As a Batman fan I was very surprised to see that this serial was actually as good as it is. Robert Lowery and John Duncan are just right as Batman and Robin. Duncan is quite athletic and holds his own in the action sequences. Lowery is solid as both Batman and the seemingly lazy Bruce Wayne. There are enough action sequences, car chases, bat-fights and derring-do to please most Bat-fans and the Wizard makes a pretty good Bat-villain (not in the same league as the Joker but still pretty good). The story is OK. The fact that it has to be stretched over 15 chapters forces some repetition but it all holds together. A good deal of the movie was shot outdoors which gives it a nice feel. On the minus side is the lack of Batmobile. It just doesn't feel right watching the Dynamic Duo chase crooks in a convertible. Oh well we die hard fans have the Bat-signal, the Bat-cave, Commissioner Gordon (nicely played by Lyle Talbot) and Vickie Vale to keep us happy. Not surprisingly, some of the cliff-hanger endings are better than others. One that stands out is when Batman and the railway chief are trapped in a cabin with a weird bomb device about to explode....and the clocks start to accelerate!! Overall a good serial and a nice change of pace from the 1960s silliness and the 1990s dark brooding hero.
I give it 6 Bats out of 10.
I give it 6 Bats out of 10.