When an experiment goes wrong and District Attorney Harvey Dent is exposed to concentrated pure evil extracted from several of Gotham's most notorious villains, it transforms the man into the coin-flipping half-monster, Two-Face. This story isn't so much about Two-Face's first crime sprees though. Instead, it is sometime after those first mis-adventures and after Batman (West) and Robin (Ward) have captured Two-Face. With Dent officially rehabilitated, Bruce Wayne foots the bill on the necessary surgeries to repair the damaged half of Dent's body. Unfortunately for Dent, he will have to work hard to regain the trust of Gotham City and he will be working his way up the DA ladder from the bottom, but hopefully he can prove that he isn't Two-Face any longer and he can win back his coveted position once again.
Meanwhile, Batman's job is never finished. Between spending time with Catwoman (Newmar) as a special brand of rehabilitation effort, and playing out his role as Bruce Wayne, Batman also finds himself facing off against some of his classic foes. Batman and Robin will go toe-to-toe against King Tut (Wally Wingert) and then Bookworm (Jeff Bergman), and when they start to realize aspects of those two capers don't quite make sense, the Caped Crusaders start to sleuth out what is really going on. Unfortunately, everything points to Two-Face, but by all accounts, Dent is fully reformed and isn't the half-man he used to be. Could someone else be posing as Two-Face, or is something more sinister afoot?
This movie does a great job of recapturing the feel of the 1960's TV series. Not only is it chock full of exclamations while fights are going on (which creates a perfect situation for a nod to the Batman Slapping Robin meme), but the character designs are straight from the show and the classic actors easily slide back into their roles as if 50 years hasn't passed. Meanwhile, the actors put in to replace those that have passed (i.e. Bergman as Joker instead of Cesar Romero; William Salyers as Penguin to stand in for Burgess Meredith) sound appropriate, though none of them had a lot of dialogue. Interestingly enough, there is a hint at a third animated movie. I don't know if that will happen given Adam West's passing or if someone else will stand in for West, but based on his impression of West done several times in the tribute panel accompanying this movie, Ralph Garman seems like a solid candidate for the role.
Batman vs. Two-Face comes with several special features that focus on classic Batman actors in this movie. There are three separate pieces that interview Burt Ward concerning his experience on the show, working with West, and even on his dog food company and dog rescue, Gentle Giants. There is also an interview with Julie Newmar about what inspired her to get into acting and finally, a very touching 40 minute Comic-Con panel as a tribute to Adam West. This panel, moderated by Gary Miereanu, features voice actor and radio personality, Ralph Garman; writer/director Kevin Smith; Lee Meriwether, who played Catwoman in the 1966 movie and has a cameo in Batman vs. Two-Face and producer James Tucker, who not only worked on this movie, but also Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders and many other Batman-centric projects. The five people share many memories of meeting and working with West over the years. This segment is very touching and a wonderful addition to the movie.
Batman vs. Two-Face is a great animated film that feels like it was plucked right out of the classic TV series. Everything from corny, alliteration-filled dialogue, to overly-obvious signage and campy acting makes this film feel like more than just an homage to the show, but instead it could easily be seen as a continuation of the series. Any fan of Batman, old or new, should have fun watching this movie and if Adam West has a special place in your heart, then the movie and its extras are worth the purchase.
Warner Brothers provided me with a copy of this Blu-ray for review. The opinions I share are my own.
