This "documentary" on the history of the Batmobile didn't offer much hope for me since it was screened around the release date for the most recent Batman film; as such I was in very little doubt that it was going to be much more than an extended advert for the franchise and in particular the new film. Of course this is the reason this short film exists, but it is not the only thing to be taken from it because, despite its motivations, it does manage to produce some of interest.
With plenty of pictures and clips the short film looks at the original comic books and serials (where the Batmobile was little more than a car) and then goes through the various comic books, TV shows and of course films to look at the car and also hear from those that designed and physically made them. Of course, running to a hair over 20 minutes, it doesn't take much time to do any of this stuff and it moves at a real pace from start to finish, to the point that if you blink you'll miss an entire period of design for the Batmobile. This is the downside because it is actually quite interesting to see some of the clips from the original serial and also see them give time to the comic books and not just the films, but in terms of time there is simply none. The end of the show had a trailer card for the "full" documentary and perhaps that would be more interesting and longer, but for this special it is very superficial.
I'm a casual fan so this is OK for me, but those that know the character inside out may find almost nothing they have not seen before. The names and faces are mostly associated with the films – which is mostly all well and good but personally I was a bit offended to see that plenty of time was carved out for Joel Schumacher, a man I thought had some sort of restraining order taken out against him to ensure he doesn't come within a decade of being involved in anything to do with Batman again. Otherwise there is plenty of energy in the contributions, just no real time for them to be anything other than soundbites.
This is a promo then, but that is not the whole story. The casual viewer such as myself should get something from seeing all the clips etc but anyone looking for a proper documentary would be best served elsewhere.
With plenty of pictures and clips the short film looks at the original comic books and serials (where the Batmobile was little more than a car) and then goes through the various comic books, TV shows and of course films to look at the car and also hear from those that designed and physically made them. Of course, running to a hair over 20 minutes, it doesn't take much time to do any of this stuff and it moves at a real pace from start to finish, to the point that if you blink you'll miss an entire period of design for the Batmobile. This is the downside because it is actually quite interesting to see some of the clips from the original serial and also see them give time to the comic books and not just the films, but in terms of time there is simply none. The end of the show had a trailer card for the "full" documentary and perhaps that would be more interesting and longer, but for this special it is very superficial.
I'm a casual fan so this is OK for me, but those that know the character inside out may find almost nothing they have not seen before. The names and faces are mostly associated with the films – which is mostly all well and good but personally I was a bit offended to see that plenty of time was carved out for Joel Schumacher, a man I thought had some sort of restraining order taken out against him to ensure he doesn't come within a decade of being involved in anything to do with Batman again. Otherwise there is plenty of energy in the contributions, just no real time for them to be anything other than soundbites.
This is a promo then, but that is not the whole story. The casual viewer such as myself should get something from seeing all the clips etc but anyone looking for a proper documentary would be best served elsewhere.