A fun and endearing send-off for Adam West, old chum.
Note: Batman vs. Two-Face premiered at New York Comic Con. It will be released on Digital on October 10 and on DVD and Blu-ray on October 17.
After last year's Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders brought us a new adventure for the 1966 Batman team, Warner Bros. Animation has returned with this fun sequel which brings two new legends into the mix -- Two-Face and William Shatner! Sadly, the film also says goodbye to the man who has long personified the Caped Crusader for many of us, the late Adam West. But it does so in an endearing and sweet manner.
Two-Face never showed up in the original TV show from the ’60s, although an unproduced script from sci-fi author Harlan Ellison did feature the character (rumors that a young Clint Eastwood was considered for the role appear to be just that -- rumors). That story was turned into a comic book a couple of years ago, but still, the absence of one of Batman’s key rogues was always an odd gap in the show’s history. Now, however, that gap has finally been filled with Shatner rather expertly stepping in as Harvey Dent/Two-Face.
It’s a great team-up to have two of the legends of late ’60s genre TV together here in West and Shatner, while Burt Ward and Julie Newmar are also back as Robin and Catwoman, respectively. As with Return of the Caped Crusaders, the actors’ voices have obviously aged along with the rest of them (and us), but it’s something you can brush off pretty quickly when the old show’s unique vibe kicks in. And in fact, Shatner’s voice sounds more or less the same as ever, although he modulates it in a campy/creepy way when Harvey is in that Two-Face state of mind.
After a quick visit to the barred window of Catwoman’s jail cell -- just “37 more reformative months” to go! -- things get started with Batman and Robin checking in on Hugo Strange’s new scientific invention: the Evil Extractor. As if the presence of Strange himself isn’t enough to excite some fans, there’s also another beloved character present in this scene… and that’s before the motley crew of incarcerated ne’er-do-wells Joker, Penguin, Riddler, Egghead and Mr. Freeze are brought in. (Ah, the pleasures of animation, where if you can draw it, you can show it.) For it is they who will have their evil extracted, fair citizen!
Also present is Harvey Dent, looking strikingly like a young Shatner, who has high hopes for Strange’s new tech. But alas, this being a Harvey Dent story, things cannot go well for him, and the combined efforts of Bats’ rogues gallery causes the whole enterprise to go up in smoke, quite literally, and for Two-Face to be born. It’s a new yet appropriately ’66 take on Harvey’s origin.
This is all pre-credits action. During the actual credits we’re treated to a montage/history of Two-Face’s illicit actions and the Dynamic Duo’s battles with him, so that by the time the film proper starts, Harvey is in the Sisters of Perpetual Irony Hospital, seemingly cured thanks to the altruism of his good friend Bruce Wayne (who, of course, is wearing an ascot and country club jacket). But is Harvey really free of the Two-Face curse?
Therein lies the mystery of Batman vs. Two-Face, which takes its time to solve that riddle even while Batman and Robin find themselves on mini-missions against the likes of King Tut and the Bookworm (all written and voiced as perfectly evocative versions of their original series incarnations, in this case with Wally Wingert doing Victor Buono and Jeff Bergman taking on Roddy McDowall). Two-Face looms large over the proceedings, but both the Caped Crusader and the viewer find themselves wondering how exactly that could be in the wake of Harvey’s cure.
Along the way, there’s much fun to be had, whether it’s good Shatner having a conversation with bad Shatner, Chief O’Hara and King Tut extensively riffing on the old “knock on the head triggers the split personality” joke, giant billiard ball traps for the Dynamic Duo, or callbacks to indelible lines from the show (“Your mother wears combat boots!”). Perhaps my favorite exchange comes, however, when Harvey mentions the charity he’s hoping Bruce will support: the Society for Underprivileged Fraternal Twins. “A worthy cause,” West straight-faces it as only West could. “The stigma of being the less attractive twin is a heavy burden no one should have to bear.”
Indeed, it’s West’s mere presence here, as the viewer knows this is his final turn as Batman, that elevates the film in the end. And his Batman is given some slight room for growth as well, as a conflict with Robin (“Go to your room!”) and a developing relationship with Catwoman (that doesn’t involve her falling down a bottomless pit for a change) are both explored.
The Verdict
Batman vs. Two-Face is a worthy entry in the 1966 canon, one that plumbs the depths of what has come before while also introducing some new elements. William Shatner’s Two-Face/Harvey Dent is nicely realized and fits in well with this particular take on the Batman world, while Adam West brings his affable charm and unassailable good humor to his iconic take on the character one last time. You’ll be missed, old chum.
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