My Review of "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm"

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is an animated Batman movie that came out back in 1993. It came at the time when Batman: The Animated Series was fairly popular. I remember wanting to watch this movie when I was a kid but never got around to it. Years and years passed by and today I finally got the chance to check it out. In a way, I'm kind of glad I saw it today rather than way back then. I'm not sure if I would have appreciated the movie as much back in the day.

The movie starts out with a mysterious incident where a mobster is lured into a trap by a new character. That character is basically the Phantasm that's in the title. Due to the fact that this is happening in Gotham people are mistaking this Phantasm for Batman. There are similar characteristics that could easily confuse common criminals.

There is a huge difference between the direction of the Phantasm and Batman. Batman doesn't kill and the Phantasm seems to be killing off mobsters methodically. Of course, this freaks out the mobsters of Gotham city. They think they're going to be next and don't know what to do because they're all old.

Meanwhile, a character named Andrea Beaumont has recently come back to Gotham. She's a wealthy socialite of the past. Bruce Wayne (Batman's alter ego) has had a history with her. In fact, he was very close to her and she kind of shaped the path of Batman inadvertently. At the time the two were very close, Bruce was contemplating on how he could avenge his parent's death. Things weren't going too well for him. One thing that he had going for him was his growing relationship with Andrea.

I liked how they told this origin story to help build the lore behind Batman. Though, I can clearly see that the younger version of me would never have appreciated this type of storytelling. This is more adult storytelling in what seems like a kids movie. I feel that there is a bit of a misunderstanding of audience in this regard. Then again the TV show this movie is based off is pretty much on brand with this type of storytelling.

This movie not only talks builds upon Batman's origins but it also brings in a character that is probably his equal in so many ways. Bruce's relationship with Andrea feels pretty natural and I kind of wanted to see more of it.

It's all brought together into a tight little animated package. They spend the runtime of this show very concise and efficient. Everything is purposeful and makes sense with the story. It's pretty impressive because there's a lot that goes on and they're able to keep it within the short 76 minute runtime. It flows pretty much like a well oiled TV show but longer.

Other than some animated scenes, sound effects and musical score it isn't that much different from the TV show. Though the sound effects and musical score do make a difference when watching this. With the exception of a few scenes, it hardly feels like something worthy of a theatre going experience.

Overall, this movie was fun and entertaining. That's all I wanted. There are glimpses of brilliance in the quality of the animation and sound but they are few. What you're coming here for is the interesting story of Batman and this new character Andrea. I really wished they'd bring this character back more often to keep this canon within the Batman universe but they never did such a thing. It's a self contained story with no stakes. I have to give this movie a 7 out of 10. I'm not sure if I'd check it out again but I would recommend it to fans of Batman.