tankace
Batman :Mistery of the Batwoman isn't a bad film, not bad at all, but it is nowhere near the lever of Batman: The Mask of the Phantasm and Batman Beyond: The Return of the Joker. Despite that as for animated films of the DCAU goes, it is decent entry but it came out in 2003, when this animation was becoming obsolete and so it didn't receive great reviews. The story is an interesting one, in Gotham a new Heroine comes out and calls herself Batwoman and she is going after two of the most famous crime bosses in Gotham, the Penguin as well as Rupert Thorne. The issue is that, this emulator of the Dark Knihgt ,is more ruthless than Bats and it is up to the dynamic duo of Batman and Robin to find out what is her identity and why she is targeting those two gangsters.So the story is fine, the fight scenes cool, now where is it lacking?It lacks a bit to the emotional connection that Batman: The Mask of the Phantasm and Batman Beyond: The Return of the Joker had. Also an other issue is the tone, it is too light for a Batman film. Now I know that it isn't necessary to have it all dark and depressing, but it doesn't needs to become that, the two previous animated mentions and the 1989 live action film (I won't compare with the Nolan versions, because they weren't release yet, so it better to use as measure Batman films that were made up to 2003) were darker in tone, but also had a lot of dialogues and scenes with fun, excitement and delight!Also and this my take, the animation, though well made, it is dated by toady's standards and even for the 2003 levels. If the flick had come out before the millennium it would have been praised, but after the millennium with series like, Justice League, Teen Titans and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) ,the levels had went up. In short the market demands were a bit to high for it!In general it is a OK Batman film and if you are a fan of the Cape Crusader, I recommended you to added in your collection of Batman films, if you haven't already! To the rest give a try and if you don't like it, it is OK.
gigan-92
I just bought the DVD and I'm very impressed by the quality of the story. It definitely keeps you guessing and the mystery itself is a reason to watch. The animation itself is that of the "The New Batman Adventures", although somewhat brighter than the actual show. Still, it is very good and there's not really much to complain about in the character designs. Some fans as I'm well aware of criticize the "The New Batman Adventures" but consider this movie for example. Bane looks great, and though the voice actor is Héctor Elizondo instead of the usual Henry Silva, the character retains the same intelligence and prideful personality as in the comics. Penguin's design changes drastically from the original "Batman: The Animated Series" design, now free of the Danny DeVito look and being pretty awesome in the movie. John Vernon reprises the role of Rupert Throne, though he does little in the movie to my distaste. Then of course there's Batwoman, and I can't reveal too much but she is a bad-ass character. There's less focus on Batman in this one you could say, but it's in order to allow the audience to explore new characters and this is done very well.Lolita Ritmanis, a regular composer from the show, does the music for this film and while I find it okay it's a tad much of a departure from the usual darker music. Still, all in all, "Mystery of the Batwoman" has complex characters, great animation and an intriguing storyline that delivers action and mystery. I definitely recommend it.
masterbrain_27
Batman Mystery of the Batwoman, is, in a word, stale. The plot goes that a mysterious female vigilante ("Batwoman") is intruding on Batman's turf, and while Batman is trying to combat a Penguin/Bane/Rupert Thorne threesome, he's trying to figure out who the mysterious Batwoman is. There is nothing strikingly wrong about this, but there is nothing really special about it either, noting really made it stick out. Mask of the Phantasm had Bruce's long lost love re surface and mess with his head.Subzero was a major event in the life of Mr Freeze. Even the Batman Beyond movie spin off, Return of the Joker, dug deep with the characters involved. But Mystery of the Batwoman had some minor subplots, a lot of formula topped off by a mediocre setpiece on a cruise boat. Frankly, this thing is more Scooby Doo than Dark Knight, lacking the punch and bite that the Animated Series had in it's prime.
Shawn Watson
Mystery of the Batwoman has made quite a bad reputation for itself since its release a decade ago. I'm not really sure why, or if it deserves the fanboy hate, but one thing is for sure - it killed the Bruce Timm/Alan Burnett Batman continuity that began with the TV series back in 1992. Kevin Conroy has returned as Batman in a few video games but there has been no proper Batman animated movie since this one (unless you count the Public Enemies, where he shares half of the screen time with Superman).The Penguin is in the midst of setting up an arms deal with Carton Duquesne, Rupert Thorne, and Bane when the sudden appearance of a new crime-fighter in the shape of Batwoman causes them all sorts of grief. Not taking kindly to his image being tainted by an unaffiliated vigilante Batman sets out to discover who she really is.It's a decent plot, but never feels moody or atmospheric. The Gothic pathos of the animated Batman entries that fans are familiar with is strangely absent/muted. However there are some good action scenes and a nice twist half-way through that might seem a little redundant on repeat viewings. The animosity it has gathered since 2003 is a little hard to justify, it's still better than Sub-Zero.
AD
