Movie Review: Batman - Mask of the Phantasm · 2:03am Feb 22nd, 2019
Before I begin the official reviewing part, a little bit of background...
I wasn't always a big fan of the Dark Knight / Caped Crusader growing up. In fact, I was a pretty steadfast Marvel kid through most of my childhood, and it wasn't until I was squarely in high school that I truly got into the world of Batman. And I owe that in part to three things: my dad for showing me Tim Burton's excellent Batman movies; my tenth grade English teacher for being a big Batman fan who was willing to loan me comics of his...
And finally, to the superb Batman: The Animated Series. To me, this is still perhaps the best distillation of the Dark Knight and his mythos that I can think of. You've got so many iconic performances, designs, and stories in those episodes, from "Almost Got 'Im" to "Heart of Ice" or "Beware the Gray Ghost"...
So, back in the day, when I discovered that there'd been a movie made for the series (well, admittedly, the first of a few, though this was the only one to get a theatrical release) I looked to get my hands on a DVD of Mask of the Phantasm and see it for myself. And it became one of my all-time favorite Batman movies.
Then, in November of last year, I got the opportunity to see it on the big screen, and leapt at the chance to do so. And in the aftermath of that experience, I actually think that Batman: Mask of the Phantasm might be my personal favorite big-screen Batman movie.
The story of Mask of the Phantasm is really twofold: in the present of the movie's story, Batman (voiced of course by Kevin Conroy) investigates a series of murders of various gangsters, committed by a mysterious figure resembling the Grim Reaper (the titular "Phantasm" though ironically they're never referred to as such).
Said murders are especially problematic for the Dark Knight, as he becomes the main suspect in the killings; and the target of a witch hunt led by ambitious city councilman Arthur Reeves (Hart Bochner).
Meanwhile, a face from Bruce Wayne's past suddenly returns to Gotham. Andrea Beaumont (voiced by Dana Delaney), a woman whom Bruce had known and loved, in the days before he put on the cape and cowl as Batman. Their past relationship makes up a very important part of the movie, and how it impacted Bruce's life.. as well as how it ties into the current case at hand.
It all comes to a head, as the remaining mobster, fearing that Batman is after him, ends up turning to the one person that he thinks can stop the Dark Knight... who else but The Joker himself? Played by Mark Hamill in typical show-stealing, equally hilarious/menacing fashion, The Clown Prince of Crime leaves his own indelible mark on the movie... and also one that manages to tie in with the larger mystery as well, making it so that Mr. J's role isn't just for fans of the character.
Add to that an amazing climax, containing ne of the best Batman/Joker fights that I've ever seen, and a deeply poignant ending, and you have what is to my mind a truly great Batman story. ^_^
In many ways, Mask of the Phantasm is neatly split between flashback and present - in fact, I'm almost certain that if you were to time the movie via stopwatch, you'd find it almost perfectly divides into telling the story of Bruce and Andrea's past, versus their present. It is, to me, a superbly told story, of a tragic romance in a great noir style. The performances of Kevin Conroy and Dana Delaney really shine their brightest in these flashbacks, as they brilliantly show what Bruce and Andrea could have had... and how it all fell apart.
In fact, this really is the most noir of all the Batman films. You have the distinctly retro aesthetic to Gotham City and Batman's world (old-fashioned cars, 30s/40s-style fashion and styles), the moody and quite often shadowy style, and many of the story's themes (regret for past mistakes, lost love, the cruelty and greed of the mob) are right out of classic gangster and crime movies. Even with the bat-styled vigilante and the psychopathic clown, it's quite plain to see that Mask of the Phantasm is a very noir-style movie.
It's also quite gorgeously animated too. The distinct style of the animated series has rarely look so good before, and it allows some moments that would already be intense (especially some of the action scenes, in particular the climactic Joker fight) to really stand out.
And of course, there's the film's voice cast. As said previously, Kevin Conroy and Dana Delaney do some superb work in their performances as star-crossed lovers Bruce Wayne and Andrea Beaumont... in particular, in the part of the flashback where Bruce pays a visit to his parents' grave when he feels torn between his oath to fight criminals and his love for Andrea. It's a powerful and gut-wrenching display, to see Bruce so stricken and desperate. Lots of Batman movies like to go into the idea of the fundamental loneliness of being Batman and what it does to Bruce, but really this movie is the one that portrays it the most effectively. Really, aside from Alfred, this Batman is pretty much completely alone.
Of course, Alfred himself is brilliantly portrayed, voiced to near-perfection by Efrem Zimblast Jr. Not just in delivering some of the character's requisite snark, but also in the more emotional moments of the film. Especially in regard to the conclusion of the film...
While I've mentioned how good Dana Delaney is before, I'd like to take a moment to talk about WHY that is. Here is a character (entirely original to the movie, I might add) who really truly can stand on her own compared to Selina Kyle or Talia al Ghul. Andrea Beaumont is a woman who manages to be mysterious, sassy (the flashback to when she and Bruce first met is a real treat in this regard), charming, tough as nails, endearing, and oh so very tragic too.
The other performances in the movie hold up too. Hart Bochner does a great job as the sleazy, self-satisfied Arthur Reeves. Also, while the character doesn't get too much screentime, Stacy Keach does solid work as Andrea's father Carl Beaumont. Another credit I'd have to give out would be to Abe Vigoda as the aging gangster Sal Valestra, who does a great job portraying the two very different versions of the same character from flashback to present.
And finally, Mark Hamill as The Joker delivers some of his best work. The Joker is a character that I often view as working best when being a good mix of funny and scary, and here is a solid example of that. Hamill has said that this is when he really started to settle into the part and it's easy to see. This Joker can switch gears from flippant to furious, snarling with psychotic viciousness and then snap back to manic cheerfulness so quickly you'll get whiplash.
Batman - Mask of the Phantasm, everyone. Well worth watching, if you haven't yet seen it or heard of it. 
Ah, the instant I saw the blog title, I thought HECK YES! This is such a great movie. I particularly like how it shows Batman's origin story as actually being part of the current mystery, not incidental to it but totally integral to its development. And the analogies they sneak in as well, such as how the futuristic theme park shows promise and hope when Bruce Wayne's still young and dating, but by the present is a completely decayed wreck dominated by the Joker. Pretty much how Gotham City itself turned out.
The TV series continued afterwards, but if it hadn't, this would have made a superb finale.
This is a gorgeous film. And that laugh at the end from Joker. Everything around him is going to effectively Hell, he's bruised, beaten, battered, and he just laughs. He doesn't care. He's HAPPY. Because ultimately, Joker's goal is Chaos. He is quintessential Chaotic Evil. Hilarious and horrifying. And when everything around him is going to hell, Batman is emotionally broken, the Phantasm is ultimately just another person trapped in the past, he realizes that he's WON in a sense. And he laughs. He laughs because and in spite of everything. He laughs because he can, he laughs because of the irony of it all. He laughs because he is the Joker. And that is scary as all hell.
5018068
Agree on all counts. Mask of the Phantasm is a superb movie, and you make a very good point about the way that they manage to tie Batman's origin into the mystery at hand, and not have it just because. Another great analogy I like in the movie is the recurrence of graves and the cemetery in Bruce and Andrea's story. The fact that they first meet at the cemetery really seems like a tragic foreshadowing of where their romance will head down the road.
Amen to that. I actually think that this movie was at one point planned to BE the finale for the TV show. I know for sure that it was initially planned as a TV movie but someone at Warner's wanted a theatrical release.
5018079
Very well said. This really is one of Hamill's best performances as the character. It just really shows the depths of the Joker's evil. Hilarious as he can be, when confronted by his own death and the fact that his apparent murderer is someone Batman loves, and of the loss and misery that this will condemn Batman to... The Joker just finds it hilarious. The greatest joke imaginable.
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And when confronted with a joke so horrible and a punchline so abominable, even if the cost is his own life, he laughs. He laughs, loud and longer. The laugh of a psychopath who just heard the world’s funniest joke, and he was part of the set up.
Mark Hammil once called Joker’s laugh a musical instrument. And that laugh is Joker’s Instrument Of Destruction. That laugh has caused so much misery, so much pain and suffering, and now it’s been turned on him. Hoist by his own petard. And it’s to DIE for.
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Huh, I hadn't thought of it that way before. I got the running theme of how their deceased parents affected Bruce and Andrea's actions, but I never linked the romance itself to the graveyard and death imagery hinting at how their relationship's going to turn out. Although that does add a new layer of meaning to the Phantasm's "Grim Reaper" motif.
5018231
Nicely said!
Yeah, Hamill's comparing the Joker's laugh to an instrument is appropriate. He has a bunch of laughs for a bunch of different moods: there's low and ominous for when he's being truly sinister, high and cackling for those giddy moments of psychopathic whimsy, or of course the really dreaded, completely insane howling with mad laughter. Phantasm's a good example, and so is this one moment in the Justice League animated series when he gets the drop on Batman and captures him for Lex Luthor's Secret Society. That one still gives me chills to think about.
5018232
The thought only really occurred to me after having seen the movie again, in all honesty. But once I noticed that Bruce and Andrea first meet in the cemetery, and that's also where Batman first encounters Andrea when she's back in Gotham, the connection made itself in my brain, and there you go. XD
But yeah, you're right, it is really interesting to see how their parents inform their actions. And also, yeah, the Angel of Death motif for Andrea/Phantasm too. (I always thought that there was a good irony in them killing Buzz Bronski by dropping that statue on them. It really WAS their "angel of death"! XD)
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I love the choir music in that scene too. If you're giving Joker what might be his last laugh, then you make it as epic as possible.
One of my favourite Joker scenes (and that's a tough competition in this film alone) is his confrontation with Valestra around the midway point. Joker just upstages the poor old mobster boss start to finish, and the moment the background goes red and Joker gives him that strained glare, you know the guy's as good as dead. "That's what I like to see! A nice, big smile."
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And getting the drop on friggin Batman, for whom PTSD, paranoia and depression are merely the tip of the iceberg is no easy feat. He’s the guy who can stealth away from freaking SUPERMAN.
5018242
This movie is equal parts gorgeousness and nightmarish when it tries.
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That's what makes it such a good film: you come back to it and find details you didn't appreciate the first time around. An obvious example is Joker himself in the flashbacks and his leery disdain for the two lovebirds, but I always liked how you can see the car that inspired the Batmobile at the theme park, and that brief cameo by Bullock in the squad car during Bruce's early vigilante days (which couldn't have done much for the detective's attitude towards vigilantes).
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I've always got a kick out of the cameo by Bullock as a policeman, and of course by Bruce getting distracted by what might be the proto-Batmobile. XD There's definitely a lot that recommends it to being one of the best - or perhaps even THE best - Batman movies. ^_^
Good point, it has a ton of rewatch value.
A fantastic film. Alas, when I went to see the theatrical showing a few months back, there were technical difficulties, and they started it just a hair before the first flashback sequence.
Not a big deal, though. I've got it on VHS and Blu-Ray.
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Ah, drat, sorry about the technical difficulties, man.
But yeah, at least you got it at home. I have a DVD copy myself, and am very proud to have it. ^_^