a kid? Seeing that image of what happens to Robin will make you understand why Warner Bros. cut out the scene. Not to mention we also get to see how the Joker really met his demise, and why Bruce Wayne walks with a cane. Kevin Conroy is great as always as Bruce, while Will Friedle is pretty good as Terry McGinnis, but the film belongs to Mark Hamill, who is always fantastic but here much more sadistic, as the Joker. Other voice talents include Dean Stockwell, Melissa Joan Hart, Angie Harmon, Michael Rosenbaum, and good 'ol Henry Rollins as one of the Joker's henchman (we also get to see what really happens to him too). All in all, if your older but love anything Batman, steer clear of the cut version and get this fantastic uncut edition, but if your buying this for your kids or a young child (like say under 10), get the cut version because this uncut edition may be too intense for them.

When I saw Batman Beyond for the very first time, I concluded that it was good but nowhere near as dramatic or as exciting as the original 1992 Batman animated series, or Mask of the Phantasm for that matter. When I heard that the first ever Batman Beyond movie would feature the Joker's return, I anticipated the movie with high expectations. After I finished watching the film, I concluded that it was fatihful to most die-hard Batman fans, the holder of an amazingly engrossing storyline, fantastic action and mystery, the answerer of questions regarding the future Batman series, and in general, a brilliant movie.

I didn't know it at the time but the version of Return of the Joker i had watched was in fact the edited version. After hearing of the uncut version, I purchased the american DVD to discover what had been edited out. After watching the Uncut version, I immediatly discovered that this was more faithful to the Batman legend than the edited version of the film. The final battle between the Joker and Bruce Wayne is a lot more darker in this version, and how the Joker dies in this version is a lot more appropriate and makes Tim Drake's guilt a lot more understandable and convincing.

This is where Terry McGinnis (the future Batman) truly shines. He ultimately proves to his critics and his peers that he is worthy of the Dark Knight persona. He handles the situation with the Joker very seriously and proves once and for all that he IS Batman.

This movie portays the Joker at his absolute deadliest and once again proves how dark and sinister he is. The Joker has always been the most haunting figure in Bruce Wayne's life, and he certainly doesn't hold back in tormenting his arch-foe even more in this!

Will Friedle(Terry McGinnis/Batman) + Kevin Conroy(Bruce Wayne) voice their characters with supreme excellence but it's Mark Hamill who steals the show (as always) as the Joker. It's always hard to believe that it's Hamill who's voicing the Joker (mainly because he always does such a damn good job of voicng the character) but it is him.

In general, Return of the Joker has a great storyline, amazing animation, fantastic music and is quite easily better than all the live action Batman movies. The edited version is good but the unedited version is a million times better. The uncut version is even better than the legendary ace film known as Mask of the Phantasm, making Return of the Joker (uncut version) beyond a shadow of doubt, the greatest Batman film in existance.

The DVD has first class special features (trailers, documentry, character bios, audio commentry etc) making this an essential purchase for any die-hard Batman fan. If you have to get Return of the Joker, it just HAS to be the uncut version.

There's no contest.

This review is not for the actual movie, suffice it to say it is one of the best products to come out of the DCAU. Rather this review is to clear up the misconceptions caused by other reviewers on this site. I own all 3 currently available versions of ROTJ: the edited DVD, the unedited DVD, and this bluray release. Now to make this perfectly clear, here's what you need to know.

1) The bluray version is UNEDITED. It contains all the scenes removed from the edited version including both shootings and all blood that was removed from the original release.

2) The bluray version is full frame because that is how the movie was originally animated. If you want widescreen use the zoom feature on your TV or bluray player and you'll have the exact widescreen animation as the previous unedited release. The issue is that the movie was originally animated for television, so it was animated 4:3. However the producers thought ahead to the rise of widescreen TVs so they blocked the animation to work in widescreen as well. When you zoom the picture on the 4:3 to fill a 16:9 screen with whatever function your TV has for "widescreen fit" or "fit zoom" or "smart zoom" you are not losing any actual animation, you're just removing extra space above and below the frame the animators originally included for TV broadcast. Again, IF YOU ZOOM IN IT'S THE EXACT SAME PICTURE AS YOU'D HAVE ON THE ORIGINAL WIDESCREEN RELEASE.

3) This is a true 1080p HD transfer, no upscaling. WB did an absolutely brilliant job and the movie has never looked better.

For those of you who don't know the story of Batman Beyond, it is a spin-off of Batman: The Animated Series, widely regarded to be one of the best superhero cartoons in history. Batman Beyond takes place about 40 years in the future. Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy) is old and has retired from being Batman, but when evil shows its face again in Gotham City, Wayne trains a new protege, college student and one-time prisoner Terry McGinnis (Will Friedle). In addition to learning martial arts, the new batsuit is equipped with rocket boots, a gliding mechanism, a cloaking device, and magnets on the boots. With Bruce Wayne guiding him, McGinnis takes on crime in Gotham, and the Jokerz, a new gang in town that idolizes the original Clown Prince of Crime, is causing him a lot of trouble.
This movie begins with the Jokerz attempting to steal a high-tech machine, but their efforts are thwarted by Batman. It turns out that the Jokerz have a new leader, a man who claims to be the original Joker (Mark Hamill) from the "cape and cowl days". He looks and sounds exactly like the old Joker, but more importantly, he THINKS just like the Joker, meaning that he is a psychopathic genius.
When the Joker first reveals himself to the Batman duo, Wayne is very reluctant to give Terry any information that can help explain how the Joker might have returned, and he tells McGinnis to leave and that his days as Batman are over. Upon questioning Barbara Gordon (Angie Harmon/Tara Strong), the former Batgirl and daughter of Commisioner James Gordon, who is now commisioner herself, Terry learns of a horrible incident in the past involving the Joker, Harley Quinn (Arleen Sorkin), and Robin #2 Tim Drake (Dean Stockwell/Mathew Valencia) (Dick Grayson, the original Robin had left Gotham to become Nightwing).
For a cartoon movie (and one that is only 75 minutes long) this is actually pretty good. Seeing as how this is my first foray intot the Batman Beyond world, I can't compare it to otehr BB stories, but I feel as if it does continue the mood and theme of its parent show. It is dark, it is violent, and it is intelligent. This isn't for young kids; the Joker is a monster and acts as such. The things he does, both in the past and in the future, are horrific. While I don't see this winning any awards, Batman fans should check it out. As I said, for a cartoon, this is above average storytelling.

This really is a fantastic movie. For general audiences, it holds all the appeal of a good Batman storyline. For true Batman fans, it holds up to our strict scrutiny. If you've read the comics and watched any of the animated series, you might expect that this storyline will hold few surprises. You would be wrong. The "Mask of the Phantasm" storyline was good, but not particularly surprising or original. "Return of the Joker" is both. It's so original, in fact, that I would suggest you go out of your way to avoid learning anything about it before watching. You won't be disappointed.

The DVD special features are excellent, as well. There's a short documentary about the production of the movie, an audio track recorded by the creators, and even an unanimated scene that was deleted from the final cut.

I recommend this movie for anyone. The storyline is both original and well-developed, and contains elements that will hold the interest of mature audiences while presenting them in a manner suitable for younger viewers. I'm glad to own this DVD, and offer my thanks to everyone who took part in its production for the wonderful result.

First off, it seems that Amazon.com has taken to grouping the reviews of BOTH the edited version and the unedited version together - I hope they stop this, the two films may share a lot in common, but there are enough differences between the two versions that a review of the unedited version may not apply to the edited one.

With that out of the way, FINALLY! After nearly forever, Warner Bros. has finally seen fit to release the original version of Return of the Joker, albeit with little fanfare, and if rumors are true, the EXACT same cover with only a PG sticker to mark the difference. Hopefully the above isn't true, but even if it is, fans will live happily with the knowledge that it was their petitions that made this DVD possible.

I'm going under the assumption that the people who are reading this have seen the cut version (because again, Warner Bros. has given this release next to no fanfare and publicity), and that spoilers won't be a problem. What we have here are the original scenes, including Joker's original death, the original death of Joker's henchman Bonk, Dee Dee shocking Batman with the taser, Robin's torture, and other cuts too numerous to mention. I've gone back and read my original review of the edited version, and have come up with this conclusion: I stand by my original opinion when I said the film wasn't watered down after the alterations. The motives and implications may have been made less clear to small children, but the crux of the story was still strong, especially to mature viewers, and it's a credit to the talent of Paul Dini that his script could survive such horrible mutilations. With that said, this uncut version will surely please all fans. It's not simply the fact that the material is more violent, which it is, but with that violence comes the horror and tragedy that form the backbone of the story. Tim Drake's fate is the worst thing that has happened in the Batman mythos next to the death of Jason Todd and the shooting of Barbara Gordon in the comic books (both caused by Joker too), and should be treated as such. To any parent who may have objections to the uncut version, I'll say this much: Instead of crying out in protest, use this movie as a chance to discuss the themes of pain, loss, and redemption with your child. Every human being goes through these stages at some point in their life, and no parent can shield it from them forever.

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker has finally come home.

Yes, be warned. It seems that Gore/Lieberman have struck fear into the hearts of WB. "Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker" has been delayed from Oct. to Dec., so WB can TRIM, CUT, SNIP OUT, EDIT--in other words, CENSOR everything that gives offense to our self-appointed moral guardians (see above). This is no rumor, but fact. So be warned. I would love to own this movie, but if WB censors the expression of the film's creators, I'll simply rent it.

One last word, the above rant refers to the cutting-edge and sometimes brutually violent nature of the film. It's no kiddie flick and should not be marketed to kids. Remember, though, that WB saw the screenplay; they gave the go-ahead and green light to Paul Dini and company. So if you don't want your politicians telling you what you can watch, remember to vote. (I'm no Republican, but Tipper "Mrs. Censorship" Gore gives me serious chills....)

I'm a little late in watching this, but I just got this uncut PG-13 version over the weekend while Christmas shopping for my family (sorry, I just *couldn't* resist), and I'll give you some of my thoughts on it.

The plot: The new Batman, Terry McGinnis, encounter a street gang called The Jokerz (influenced by the Clown Prince Of Crime himself) who are stealing high-tech satellite equipment. From there, we see that The Joker himself has returned, and is leading the gang. Mister J himself makes an appearance along with his gang at a party held in honor for Bruce Wayne's return to Head Of Wayne Enterprises (where the last piece of satellite equipment is located) and the former Batman is shocked to say the least. From there, it becomes a mystery for the new Batman to solve (how did Joker die in the first place, how did he return, what is he planning, and how does he know Bruce Wayne is Batman). The answers to some of these questions in this unedited DVD version will shock you.

Originally, this was heavily edited due to WB corporate executives concern over the dark scenes and mature content, and was a pain ... for the producers of the movie (who also produced the Batman Beyond TV show) to edit. Long time fans of Bruce Timm's Batman Beyond series demanded the unedited version to be released and even signed an on-line petition. In April 2002, the unedited version was released on DVD.

Seeing this on DVD is great. This movie looks great in wide-screen format (just gives the uncut version that professional touch), and sounds great too. I can hear the little sounds that a VHS recording couldn't pick up and it really just adds to the enjoyment of the movie (kind of like viewing it in a theater (or close to it anyway ;) ).

The story comes off better in its original form (with the flashback still being the best part). The voice cast performances were awesome, with Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill peaking their long time roles of Batman and The Joker respectively. I know some fans were disappointed that Dana kind of disappeared from the story (as were the producers), but I am not, as the story was about Bruce, Terry, Tim, and The Joker anyway.

The extras:

The deleted storyboarded scene was nice, and kind of a shame that it didn't make the final cut. The commentary track was interesting and had great info (and Bruce Timm sounds like Wes Craven, which was weird) and shows the love that the creators and producers and writers have for these characters. The documentary was nicely done, and Kevin Conroy kinda talks like Al Gore in real life, which is also weird for me. Haven't watched the music video or trailers yet, but I'm probably not missing much. Oh, and Paul Dini (the guy who wrote the screenplay for the movie) is a wonderfully sneaky little devil for writing Harley Quinn (Joker's henchgirl) back in the way he did after he was forced to kill her off in the flashback scene. Congrats Paul, your check is in the mail. ;)

Final thoughts:

All and all, this was a great viewing experience. Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, & company should be handling the next live action Batman movie because they know these characters and how to bring them to life (forget Burton or Shumacher).

I have to admit, i bought the 3 pack that included mask of phantasm, batman beyond, and subzero in it so for me to buy batman beyond the uncut version was a tough decision. I read a few reviews for it on here and decided to buy it. It was a good investment. I watched this movie and was amazed at how different it was. Don't be fooled that its only a minute more than the cut version. Theres scenes that have been altered so much that it amazes me that the difference is only 1 minute since half the movie is different. Lets say this, you actually see more fighting scenes, see how jokers henchman is really taken care of, and also how the joker really dies (yes he dies differently in this one than the cut one). also what happens to robin is slightly different as well. All in all I want you to give this one a chance as it has enough differences to add to your collection and make you watch both of them to notice how different they are. oh I also wanted to note that another reviewer said in this one you'll see why Bruce walks with a limp. It contributes to it but isn't the cause. Don't forget in Rebirth they show older batman and hes not limping, but with what happens in this movie as well when in i believe batman TAS in robins reckoning when batmans leg is busted, all that contributes to the limp (think its the same leg he has trouble with too). But i give that reviewer props as hes one of the reasons i decided to get the uncut version of this film :)

This is a review of the original version. The version you'll see if you enrich the WB's coffers has over 30 cuts. Some sequences have been thrown out or defanged.(The fellow here whos ays it isn't watered down hasn't actually seen the original) A major, haunting death scene and a minor one have been mutilated and reworked, destroying all the symbolism and impact they formerly had. What you will see is a pale shadow of the original. I advise you to seek out an uncut copy(Stay away from all the mislabeled Canadian copies as well.) The following review is solely of the uncut original, not the disappointing corporate cop-out.

Contrary to an earlier post, this film, IS for kids, provided that they are mature and sensitive. ROTJ has so much feeling and depth to it that it puts most of what many adults watch to shame, so make sure to discuss it, or better yet watch it with the kids.

This is a movie about time, anguish, torture, secrets, and the bonds between teachers and students and enemies and friends. Deep emotion is extracted from what would otherwise be ordinary cartoon melodrama. (and in the cut version that's what it is) It explores the relationship bewteen the Batman and Joker--one of mutual hatred--as well as the consequences of being or having been a hero for a span of many years. Our myths and stories are never as affecting than when they no longer stop time. This is not a story where everything goes back to normal in time for next week's episode, but one that depends upon how people age and change, and at times it's quite poignant. The story of both Bat-family and the Joker revolves around carefully constructed opposites and paralells having to due with love, civic duty, family, order and chaos: similarities and paralells that are destroyed in the mutilated, reworked version.

Central to the film is the flashback sequence that reveals what happened to Robin and the Joker. What happens to Tim Drake are among the most harrowing, haunting scenes in the entire history of Batman, and they have stayed on my mind for days, especially a prolonged, heartbreaking laugh of which I cannot speak further of. (And which is drastically shortened in the cut version, which throws out almost all of the scenes I speak of.)

The film is mighty flawed in some ways--the method used to bring the Joker back is silly and unbelievable. Still, what the WB has done to the film is an atrocity. I expect this sort of butchery and mutilation when it comes to Hollywood Studios in the 20's and 30's ("Greed," "Baby Face," etc.) but not in our age. The original film is a powerful, moving work. I hope that's what you see. (For more info, please contact iamanatullah@yahoo.com)