Batman: Caped Crusader

It's certainly not the worst Batman show, but there are a lot of things that work against this project. The portrayals of all the characters come off as poor/boring versions especially the villains. All characters lack chemistry with each other as well.

With Batman/Bruce Wayne there's no depth or character development it's just the same bland and tiresome version of this version of the caped crusader.

I would say the biggest issue I have with this show is that it struggles trying to decide if it's for more mature audiences or if it's kid friendly. One second it's showing PG styled phrasing and cookie-cutter action, the next it's showing murder and serious dark topics yet holds back on showing any blood or graphic depictions. At the end of the day just pick a lane and stick to it.

Negatives:

• The Voice Acting
• The Writing
• The Soundtrack
• Modern Politics

Positives:

• The Animation
• The Release date

At the end of the day I would just stick with watching the Batman Year One animated movie. As it does a much better job of representing the origin of Batman becoming a true crime fighter while learning how to navigate through corruption and justice.

As a Batman fan in all forms, it pains me to say this. Considering the talent and pedigree behind this version of Batman, it is easily the worst. 30 years after BTAS, you'd think they could do better than this. Stiff limited animation. At this point a more fluidly animated version is more than possible along the lines of a Blue Eye Samurai, but Netflix then Prime didn't want to spend the money or make the effort. Generic art design and pseudo-art deco design. It's not entirely clear what decade this is supposed to take place in. They took some of the best and most innovative ideas from BTAS and squandered them. Unnecessary character gender swaps and incoherent villain origins. We deserve better than this. Absolutely awful!

Honestly, I thought this was average at best. Mediocre at worst.

It gets quite tiring giving chances to the exact same kind of thing over and over again. What was it that they wanted to tell so badly that they had to do a new Batman for current generations? That Bruce was a jerk to his staff at some point? It doesn't even deviate from the original canon enough to be interesting, it's safe while feeling tampered enough to raise some eyebrows.

Sadly, episodes feel too short and too simplistic. There's no creativity, innovation or ambition. The last two should have been the beginning of the season (aside from the very last element of it), and the rest should have been better. Considering how Batman cuffs a villain to a small table's leg in a Museum and walks away.. it is not too much to ask for. The visuals are good enough, but might as well watch Timm's original work.

While exploring some interesting themes and with some really cool art-deco conceptual artwork, I found the animation itself to be really static and uninteresting. The opening shot of the entire series had a guy tied up in a chair, completely unmoving other than his mouth.

Since this show is being marketed as adult animation, I expected the quality of the animation to be higher. It feels like a kid's show that's peppered with more violence than usual - interesting but lacking the genuine emotion and higher quality animation that I would expect from a more mature show.

I do appreciate the art style, voice acting, and imaginative take on the characters we know and love. The music is also well done - sort of a classic orchestral noir vibe. However in my opinion it could do with less music overall, as well as an approach to the music that was less leading and manipulative.

I'll be honest, I was turned off by the first episode. You walk right into it and see a lot of characters have been changed from their traditional comic appearances to appeal to "modern audiences." Penguin in particular is just bad as some angry convincing mother. BUT the next episode absolutely nailed ClayFace with plenty of homages to the early 30s and 40s Universal Horror movies who the character is based off of that I decided to stick with it. The show as a whole copies the artistic style of the 90s Batman: The Animated Series which is considered by many to be the best Batman show of all time. This show mimics its Noir elements while also ramping up the age rating, giving us more gore, more horror, more "adult" themes, and the occasional swearing. However the show isn't without its flaws, because it's beyond obvious the creators had to make it more diverse so it would appeal to "modern audiences".

When this show misses, it's a strike out. Penguin is hands down the worst change. Bullock is also bad as an accomplish to the corrupt Flash. In the original show, he didn't trust Batman, but at least he was a honest cop. However when the show hits a home run, it's absolutely out of the park. There are so many Easter eggs and call backs to the various comics and what influenced the various Batman characters/arcs I couldn't help but appreciate the show has a hard core fan. For instance, Catwoman's costume is very much a callback to her golden Age outfit while her iconic claw marks scar is a reference to her Year One trademark. Firefly likewise they nail his psychological disturbance with fire (who imo is a very utilized villain) where once he sees a flame, he HAS to make it grow. Harley Quin, yeah they "change" her appearance (cough cough) but they actually do her psychologist profile justice much like her original appearance in the Animated Series, and no she is nothing like the MAX show depiction.

Is the show perfect? No. Am I happy they "updated it for modern audiences?" Also no. However that does not mean you should instantly write it off as a bad show. Skip the 1st episode and you will see the creators at least tried to make it a love letter to the existing Batman Media from across the decades.