Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) Review

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

Mask of the Phantasm follows Batman, who is pitted up against a mysterious, masked vigilante, who is picking off members of a select mob, possibly tying their identity to a lover from Bruce’s past. 

Acting as a movie tie-in to the highly successful first season of Batman: The Animated Series, to this day, Mask of the Phantasm remains one of the most darkly phenomenal animated Batman films ever (and there is A LOT). Much of that is owed to the series, laying all of the groundwork to set up a 1940s, pulp noir version of Gotham that is just perfect for Batman, from the mobsters in suits, to the detective elements at play; all very reminiscent of early comic interpretations of the caped crusader. From there, we then diverge into territory typically unfamiliar with Batman—love. A love that could’ve prevented him from ever donning the cowl, that took all that pain and sadness away from his parents death. But of course, a love that couldn’t be, setting Bruce, as well as Andrea, on very similar paths of vengeance against the people who took their parents away. 

All at once, this film acts as both sequel and prequel, charting Bruce’s first year in the suit as a man in love, to the present day, where his lost love is now his enemy, preying on the very criminals he refuses to stop for good. Seeing that conflict in him is rare, probably more so that he would give up his crime fighting in an instant for her, but mainly just in his willingness to genuinely care for someone to the point where he doesn’t break his rule but he won’t stop that person from enacting their own justice all the same. 

We get a fantastic cast as well, featuring Abe Vigoda, Stacy Keach, Hart Bochner, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Dana Delany, Mark Hamill, and Kevin Conroy. Conroy, as he was in the series and everything after, will always be the definitive voice of Batman, bringing so much conflict, rage, and tenderness to the character, which always works in such stark contrast with Hamill’s also iconic take on the Joker, who chews every scene his in to perfection, despite not appearing till halfway in.

Mask of the Phantasm, directed by Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski, had the remarkable luck of not just following The Animated Series, but building on it, foregoing the classic origin story to craft a beginning that is just as dark and full of heartbreak, making this final act all the more crushing.

8.8/10