‘Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm’: The Best Batman Movie You’ve Never Seen
Image Source: IMDb
It is no secret that some of the very best Batman content is animated, but a film that has sadly flown under the radar of most fans is Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Released in 1993, it was the first film to feature legendary voice actors Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill as Batman and the Joker respectively. This film is easily the best Batman film to date and that includes the live-action films. It features a side to Batman that we have never seen in live-action content which is a real shame because it would make the character even better than he already is.
This film was a huge surprise for me because it was the first animated Batman movie I had ever seen. I grew up with Batman: The Animated Series which also featured the voice talents of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill. What surprised me most about the film was the depth and complexities that it gave to Bruce Wayne and his Batman persona. We all know the origins of Batman, but this film introduced a better look at not only the early days of Batman but also something that almost made Bruce walk away from the idea forever. I really appreciated the storytelling in this film because it stuck with the canon of the character while introducing new and original ideas. I honestly prefer the origin story given in this film to the ones that we have been given in more recent content.
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Image Source: IMDb
The movie follows Bruce Wayne who while visiting his parents’ grave meets a young woman who is visiting her mother’s grave. The two hit it off fairly quickly and begin a beautiful romance that sees Bruce Wayne finally getting some reprieve from the grief that he has been struggling with his entire life. Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever, and Bruce’s love leaves the country with her father. Years later, the pair are reunited after a string of violent murders rock Gotham, and the killer frames Batman for the crimes. The film introduces a new villain that even the Joker can’t figure out and gives us some of the best fight scenes we have ever seen in Batman content. The story is told in a combination of flashbacks and present day events and has so many great twists and turns. The flashbacks also show us how Bruce came up with the idea for Batman and what he was doing prior to this. We also get to see more of Bruce and Alfred’s relationship which has been sorely lacking from more recent live-action content. Their banter brought some nice humor to the otherwise dark film which is another aspect that I have missed in the newer live-action content.
The best thing about this movie is the humanity that Bruce Wayne’s character is given. We are accustomed to seeing Bruce Wayne as a closed-off playboy by day and vigilante by night, but in this film, we get to see an entirely new side to him. He was a loving and caring man who turned his grief into a promise to his parents that he fought to keep. There was more character development in this movie than I have ever seen for Batman, and I hope that James Gunn will take some notes from the 90s content and apply them to future content. This is a movie that I will recommend to everyone because it was absolutely fantastic!
Rating: 10/10
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is currently streaming on Max.
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