Admirable film.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Mask Of The Phantasm is a direct spinoff from the 1990's animated television show and alike the show was extremely well recieved. Though set in modern day it has that 1940's look and feel that made the Tim Burton films so memorable.Here we have the caped crusader tackling the Joker, gangsters & a mysterious new vigilante. And you know how it works, vigilantes are only okay if its Batman if it's not then he has to take them down because reasons.Sadly I don't see the appeal, though I don't consider Mask Of The Phantasm to be bad I don't understand why so many hold it in such high esteem.Hamill & Conroy stand out as usual as outstanding voice actors, the animation is on point but the story simply did nothing to grab me.Passable stuff, but underwhelming for me.The Good:Mark HamillKevin ConroyThe Bad:Messy plotThings I Learnt From This Movie:Phantasm looks awesomePhantasm is incredibly incompetentIt's so sad that Hamill will never play a live action Joker

I don't fancy myself much of a fan of the superhero genre, but at least Batman is one of the more watchable of superheroes for me, as he relies on gadgets and cunning and have no otherworldly or superhero powers.I sat down to watch "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" with my seven year old son, as he enjoy superheroes. However, he quickly lost interest in the storyline told in this 1993 addition to the story of the Caped Crusader. And I must admit that my interest was also becoming fast tested to its limits. Why? Well, because the storyline was essentially pointless and lacked the ability to captivate me.Sure "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" had Mark Hamill on the cast list doing voice acting for The Joker, but not even this was sufficient to salvage this movie and make it even somewhat worthwhile for me.What I had the biggest issue with was the art style, because I am not fan of that particular drawing style. Needless to say that I wasn't much of a fan of the animated series either.I did find the Phantasm character to be somewhat interesting and added a good element to the story. And it is, of course, always a blast to have The Joker in a movie.I was told that I should watch "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" as it supposedly was one of the better animated Batman movies. I must admit that I failed to see that aspect to this 1993 animated movie. There are other animated movies in the Batman universe, which far surpasses this particular one.

Well, if you've seen "The Animated Series" this shows pretty much all the positives of it. Think of the best episodes from the show, and what comes to mind? "Two-Face Part 1"? "Perchance to Dream"? "It's Never Too Late"? While I wouldn't say this movie is as good as those episodes, it comes very close. If you're a fan of the series like me, you'll enjoy it. I liked the story, the new characters, the twists, etc..., but I have two problems that keep this from being as good as "Under the Red Hood" or "Batman: Year One".Problem one, how does The Phantasm teleport? Obviously The Phantasm is supposed to be a ghost-like figure, but he's able to teleport seemingly at will, even bullets and sharp objects pass right through him. They don't bounce off or anything. Now this wouldn't be a huge concern if The Phantasm was a ghost, but he isn't, so how does stuff phase through him? It's never explained and it seems kind of random that they wouldn't write in a reason.Problem two, what happened to Joker at the end? So it turns out that Joker was a gangster that killed The Phantasm's dad years ago, and now The Phantasm wants to kill him. So during the climax, The Phantasm grabs Joker and disappears in a cloud of smoke. We see what happens to The Phantasm after the climax, but what happened to Joker? Did he get away? Did The Phantasm let him go? Did the whole thing just not happen? It's never explained. You'd think with a character as iconic as Joker, they'd have a solid conclusion for him in the movie. Maybe it was supposed to be left open to interpretation, but it comes off as more lazy to me than anything. And don't tell me he's dead, he shows up later in the series.In the end, even though I had some problems with it, the movie is essentially an extended episode of the show, and that's cool. While I still prefer episodes like "Feat of Clay Part 2" and "Heart of Steel Parts 1 & 2" over it, it's not hard to sit through, and pretty enjoyable.

This movie made perfect use of the BTAS theme music for Bruce Wayne/Batman several times. The best example of such use was in THE BIG CHASE. "THE BIG CHASE" is the greatest Batman Scene ever made. The story is quite tragic and doesn't have a happy ending. Batman is being blamed for a series of high-profile murders in Gotham and the police quickly turn against him. In reality, the Phantasm is the one killing the mobsters. Andrea (Bruce's former love) flies into Gotham weeks after the murders begin.She triggers several flashbacks throughout the story that show us the events that led to Bruce becoming Batman. This includes the incredibly sad movement that prompts Bruce to don the cowl. Alfred's shocked gasp of, "My God . . ." says it all.This is a continuation of the famous BTAS (Batman the Animated Series) of the 1990's. Many fans consider it to be the definitive version of Batman. Kevin Conroy is THE voice of Batman."The series was widely praised for its thematic complexity, darker tone, artistic quality and modernization of its title character's crime-fighting origins. IGN listed The Animated Series as the best adaptation of Batman anywhere outside of comics, the best comic book cartoon of all time and the second best animated series of all time (after The Simpsons). Wizard magazine also ranked it #2 of the greatest animated television shows of all time (again after The Simpsons). TV Guide ranked it the seventh Greatest Cartoon of All Time (out of 60). The universal acclaim led the series to win four Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Animated Program."