Wonderfully Horrible Netflix Instant Films: “Batman The Movie” (1966)

For a lot of people the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy are the best superhero movies of all time. There is no denying that The Dark Knight is a pretty amazing film. For many of us children of the late 80's and 90's we remember the Tim Burton Batman films as the gold standard Caped Crusader movies. Few would say the same of Joel Schumacher's abominations Batman and Robin and Batman Forever. The problem with the Burton and Nolan films is how seriously they take themselves. No matter how badass and dark Batman may be, he's still a guy in a mask and a cape battling a clown. The best thing about the 1968 Batman the Movie with Adam West is how little it takes itself seriously. It's just fun, silly, and is chock full of tight tights.

Batman The Movie is like a sampler platter of the best of the classic Batman TV show. Batman (The great Adam West) and Robin (Burt Ward) respond to a distress call on a yacht in the Batcopter. Batman is then attacked by a shark. Lucky for him he has a can of Bat Shark Repellant. He sprays the shark and it explodes. It turns out that it was all a ruse used to distract and kill the dynamic duo that's been set up by The Joker (Cesar Romero), The Penguin (Burgess Merideth), The Riddler (Frank Gorshin), and Catwoman (Lee Meriwether). The team of villains launch an attack from their penguin-shaped submarine in which they turn all of the world's major leaders into candy-colored dust. Batman and Robin arrive on the sub and a lot of POWs! BAMs! And other punch noises ensued. When the different leader's dust gets mixed together, Batman has to put the man dirt in the Bat Dust Separator. The leaders are rehydrated but their personalities have blended. The implication being that they will now understand each other better. Batman saves the world.

This movie is wonderfully horrible in the best possible way. The effects are ridiculous, the acting over-the-top, and the script is laughable. West and Ward are totally not intimidating in their satin and Lycra suits. My favorite thing is how they didn't bother to have Cesar Romero shave off his mustache but just put extra white paint on it to create his Joker makeup. But I think the point is that it's supposed to be kinda stupid. This show was on at a very turbulent time in our history. Vietnam, civil rights, hippies, Neil Young, and other terrible problems were tearing the country apart. The original Batman show was pure escapism. For half an hour you could switch your brain off and enjoy the pretty colors. The dust separation gag at the end of the movie is like Batman is putting his arm around you and saying, "It will be OK, citizen".