LegendInMyMind

In many ways, Batman: Caped Crusader is a breath of fresh air. It's not made to be 'binged', for one thing. You can watch a mostly self-contained episode and be satisfied with a complete story. The art design is classical, invoking the Art Deco trappings of the '30s and '40s which its spiritual successor, Batman: The Animated Series, also did well. And it uses that setting to nice effect, with technology and characterizations that fit - except where they don't.

And that's the problem with the show, where it distracts itself from what it really is to pay lip-service to things no one cares about and that the story isn't about. The character changes do detract from the show because they distract from the story being told. It's not arbitrary - the changes were made arbitrarily. The show is then left trying to make them fit, and when it has to do that it stumbles into the weakest moments of the series. It wastes too much time trying to be something it isn't, and that takes away from everything that it is. And that needs to be said.

You can usually tell when a superhero movie is going to be garbage by the creative team, the studio, the trailer, etc. I was primed and ready for this one a month ago. But after seeing it, I wish Jackman would've stayed retired.

There is nothing in this movie other than the cameos and a yellow Wolverine costume. I went in expecting a real movie, so maybe that's on me. The first two Deadpool movies were irreverent and silly, but they weren't soulless. This movie is soulless. There is no story, there is no heart. The trailers played literally 99% of the 'character-introspection' that exists in the movie.

If you're curious going in as to what's eating at Wolverine from the trailers, rest assured you will be disappointed. It's nothing other than run-of-the-mill lip service used to distract a bad guy. What's the Vanessa-hook for Wade this time around? There's about 10 seconds of screentime devoted to that, and, yes, it is that poorly thought-out and pointless.

I've avoided most of the worst superhero movies in theaters. I did see Batman Forever in the movies as a kid, I saw X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and I saw Green Lantern. This movie is on that level. It's funnier, but it's that caliber of filmmaking. The action scenes aren't even that good, which is weird.

Let me reiterate something...this is a 2-hr Easter Egg, it is not a movie. If you want to watch a movie, watch something else. If you like watching Mystery Science Theater 3000-level spoofs/meta-commentary, you'd honestly be better off watching that. If the thought of "Comic Book Shop Fanboy Talk: The Movie" gets your pants tight, you're in luck. That is all this movie is.