Batman1966

70/100 Before the dark, brooding era of today, Batman was a campy comedy. Some hate it, some love it. Admittedly, I'm not as in love with it as its fans, but this is effective for what it is: a campy comedy. If you make a superhero comedy nowadays, you have to have a hundred snark Joss Whedon-style comments. Here, however, its the opposite, playing ridiculous plot beats with utmost sincerity, and its unironically way more funny. Every line is the most cliche thing ever played so straight its hilarious. This movie is very entertaining almost all the way throughout. It still almost, but for now, I'm content to say its still very fun. The main performances are Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin, both doing extremely well. West is easily one of my favourite live-action Batmans, helped along by Burt Ward's icnonic portrayal of Robin as a scrappy sidekick permanently seeking Batman's approval. Their gadgets are also fun little versions of themselves, as is fitting for such a universe, even if the special effects aren't up to par even for the time. The villains are all done pretty well too. I liked the approach to the Penguin, taking his "crime boss" approach from the comics and merging it with the fact he's named after a seabird to make him a pirate captain. I think that's clever, but sadly Penguin is, as usual, outdone by the incredible performances of everyone else. Cesar Romero is great as the Joker, mustache and all, really focusing on the tricks and fun the character has, and Lee Meriwether does great as Catwoman. My favourite villain here, though, was easily Frank Gorshin as the Riddler, who's really having fun being this obsessed maniac. Honestly, this movie is at its worst when it tries to focus on the actual plot, with some obvious last minute rewrites to add more action that make the film needlessly convoluted and a bit too long. Half an hour could be cut here, and nothing would happen other than some pointless plots being cut. Overall, this movie is just really entertaining. The ending is great, and I won't spoil it. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes Batman and isn't afraid to get a little goofy.