Heading to UK cinemas this weekend, to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the Caped Crusader, is the animated adventure movie, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Directed by Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm, the movie features the vocal talents of the late Kevin Conroy, alongside Mark Hamill and Dana Delany, and sees Batman tackle a new foe who is bumping off Gotham’s underworld.
In the movie, a vigilante known as the Phantasm is stalking the streets of Gotham, killing off the city’s key mobsters. Due to the nature of the crimes, Batman is in hot pursuit, but so are the Gotham City police who don’t look favourably on the Dark Knight and come to believe he may be involved with the murders.
Meanwhile, Batman’s alter-ego, Bruce Wayne is dealing with a blast from his past when former old flame, Andrea Beaumont arrives in town. Andrea’s sudden return triggers some painful memories for Bruce and causes him to reminisce about his early days as Batman.
And if all that wasn’t enough to contend with, the Joker enters the picture to cause chaos. But this isn’t a random appearance from the Clown Prince or Crime – the Joker is somehow connected to the Phantasm.
Originally released in US cinemas in 1993, before arriving on VHS in the UK in 1994, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is without doubt one of the greatest Batman movies of all time. Not only does it showcase superb animation, as well as an excellent voice cast, but it also delivers a compelling story which details the early days of Batman’s crime-fighting career.
The picture jumps back and forth in time, making use of extensive flashbacks to explore Batman’s past. Some of the film is set in the present day, while other parts of the movie are set a few years earlier, as Bruce Wayne starts building his Batman persona.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, if Bruce Wayne is building his Batman persona haven’t we seen this sort of thing before in the live-action film, Batman Begins? Well, in small part, yes, but Mask of the Phantasm came first and it is a very different story to Batman Begins.
In this film Bruce is already Batman, so it’s not a journey from scratch, plus there is an all-new villain (sporting a very slick design no less), as well as a new narrative. Oh, and of course, this film has the Joker, who drops by for some laughs and lunacy.
Will you be hooked? You bet ya!
The great thing about Mask of the Phantasm is the way it sinks its claws in from the get-go. The film then unspools its narrative with plenty of action and drama along the way, before building to a spectacular showdown involving the film’s three central characters.
When Mask of the Phantasm was originally released at the cinema back in ‘93 it flopped at the domestic box-office. The reason the movie tanked is because things were a bit different back then (this was before the days of Pixar, the Spider-Verse, etc), and few people were that fussed about seeing an animated Batman movie at the cinema.
As a result of the film’s poor box-office receipts, plans to screen Mask of the Phantasm overseas were quietly scrapped, and it was sent straight to video in territories outside of the US. As such, if you live in the UK, chances are you’ve never seen this film on the big screen, so now is your opportunity.
And please don’t waste it – these opportunities don’t come around all that often so you have to grab them while you can. Yes, you can watch this film on streaming or disc, but now is the time to see it in all its glory as originally intended.
Should you wish to catch Batman: Mask of the Phantasm on the big screen, the movie arrives in UK cinemas from Friday 30th August for a VERY LIMITED TIME. The film is being re-released as part of a season of Batman movies, which also includes The Lego Batman Movie, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, The Dark Knight trilogy, and The Batman.
All of the above films are getting multiple screenings throughout September, but do check local listings for details.
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Thank you for taking the time to read this review on It’s A Stampede!. For more reviews, check out the recommended reads below.
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