Batman: Descent Into Mystery

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!

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!

For me what makes a great fanedit is to offer the viewer an alternative to the original and not to replace it. The Batman film of 89 will always have a special place for me, I still have memories of the large cues which stretched around the cinema, and the news paper clippings I collected made it one of the most anticipated films for me. This was also one of the first films in the UK that carried a 12 certificate and being around 10 or 11 at the time I had to wait until the end of its run before my father took me to see it (the age restriction limit was a lot tougher back then)

So looking at Dwights cultist there wasn't a lot on there that I felt made it a bad film, I mean the relationship between Bruce and Vicki didn't bother me nor did Batman killing The Jokers goons. I've never been a big comic book reader so the idea of making this Batman closer to his origins again wasn't greatly appealing. However with that being said I go back to my opening sentence for me a great fanedit offers the viewer an alternative to the original and this is a great fanedit.

Having watched a work print version a while I recall switching off the edit and started to flick through the original and to my surprise I couldn't believe how much footage had been removed without me missing it. This is a film I’ve seen countless number of times during the years and to see a version that removes the love relationship between two main characters so well done and is the highlight of this edit.

Even some of the joker scenes most notably the museum section which I really liked I didn't particularly miss. This is because the edit doesn’t suffer from any obvious cuts and keeps the flow and the pace of the film at a fast pace.

The only negative for me was the use of the flashback scene in which Bruces parents are killed, it left me a little confused as to whether Bruce knows that Jack/Joker is the man responsible for their deaths. I put this down mainly to myself not being able to fully detach myself from the original film, but I do fell the scene wasn't necessary.

Overall I can only backup what over people have said about this edit not only is it one of the best edits of the year but will be remembered as one of the best edits of all time. I now look at my original batman copy as a extended version but it will be a hard decision to make when it comes to watching Batman again. The short edit The Killing Joke by Blueyoda is also a welcome highlight.

I was obsessed with this movie when it came out. I was never really into comic books, so my only real exposure at the time to Batman was from reruns of the 60s live action show and the Super Friends animated show. Needless to say, Burton's Batman was the antithesis of what I knew Batman to be. And it was awesome. I watched it several times in the theatre, had all the action figures and even collected the trading cards. My VHS copy was heavily worn. Somewhere along the line I became a teenager and mostly forgot the childhood obsession I had with the movie. I've probably only watched it a handful of times in the last 20+ years. There have been a few of fanedits of this film in the past and, for the most part, they weren't very well done. Suffice it to say, I was a little skeptical with this edit, but I gave it a shot. And I'm glad I did.

A/V Quality: Perfect.

Visual Editing: I didn't notice the colour correction. This is a good thing. The before and after shots in the bonus features were really eye opening.

Audio editing: Perfect.

Narrative: This film is so ingrained in my mind that any changes feel odd, but not necessarily in a bad way. Removing a forced romance is almost always a good move and it is not missed one bit. But, you also lose a lot of the Bruce Wayne scenes in the process and subsequently, you get the feeling that you don't really know much about the character. Yes, it adds to the mystery, but that's not necessarily a good thing. I'd say the end justifies the means in order to get rid of the romance. I liked pretty much all the cuts that were made except for one: the reveal of Jack as Bruce's parents' killer. As I said, I'm not into comic books, so getting the movie closer to the source material does nothing for me. From a storytelling perspective, it's a great twist and makes the hero/villain relationship go beyond the basic good vs evil and brings it down to a personal level. I think removing it hurt the narrative. Other than that, I loved the cutting done to the bell tower scene, but I think you went a bit too far. Now, instead of being the ultimate climax to the film, it plays out almost like just another action sequence.

Enjoyment: Despite my small criticisms above, I thoroughly enjoyed this edit. The technical aspects are perfect and it was a great way to experience the film again. Some aspects are better than the original and some are not. I don't think it will replace the original, but a worthy alternative version. I'd highly recommend to any Batman fan.

Bonus Features: Including a blueyoda short along with this was a bold move. Blueyoda is a master, and his short is great. I almost enjoyed it more than the main feature. If this was included with Batman Consecution, it would easily be one of the best edits on the disc. As I said before, the colour correction comparison was really eye opening and incredibly well done. And the alternate Joker reveal was really interesting, but you made the right choice in not including it.

I enjoyed this a lot. The Vicky Vale romance was a always a bit contrived and distracting; likewise Alfred letting her into the Batcave; the removal of the=is subplot was much appreciated and worked well. I did however miss the Jack Napier/ Joker/ Wayne murders link more than I thought I would, and perhaps keeping this -- while ditching the Vale/ Wayne romance -- would make this really good fanedit a great one. Technically, its top-notch: edits are smooth and seamless. Thanks again!