Sorry, this movie sucks

Fantastic!

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Where to begin...? Lowery as Batman takes a solid shot to the jaw from a stuntman during one fight scene, yells, "That HURT!" and promptly returns the favor. (While this appears to be intentional- the blow doesn't seem to actually LAND-, it's more fun to imagine it was a gaff.)The middle-aged Duncan (who's 30 if he's a day) drops down out of a tree, clearly injures himself, and hops up to literally limp offscreen. Lowery tilting his head back so he can see through the eye holes cut in his mask, which clearly wasn't tailored to his needs. The costume, which clearly wasn't tailored to Lowery's contours, sagging in all the wrong places at all the wrong times. Lowery producing from under his cape a blowtorch complete with gas tank. Duncan as "The Boy Wonder" going prematurely bald as the serial rages... Ad infinitum. So Bad it's GOOD, BATMAN AND ROBIN rates a solid 7 for sheer Entertainment Value.

This set of serials was incredibly low budget as were all the serials. The dialogue was sort of stilted, but this film was truly Batman Begins. I mean think about it, its the first version with Vicky Vale of Picture Magazine, The first Bat signal, first commissioner Gordon. It wasn't the campy cheese product of the 1960s. It wasn't the far fetched plots of the 1990s movies. Lets face it this serial was incredibly low budget but somehow its still better than every movie 1990s batman live action movie except Batman (1989). The remote control machine is a bit dated, but I'm thinking that the idea has something to do with the fact that TV-the televiewer- and the remote control machine- your remote- were new items in the households of millions and so even the idea of radio waves stopping transportation and electricity isn't that far off. Its far more believable for instance then that horrible mind reader that was on Batman Forever. So if you want ****ty batman flicks watch the dreadful returns, forever, and robin flicks. If you want a good evening of entertainment and good fun watch the New Adventures of Batman and Robin.

I was fumbling through the DVD section in Wal-Mart, and what do I find? The 1949 Batman and Robin complete serial!!! Newly released by Columbia! Being a true fan of the caped crusader, how could I NOT want to watch it??!! OK, folks, let's get real, don't watch this if you are looking for high-tech special effects, brilliant dialogue, women (there's only one and she's a main character, Vicki Vale...who is always "getting in trouble", with Batman having to save her!), a Batmobile or any Bat-gadget! This serial was made at a time when studios spared all expense in making "fluff" to appeal to kids when they went to the movies on Saturday mornings. (Don't scoff, all you baby boomers....cartoon makers of the 1970s did the same thing...with the same bad dialogue and bad acting...witness "Superfriends", (which I also liked!), they just did it for Television!) I started watching this serial having never seen it...only saw a little of it in the special features of the 1966 Batman movie DVD. The costume is silly...looks like Bruce Wayne's grandmother sewed it together...Robin's costume isn't much better....there is no Batmobile, (although Batman and Robin do ride around in a Mercury convertible, and even change costumes in it..hmmmm..homo erotica? NAH!!), and no Bat-gadgets, although there is a neat scene where Bruce Wayne uses a device in the Batcave to "retore" a burned photo-negative. (I also giggle at all the shadows of flying bats in the cave....but you NEVER see a bat!) What there is is a good story! A super-villain..namely "The Wizard", whom the episodes lead you to think is an old, wheelchair bound scientist, who, when he sits in a chair that looks like it was stolen from the state penitentiary's execution room, regains the use ofhis legs...and puts on a black costume, shrouding his entire body, and, using a stolen bit of technology he created, can remotely control all motor vehicles...but not only that, he can make them explode as well, and the pies de resistance....he can make himself INVISIBLE!! He also has the ability to project his image and hypnotize victims with flashing eyes. Truly creepy!!! However, there is a GREAT plot twist at the end to prove who the Wizard REALLY is! As far as the acting is concerned.......there isn't any. I am reminded of Ed Wood flicks like Plan 9 from Outer Space when I watch it...but why not? George S. Plympton was one of the writers...wasn't he a friend of Ed's??? There is little emotion portrayed by the actors...everyone says their lines in a manner-of-fact way, however, the story is so good and action so fast-paced, you really don't notice it. What I DID notice and what made me giggle, was that EVERY male performer, except the Wizard so far, wears a Fedora!!! They all look like they were in some old gangster movie!! I originally wrote this review after seeing only 6 of the 15 episodes...it was difficult to turn the DVD player off after the 6th episode...but, I wanted something fun to watch tomorrow!! I came back and corrected some incorrect information I gave AFTER finishing the series. If you're a die-hard Batman fan, you should like this, unless you get upset by movies not following the comic's story lines! Those of you who like to get a glimpse of a time gone by, you'll LOVE this! It's not possible for me to give this serial 10 out 10 stars, mainly because of the bad acting....however, it certainly earns at least 7! By the way, it is very easy to tell that this is what the 1966 Batman TV series was based on!

I remember this being shown in serial version as a black & white fill-in for a 70s youth culture show in Australia. It was actually a music and pop culture show, and this was done as a novelty bit; but I thoroughly loved it; and avidly followed the adventure every week. I wish some younger kids shows of today had the guts to try something like that, and reinvent the classic stories.I especially remember the submarine going to the hidden lair of the villain.And also Batman and Robin riding around in the standard convertible. For a while, I started to doubt this version existed, since it never got mentioned in any discussion of Batman.It's this version that caused me to be rather dismissive of the more campy over-the-top TV series (starring Adam West and Burt Ward) that everyone is so fond of now.