Batman: Mystery Of The Batwoman Four Stars
(out of five). Released by Warner Brothers Home Video. Running time 75 minutes.
Not Rated. Equipped with closed captions and English Subtitles. DVD has
'making of' documentaries, a Batman gadget gallery, character bios, and an
exploration of the making of a scene. There's also a great short film, "Chase Me",
featuring Batman and Catwoman.
Gotham City is abuzz with the arrival of a new superhero: Batwoman. Clad in a
gray and red outfit, she takes on a band of arms dealers led by the Penguin
(voiced by David Ogden Stiers, Major Charles Winchester on M*A*S*H). Batwoman
is somewhat reckless in her approach to these arms dealers; she's not afraid to
use the villain's own weapons against them, and she doesn't have much regard for
preserving the lives of these crooks. During his first meeting with Batwoman,
Batman has to go rescue one of the goons before he takes a dive off the side of
a bridge in his truck. When Batman digs deeper into this case, he discovers that
Carlton Dugesne, a partner in the Penguin's arms dealing scheme, has a grown
daughter, Kathy, who is a likely candidate to be Batwoman (Kathy also looks
suspiciously like a certain actress who starred in the recent Catwoman film).
The Penguin, growing weary of these unrelenting attacks, decides to hire
Bane--that old Bat-back-breaker himself--to protect a valuable shipment of guns
that's aboard a rented ocean liner. This sets the stage for a spectacular battle
in Gotham City bay between Batman, Bane, the Penguin and Batwoman, who turns out
to be even more of a mystery than Batman had originally thought.
Batman: Mystery Of The Batwoman is an enjoyable adventure. It also appears to be
the last gasp of the original creative crew who worked on the Batman: The
Animated Series during the 1990s. If this is so, then I'm glad that they've
chosen such an entertaining story to go out on. In addition to the boundless
action and excitement that we've come to expect, there's also some refreshing
humor present, as well. The best example is the scene where the Batman is
investigating Kathy's home, and is interrupted by a thug, who is one of Kathy's
bodyguards. Batman merely turns and glares at the thug, until he wisely leaves
the Caped Crusader in peace, without evening sounding the alarm. A funny line
comes from another thug who works as a bodyguard for the free-spirited Kathy.
After an exhausting day of chasing after Kathy--who feels having bodyguards
crimps her style, and does everything she can to dodge them--the thug mutters:
"I miss working for the Joker."
The special features on the DVD are extensive, including the "making of"
documentaries, as well as interviews with the creative team on how they made
the animated series. But the big bonus of the DVD is an original short film,
called "Chase Me". At just over six minutes, "Chase Me" is a frantic hunt
through Gotham City between Batman and Catwoman. Having no dialogue, yet filled
with wall-to-wall music, "Chase Me" is an exhilarating romp that manages to
show there is far more going on between Batman and Catwoman than the standard
superhero/supervillain relationship. It's great fun, and another reason why you
should pick this DVD up. --SF
The special features on the DVD are extensive, including the "making of"
documentaries, as well as interviews with the creative team on how they made
the animated series. But the big bonus of the DVD is an original short film,
called "Chase Me". At just over six minutes, "Chase Me" is a frantic hunt
through Gotham City between Batman and Catwoman. Having no dialogue, yet filled
with wall-to-wall music, "Chase Me" is an exhilarating romp that manages to
show there is far more going on between Batman and Catwoman than the standard
superhero/supervillain relationship. It's great fun, and another reason why you
should pick this DVD up. --SF