Fresh off the heels of re-watching the animated series and completing the graphic novels, I stumbled across Nate Lyles Batman Beyond The Series. A live action project that has been in the making for I'm not sure how long.
But no matter how long you've been waiting (an agonizing 2880 minutes personally--that's two whole days) now that it's here there's only one thing you need to know.
It's good.
I mean REALLY good.
While it definitely has some flaws, it's nothing that trumps a director who is both clearly passionate about the story they're telling and a fan trying to do justice to a great series.
Set one year after Terry first donned the cape-less cowl, this episode you find him visiting his father's grave site on the anniversary of his death.
We're reintroduced to Terry at a time where he is emotionally vulnerable and as you go through the episode, the many characters that are put into play (and there are still more to come) just hint at the volatile mixture this will create.
Nate has pulled from both the animated and graphic novel canon and while the extent of the latter is unclear at this point. This does mean we are dealing with a more mature Terry, he's not just a kid playing superhero. He's more aware of the weight and consequences of being Batman, though he is no less dedicated.
It's an interesting place to have the main character at and it makes the series that much more interesting as we see Terry's struggle with lingering guilt and rage bleed over into the world of Batman.
With a veritable convention of his rogues gallery preparing to wreak havoc in Gotham, there will be no shortage of twists and turns in the following episodes. Which honestly is worth staying tuned for that reason alone.
Mike Voutsinos is an admirable Terry/Batman and Robert L. Wilson's Bruce Wayne seems to be a stand out among viewers not just for his similar appearance but delivery. It's well cast overall, with the addition of a few original characters such as Binky and Needles. A joker pair whose dynamic I look forward to seeing develop in future episodes.
As for flaws, I found the dialogue between several henchmen at the start of the episode to go back and forth too much, they weren't really saying anything and it hinged on boring. I had this same problem later in the Joker scene when they were "torturing" their victims. Obviously nothing was ever going to happen to them but the tension they were aiming to build in this scene fell flat here. It got to the point, I either needed Binky to start cutting or Batman to show up and start punching. Tighter writing in these spots would've made the most difference story wise.
Another thing and I admit it's a personal pet peeve; was the focus on impostor Ten's feet when she hopped the fence. The converse shoes took me completely out of the moment, costume continuity is important. Next Kickstarter fund let me know, I will specifically pay for a pair of all white and all black chucks so you can mix n match with the costume--anything to help the cause.
8 out of 10. For a live action Batman Beyond in the hands of a relative unknown we're off to a promising start.
...And it's only the beginning.
But no matter how long you've been waiting (an agonizing 2880 minutes personally--that's two whole days) now that it's here there's only one thing you need to know.
It's good.
I mean REALLY good.
While it definitely has some flaws, it's nothing that trumps a director who is both clearly passionate about the story they're telling and a fan trying to do justice to a great series.
Set one year after Terry first donned the cape-less cowl, this episode you find him visiting his father's grave site on the anniversary of his death.
We're reintroduced to Terry at a time where he is emotionally vulnerable and as you go through the episode, the many characters that are put into play (and there are still more to come) just hint at the volatile mixture this will create.
Nate has pulled from both the animated and graphic novel canon and while the extent of the latter is unclear at this point. This does mean we are dealing with a more mature Terry, he's not just a kid playing superhero. He's more aware of the weight and consequences of being Batman, though he is no less dedicated.
It's an interesting place to have the main character at and it makes the series that much more interesting as we see Terry's struggle with lingering guilt and rage bleed over into the world of Batman.
With a veritable convention of his rogues gallery preparing to wreak havoc in Gotham, there will be no shortage of twists and turns in the following episodes. Which honestly is worth staying tuned for that reason alone.
Mike Voutsinos is an admirable Terry/Batman and Robert L. Wilson's Bruce Wayne seems to be a stand out among viewers not just for his similar appearance but delivery. It's well cast overall, with the addition of a few original characters such as Binky and Needles. A joker pair whose dynamic I look forward to seeing develop in future episodes.
As for flaws, I found the dialogue between several henchmen at the start of the episode to go back and forth too much, they weren't really saying anything and it hinged on boring. I had this same problem later in the Joker scene when they were "torturing" their victims. Obviously nothing was ever going to happen to them but the tension they were aiming to build in this scene fell flat here. It got to the point, I either needed Binky to start cutting or Batman to show up and start punching. Tighter writing in these spots would've made the most difference story wise.
Another thing and I admit it's a personal pet peeve; was the focus on impostor Ten's feet when she hopped the fence. The converse shoes took me completely out of the moment, costume continuity is important. Next Kickstarter fund let me know, I will specifically pay for a pair of all white and all black chucks so you can mix n match with the costume--anything to help the cause.
8 out of 10. For a live action Batman Beyond in the hands of a relative unknown we're off to a promising start.
...And it's only the beginning.