Batman: Descent Into Mystery

I watched this yesterday, on my tablet with headphones.

I mostly agree with njvc's review.

The bad: well, I own the Bluray of this movie, with surround sound and this particular edit cannot replace my copy because the richness of Tim Burton's movie doesn't come to full display with this offered video file. I don't know if the color correction is an issue with the DVD release but this version, I find the colors rather murky and obviously detail is missing, resolution-wise. So on the basis of visual image and sound, I would have to stay with the original source.

The volume was rather low, I had to turn the audio way up. I checked on my 60" TV as well as PC.

Alfred is sorely undercut.

The good: removing Vicky Vale works, the shortened museum encounter works, removing Joker as Bruce's killer works.

All in all, I would say that it is a good edit in that it appears seamless, I can only see it because I am well familiar with this movie and a Batman fan to boot. I didn't like Tim Burton's Batman movies until Joel Schumacher came long and showed how much worse it could be.

As a *movie ending*, it does seem rather unsatisfying and over quick, but as story-telling, it does work.

If you want to see a shorter Batman 1989, watch it, with no Batman-killings, no Joker killed his parents and no Vicky Vale knows his secret. If you enjoy visual quality and surround sound, the changes are not enough to make me want to switch.

Good job.

Like many reviewers, the 1989 Batman is a special one to me. It's the first superhero movie that I remember getting swept up in the marketing campaign for, and feeling crazily excited to see 'the real' Batman at last. I had the t-shirt, the making of book, the comic book (as featured on the cover of this edit!), and the toys, all before being allowed to actually see the film. The batwing was particularly cool. So, in short, I loved and still love Batman '89, flaws and all. It may even be my favourite Batman movie, although I certainly acknowledge many aspects have dated.

As for this fanedit, it is edited superbly. Dwight Fry's fine eye for detail is at work here, and it is clear that an enormous amount of thought and effort went into creating an extremely professional edit. There were no jarring cuts, and the whole thing flows smoothly. But overall, I missed many of the parts that were cut for a couple of reasons.

First, I think the movie has suffered in terms of character development and depth of relationships in this edit. Dwight has successfully removed the aspects he wanted to (vale/bruce relationship, joker killing bruce's parents etc), but to me this left the film feeling more hollow rather than more streamlined. I can buy that Vicki would be attracted to an intelligent, mysterious and dark Bruce Wayne - Remember she is no ordinary girl, and has been out in war torn areas as a photographer. She's attracted to darkness, hence her desire to learn more about Batman in the first place. And of course Knox is the everyman, who clearly has no chemistry with Vale whatsoever. So I don't agree that the love story feels shoehorned in to this movie.

Did Vicki need to see the Batcave? No. But again, it's an important character moment for all three of them in Burton's story - Especially for Alfred, who is really short changed in this edit. I missed the levity of their date scenes, particularly the scene in the kitchen between Bruce, Vicki and Alfred. I am pleased that you cut Bruce sleeping upside down though... That was always ridiculous.

Secondly, many of the scenes felt too rushed to me, particularly the climax in the church. While I understand the reasoning behind most of the cuts, this scene no longer felt worthy of the 'final battle' scene. It was over in a couple of punches. More true to the character? No doubt. More enjoyable? Not really.

If I was able to relate more to the understandable Bat-fan desire to see batman a) become more recluse/mysterious and b)not murder anyone, I think I would have enjoyed the edit more. As it was, I missed seeing Batman blow up the goons in the factory, and throw that guy down the stairwell at the top of the church. And I missed the lovely character beats that have been cut which may have strayed from Batman's origins as a character, but are essential to this particular telling in my opinion.

Overall, I commend Dwight Fry on his fantastic editing skills, and completion of his vision. He has accomplished his goals, and I would happily recommend this to anyone who wants to see a version of Batman closer in line with the comics, and anyone who doesn't have such a nostalgic connection to the original ;)

PS. Blueyoda's The Killing Joke is yet another masterpiece from the best editor I know. A beautiful and mesmerising work. Thank you for including it!

Mission Accomplished! This Fanfix did exactly what was promised. The forced romance was seamlessly removed and Joker is no longer the Wayne's killer. Much better than the original as far as story line goes. I felt like I was reading one of my old Batman comics; the story kept moving forward at a good pace. It had a good flow and tight story. I've read through the cutlist and agree with everything that was done, except the small nitpicks listed below. I forgot how many cringe-worthy moments were in this film until I reviewed the cutlist. they are definitely not missed.

Best cut was definitely the removal of the museum desecration scene with Prince theme music. Joker gets right down to business and comes off as more menacing.

My nitpicks:
- I wish the editor had removed the part where Jack/Joker's hand comes out of the chemical vat and claws the air. I always hate that when the hero or villian reaches out of the water or from underground and either claws the air or makes a fist. Its so cliche.
- I like when Bob tells the thugs to "check his wallet." That to me is a nice non-forced, genuinely humorous moment. Wish it was still there.

I watched this on a laptop, so I don't really have any comment on audio/video quality. Everything seemed fine to me. Editing seemed well executed and I saw nothing to complain about there.

Great job on this edit. This shows a perfect example of what a fanfix edit can accomplish.

Wow, what a tough one to review. I'm a big fan of Burton's Batman movies, but Batman himself I can take or leave. I've never read a comic book, and in fact Batman '89 and Batman Returns are the only two superhero movies I've had any interest in. I never had problems with things like Vicki at the Batcave, the romance between Bruce and Vicki, the Partyman sequence, and so on. Watching this with an open mind was tough to do, but I did my best.

While I can't say I enjoyed this as much as the original, I will give Dwight credit for accomplishing his goals. The edit is very well executed, and despite my enjoyment of the material that has been excised, the movie works just fine the way Dwight has cut it down. It's a very good effort that I have no problem recommending, if for no other reason that it provides a new take on an old(ish) classic.

I should note that I did wish the "To Bill" bit was done after the fade-out, rather than over the final shot of the movie. It felt a little heavy-handed to me.

And one odd note: I was very concerned during the opening credits because either the words or the background (couldn't tell which) seemed to be jumping around a little. However, after watching the edit, I popped in my original DVD, and it suffered the same issue. *shrug*

I give this a solid 8/10 overall, and it's only my personal preferences that keep me from rating this higher. Well done!