Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman

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.

"Batman: The Mystery of the Batwoman" is about as entertaining as animated Batman movies get.

While still true to the feeling of the comic books, the animation is done with a lighter spirit than in the animated series. Bruce Wayne looks much like he has before, but now he appears somewhat less imposing. The Dick Grayson Robin has been replaced by the less edgy, more youthful Tim Drake Robin.

Kevin Conroy, as usual, invokes the voice of Batman better than most live action actors.

Kelly Ripa did a much more decent voice-acting job than I was expecting.

As in the live action Batman films, the movie lives or dies based on the quality of the villains. My all-time favorite, the Penguin, is here. His design is sleeker than it has appeared before, hearkening more to the Burgess Meredith portrayal of the '60's than the Danny DeVito portrayal of "Batman Returns." David Ogden Stiers is the perfect choice for the Penguin's voice. The Penguin is finally portrayed as a cunning sophisticate, just as he most commonly appears in the comics. Hector Elizondo's voice creates a Bane who's much more memorable than the forgettable version in "Batman & Robin." And finally, Batman has a descent mystery to solve, putting the "Detective" back in "Detective Comics" (that is what "DC" stands for, after all.) The revolution to the mystery is a delightfully sneaky twist.

The score adds to the mysterious ambiance of the movie. It sounds like a mix between the score from "Poirot" and the score from "Mission: Impossible." All in all, it's more entertaining than your average cartoon.

Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman is not as good as Return of the Joker, SubZero and especially Mask of the Phantasm. Some scenes do feel like filler and Robin for my tastes was rather bland. However, there is still much to like, first and foremost the animation, which is wonderful with everything very detailed and lavishly coloured. The music is full of haunting atmosphere too and never feels out of place, while the writing is sharp and provokes thought and the story even with the filler has great suspense, a sense of mystery and some exciting action. Batman is still the dark and brooding character we know and love, and Penguin, who's always been one of my favourite Batman villains, is a delight to see. The voice acting is terrific, Kevin Conroy can do no wrong, and Kelly Rippa is also surprisingly good. David Ogden Stiers may have inevitable comparisons to Paul Williams, but I think he does do a more than worthy job with Penguin's voice. All in all, a very good movie, while not the strongest Batman animated movie it is hardly bad either. 8/10 Bethany Cox

An enjoyable Batman animated film. Not on par with "Return of the Joker" or "Mask of the Phantasm", but solid nonetheless. I liked how the movie kept you guessing as to who Batwoman was. There was nice twist. Nice action sequences. I've always been of the opinion that the Batman cartoons are better then any of the pitiful Batman live action film sequels. The trend continues here.

7.5 out of 10

This Batman movie isn't quite as good as Batman mask of The Phantasm and Batman and Mr. Freeze subzero But it is still a good installment to the Batman cartoons I say it is equally good as Batman Beyond The Movie. This movie is good for all the same reasons The storyline is good not quite as good as the other one's but still pretty good it has lots of action in it The Cartoon effects are good The voice of actors are really good such as Kevin Conroy as Batman/ Bruce Wayne, Tara Strong as Barbra Gordon, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Eli Marienthal as Robin. The villains are good such as Kyra Sedgwick as Batwoman, David Ogden Stiers as The Pequin, Hector Elizondo as Bane. So I am sure you will not be disappointed with batman Mystery of The Batwomen. So make sure that you rent or buy batman Mystery of The Batwoman the movie because it is really good.

Overall score: ******* out of **********

*** out of *****