Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (2003 Video) User Reviews

Solid Batman animated film

[Kujo1 · 7/10 · 22 November 2003]

An enjoyable Batman animated film. Not on par with "Return of the Joker" or "Mask of the Phantasm", but solid nonetheless. I liked how the movie kept you guessing as to who Batwoman was. There was nice twist. Nice action sequences. I've always been of the opinion that the Batman cartoons are better then any of the pitiful Batman live action film sequels. The trend continues here.

7.5 out of 10

Good Batman Cartoon.

[kyle-mcdonald · 7/10 · 4 January 2008]

This Batman movie isn't quite as good as Batman mask of The Phantasm and Batman and Mr. Freeze subzero But it is still a good installment to the Batman cartoons I say it is equally good as Batman Beyond The Movie. This movie is good for all the same reasons The storyline is good not quite as good as the other one's but still pretty good it has lots of action in it The Cartoon effects are good The voice of actors are really good such as Kevin Conroy as Batman/ Bruce Wayne, Tara Strong as Barbra Gordon, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Eli Marienthal as Robin. The villains are good such as Kyra Sedgwick as Batwoman, David Ogden Stiers as The Pequin, Hector Elizondo as Bane. So I am sure you will not be disappointed with batman Mystery of The Batwomen. So make sure that you rent or buy batman Mystery of The Batwoman the movie because it is really good.

Overall score: ******* out of **********

*** out of *****

Not the best animated Batman movie, but still a very good movie

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 10 September 2012]

Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman is not as good as Return of the Joker, SubZero and especially Mask of the Phantasm. Some scenes do feel like filler and Robin for my tastes was rather bland. However, there is still much to like, first and foremost the animation, which is wonderful with everything very detailed and lavishly coloured. The music is full of haunting atmosphere too and never feels out of place, while the writing is sharp and provokes thought and the story even with the filler has great suspense, a sense of mystery and some exciting action. Batman is still the dark and brooding character we know and love, and Penguin, who's always been one of my favourite Batman villains, is a delight to see. The voice acting is terrific, Kevin Conroy can do no wrong, and Kelly Rippa is also surprisingly good. David Ogden Stiers may have inevitable comparisons to Paul Williams, but I think he does do a more than worthy job with Penguin's voice. All in all, a very good movie, while not the strongest Batman animated movie it is hardly bad either. 8/10 Bethany Cox

HEHEHE, undoubtedly still one of the best Batman Films out there.

[gohmifune · 8 November 2003]

The movie is a great movie, it uses the more recent character designs so if you are used to the original show, you'll have to adjust, but otherwise, visually it is a fantastic treat. The music is good, as always, it includes the original Batman theme in there as well as a new song by an up and comer Cherie called Betch Neva which is a great song and played a couple times throughout the film. there is also a love interest for batman as well as an antagonist. Voice acting is superb and the story keeps you entertained. If you are a fan of all the batman material that has come before, you owe it to yourself to watch, especially if you recognize the characters such as rupert thorne and bane. Take a look, it is more than worth it.

Interesting storyline...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 25 August 2020]

I sat down in 2020 to watch the 2003 DC animated movie "Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman". Now, I wasn't really expecting much, since I am not particularly fond of superhero movies or animated movies, but still, if I haven't seen something, I will if given the chance.

And now that I have seen this 2003 animated movie, I must say that the storyline was actually good and entertaining. There was a good amount of plot, action and character interaction in it. And it also definitely helped that the story had some interesting characters in it as well.

As for the drawing style, then I am not really a fan of the particular style of art and drawing that they used for this era of "Batman". The very art itself is just too edged and cartoonish.

They had a good ensemble of voice actors and actresses to perform the various voices for the characters in this movie, with the likes of Kevin Conroy, Kelly Ripa, David Ogden Stiers and Hector Elizondo to name the most noticable.

I will say that "Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman" is definitely not aimed at the youngest of audiences, given the violence throughout the story.

My rating of the 2003 DC animated movie "Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman" is a six out of ten stars. It was enjoyable and good, but it wasn't the best of animated "Batman" movies available.

Decent Batman animated movie

[powerfull_jedi · 7/10 · 2 June 2006]

It aired on TV yesterday, so I decided to check it out. This was one of the last Bruce Timm/Paul Dini DTV projects related to their old 1992 Batman the Animated Series, after that Jeff Matsuda came along and re-imagined Batman with his new The Batman series, but anyway, the story of this new Batman movie centers around the appearance of a new vigilante known as Batwoman, however Batman feels the need to stop her because of her extreme methods, and also in the meantime take down The Pengiun and Ruphert Thorn who both are secretly working with Carlton Duquesne(who's having family troubles) and another villain(which is later revealed in the movie) on a weapons smuggling operation,they also put a bounty on the Batwoman. The question is: who is this mysterious Batwoman and is it possible that they could be more then one? It's up to Batman to solve this mystery and stop Penguin's latest operation. For an animated movie, it has a fairly complex plot and a serious tone, which is good. Another plus was the complete redesign of the Penguin who looks much more like the sophisticated Mob Boss we're used to seeing in the comics, unlike his previous designs that borrowed elements from Tim Burton vision of Pengium(sewer rat and circus freak). Even though the movie contains a love subplot it's never carried that far and doesn't derail the movie like say, Batman Forever. The voice acting is standard quality for these direct-to-video projects(if only Batman: Mask of Phantasm took this route), Kevin Conroy still shines as Batman/Bruce Wayne. And like I said despite running for some very short 80 minutes, it manages to make a pretty good(and complex) storyline complete with a few minor twists and bucket loads of action. There are a few downsides, however, Nightwing is nowhere to be seen, and I'm sure Barbara Gordon and Bruce Wayne don't click as a couple, even though is just referenced, Tim Drake(aka Robin) does very little in the movie and to be quite frank, I was never a big fan of Paul Dini and Bruce Timm's Batman character design(especially in their Batman shows post-BTAS), this The New Adventures of Batman and Robin, well, it kinda makes Batman look fat then rather a well-built bulked up individual(kinda like the Jeff Matsuda character model from The Batman). Bruce Wayne seems a bit awkward, those blue eyes make him look more like Clark Kent then Bruce(though it's true they do look very much alike). Another downside is Rupert Throne(no explanation as to why he is in this deal, but it's safe to say he's has goons and what's a cut of the deal) which does very little more then hang out with the Penguim or get himself hurt every time he points a gun at someone(count how many times this happens in the movie and you'll be surprised. Overall, a good Batman animated movie, worth at least a rental.

Betha Never thought we'd get this far

[CuriosityKilledShawn · 6/10 · 7 May 2004]

Mystery of the Batwoman has made quite a bad reputation for itself since its release a decade ago. I'm not really sure why, or if it deserves the fanboy hate, but one thing is for sure - it killed the Bruce Timm/Alan Burnett Batman continuity that began with the TV series back in 1992. Kevin Conroy has returned as Batman in a few video games but there has been no proper Batman animated movie since this one (unless you count the Public Enemies, where he shares half of the screen time with Superman).

The Penguin is in the midst of setting up an arms deal with Carton Duquesne, Rupert Thorne, and Bane when the sudden appearance of a new crime-fighter in the shape of Batwoman causes them all sorts of grief. Not taking kindly to his image being tainted by an unaffiliated vigilante Batman sets out to discover who she really is.

It's a decent plot, but never feels moody or atmospheric. The Gothic pathos of the animated Batman entries that fans are familiar with is strangely absent/muted. However there are some good action scenes and a nice twist half-way through that might seem a little redundant on repeat viewings. The animosity it has gathered since 2003 is a little hard to justify, it's still better than Sub-Zero.

A darn good movie, with it's own little problems

[m-rmorgan · 7/10 · 18 April 2013]

Well it's been ten years since the release of this one, and I've only just got around to seeing it. Why? Well probably due to its reputation of not being anywhere as good as Mask of Phantasm, Subzero or Batman/Superman: Worlds Finest.

However, I can't help but feel that this film is underrated, it maintains the the feel of the Animated Series very well, despite Bruce Timm not having any involvement, and while some would complain that it isn't as dark as the others, it is important to remember that TAS was intended for both children and adults, while Phantasm was certainly aimed more at the latter, Mystery was aimed more at the prior. This isn't a bad thing though, it contains a lot of the quirkyness of some of the more light-hearted episodes, a lot of which were brilliant, while still having a lot of content that adults could enjoy as well.

The animation for this one is superb, it really shines through, particularly on facial expressions and even the explosions look great. The mystery had me guessing for the good first 2/3s of the movie, but in the end once it's all revealed, the motives seem a little hazy, and while I did enjoy the several love interests happening at once, it did seem a little unnecessary and the very ending seemed a tad off. The music was great, but the Quentin Tarantino-esc credit scene was a little out of place. All in all a good movie:

7 out of 10

The Batman and the Penguin As They Were Meant to Be Portrayed

[SylvesterFox007 · 10/10 · 13 July 2005]

"Batman: The Mystery of the Batwoman" is about as entertaining as animated Batman movies get.

While still true to the feeling of the comic books, the animation is done with a lighter spirit than in the animated series. Bruce Wayne looks much like he has before, but now he appears somewhat less imposing. The Dick Grayson Robin has been replaced by the less edgy, more youthful Tim Drake Robin.

Kevin Conroy, as usual, invokes the voice of Batman better than most live action actors.

Kelly Ripa did a much more decent voice-acting job than I was expecting.

As in the live action Batman films, the movie lives or dies based on the quality of the villains. My all-time favorite, the Penguin, is here. His design is sleeker than it has appeared before, hearkening more to the Burgess Meredith portrayal of the '60's than the Danny DeVito portrayal of "Batman Returns." David Ogden Stiers is the perfect choice for the Penguin's voice. The Penguin is finally portrayed as a cunning sophisticate, just as he most commonly appears in the comics. Hector Elizondo's voice creates a Bane who's much more memorable than the forgettable version in "Batman & Robin." And finally, Batman has a descent mystery to solve, putting the "Detective" back in "Detective Comics" (that is what "DC" stands for, after all.) The revolution to the mystery is a delightfully sneaky twist.

The score adds to the mysterious ambiance of the movie. It sounds like a mix between the score from "Poirot" and the score from "Mission: Impossible." All in all, it's more entertaining than your average cartoon.

Entertaining...

[shanfloyd · 6/10 · 8 May 2006]

A nice little animated Batman film... with the mystery building slowly and solidly.

I really felt satisfied with the mature handling of the Batwoman mystery. Nicely written script never allowed to be sure about her identity till the end. All the characters were finely written, especially the Penguin and Bruce Wayne himself. I wish there was more use of Robin but I guess that's fine. Too many key figures at the end action sequence could have ruined it.

The animation should have been better although. This trademark Batman animation is now getting boring.

Batman Mystery of the Batwoman: Double meh with a side order of fries

[Platypuschow · 4/10 · 28 December 2017]

Before the real Batwoman became part of the DC universe we had the Mystery of The Batwoman where Batman discovers a new vigilante and being the worlds greatest detective sets about trying to identify her.

The antagonist? The Penguin and a special guest appearance by Bane who is just beyond ridiculous. I can never take him seriously with a hispanic accent and that mask, yeesh! That should have pushed it up to a 15 by itself!

This is clearly aimed at fans of the original Batman television series and appears very much the same, with a less grumpy than usual Batman, a very young Robin and a non-broody family friendly vibe.

One for fans of the television series only I'd say.

The Good:

The "Mystery" pay off is quite good

The Bad:

Penguin looks weird, almost as if he's animated differently

Bane looks like he's come straight from a BDSM club

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

I want one of Penguins umbrellas

Except for a Few Flaws: Excellent Animated Movie of Batman

[voicemaster71 · 9/10 · 21 December 2005]

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS :

Although it was 5 years after the series ended and WB was currently working on Justice League, this animated movie is a welcome addition to the video library. Why? Well, if Mask of the Phantasm compliments the first 70 episodes of Batman: The Animated Series and SubZero compliments the 15 episodes of the Adventures of Batman and Robin, then Mystery of the Batwoman compliments the final 24 episodes of the Gotham Knights version of Batman. Kevin Conroy once again delivers a voice over performance that is nothing short of excellence and perfection. I admit I was a bit leery when I heard about Batwoman and all I could think about were the old 50's comics of Batman. But I was blown away by the Batwoman character, her look, her costume (which I assumed inspired Bruce Wayne to create the costume on Batman Beyond)and the fact that this movie keeps you guessing who Batwoman is all the way through. If you want to know who Batwoman is, then buy or rent the DVD. Barbara Gordon makes a cameo appearance and I think the writers were trying to hint that Bruce and Barbara had something going on between them like they did in Batman Beyond. Tim Drake appears as Robin, but his role is a small one and sadly, there is no sign of or mention of Dick Grayson alias Nightwing, which leads me to believe he has established himself in Bludhaven (his city in the comics).

Of the three suspects for Batwoman, my favorite is Kathy Duquesne, who looks an awful lot like Halle Berry. Kelly Ripa did a great job as one of the other suspects. When it comes to the villains, I'm glad the Penguin was one of them, but I did not like the fact that they replaced Paul Williams with David Ogden Stiers. Pengy just didn't sound right. Same thing goes for Robin. The new guy did okay, but just as I was starting to get used to Matt Valencia, they replaced him. It's interesting to note that Kevin Michael Richardson, who voices Carlton Duquesne is now the voice of the Joker in "The Batman" series. And we finally see what Rupert Thorne looks like revamped since he didn't show up in the Gotham Knights episodes. The late John Vernon will be missed. Although I enjoyed Henry Silva as the voice of Bane, if he had to be replaced, they got the right man in the form of Hector Elizondo. I only wish they could have used Two Face, Riddler, or the scary new version of the Scarecrow.

The musical score and especially the soft sounding intro were superb. I wish that was on a soundtrack and I especially enjoyed the beautiful and talented Cherie in the Iceberg Lounge along with her song, Betcha Neva. While some feel that this movie is weaker than the Mask of the Phantasm and Subzero, I find it just as strong and enjoyable as the rest, plus like I said earlier, it's a full length movie based off the Gotham Knights version of Batman, which I think gives a good balance. I would at least recommend renting this DVD first before buying it for those who might be leery of this movie, but personally, it's well worth the purchase. I give Mystery of the Batwoman a 9.

Entertaining, but not as good as the rest...

[TerminalMadness · 7/10 · 1 May 2004]

I always said that the animated Batman movies were much better than the live action films.

I've seen all of the animated films, but out of the bunch, this is the poorest, and it's rather disappointing.

"Mask of the Phantasm" would rank as the best, then "World's Finest", then "Sub Zero", then "Return of the Joker", and finally this ranks last.

In this newest animated movie, there's a mysterious new batgirl in Gotham and Batman is intent on discovering whether she's friend or foe as she sets out on a quest for vengeance.

But as Bruce gets involved with three young women, he begins investigating them and discovers who is the new batgirl.

The tone in this film is unusually light considering most of the films are grim and bleak, which was rather disappointing. Bruce acts strangely out of character most of the time, the villains are re-used from the last films, and while the action scenes are exciting, they're really nothing new. It also lacks the dramatic impact the other films have, especially that of "Sub-Zero" which was heavy in drama and character development.

Everything in the film feels pretty recycled and the supporting characters are charming but no one is actually worth rooting for.

All the while, I really enjoyed this, I had a blast, and the identity of the new batgirl is surprising, but this wasn't as exciting as I'd hoped.

(**half out of ****)

Unengaging compared to other Batman animations

[Various_Things · 5/10 · 13 May 2012]

The Bruce Timm-produced "Batman: The Animated Series" and "Mask of the Phantasm" are great. This isn't.

I found it strangely unengaging, despite a decent idea at the heart of its central mystery, and despite some amusing moments from Alfred early on.

I'm only really familiar with the early "Batman: The Animated Series" programme; I haven't seen many episodes of "The New Batman Adventures". So even though I knew that the characters had been redesigned for the latter series, the Penguin's character design in this film came as quite a surprise, and not one I liked!

Also, the animation is quite variable in quality. A singer in the Penguin's nightclub appears to be smoothly animated at 24fps ("on ones" as animators say), whereas everything else in the movie is a lot jerkier.

It took me a moment to realise that the Robin in this film was Tim Drake. He doesn't get much to do, and when he does appear he's vaguely irritating.

It's no "Mask of the Phantasm"

[movieman_kev · 25 October 2003]

A mysterious Batwoman has entered the scene & it's up to Bruce to deduce who it is.If one wants to see this expecting another "Mask of the Phantasm", you'll be dissapointed. But it's still good on it's own and if you're a batman fan, it's worth seeing. Bane, the Penquin, & Batgirl are voices by different actors, but i didn't mind that much. I didn't really care for Kelly Rippa's voice acting, but that's more of a personal taste thing.

My Grade: B

DVD Extras: "Chase Me" Mini-cartoon; the making of a mystery; Batman: P.O.V; making of a scene; Batcave profiles; bat gadgets; trailers for various other superhero titles; and a dvd-rom trivia game

Enjoyable, but not as good as the other animated Batman movies.

[Vipex23 · 7/10 · 24 October 2003]

Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman is the latest animated Batman straight to video/DVD movie to be released. (Minor Spoilers Ahead) The plot revolves around a new crimefighter, the Batwoman, who seems to be personally involved, for whatever reason, in stopping a major arms shipment.

Although the movie is interesting enough, it's not as good as 'Mask of the Phantasm,' 'Sub-Zero,' or 'Return of the Joker.' The main reason being is that it doesn't give off the emotional appeal the other movies did. At the end of this movie, we don't really feel sorry for anyone as we did in the others, especially, 'Sub-Zero.' There is no real tragedy that made the other animated movies special for us. Even the Batwoman is not really a 'tragic' character (as Mr. Freeze or Phantasm were). Not only that, but Batwoman's alter ego seems so incredibly 'stiff' and dull that the viewer doesn't really care what happened to her that caused her to put on the mask or what happens to her at the end and therein lies the main reason we don't get this special emotional appeal.

Don't get me wrong, I did find the movie enjoyable. It does have its moments, such as, when the audience finds out who Batwoman really is and seeing an old villain return who was last seen in the original 'Batman: The Animated Series.' The action is also very enjoyable with some very suspenseful moments.

If the Batwoman's background was more interesting, this movie would have been better than 'Return of the Joker' in my book, but as it is now, it's in 4th (out of 4).

As for the animation, it's the same as The New Batman Adventures' cartoon from the mid to late 1990's. The score is not as memorable as the previous 3 animated Batman films, but it's still good nonetheless.

I do recommend buying this DVD because, despite its flaws, it is enjoyable. But just remember, it's not as good as the other Batman animated movies.

7/10

An average animated adventure, but it is a fine mystery.

[tankace · 7/10 · 24 July 2016]

Batman :Mistery of the Batwoman isn't a bad film, not bad at all, but it is nowhere near the lever of Batman: The Mask of the Phantasm and Batman Beyond: The Return of the Joker. Despite that as for animated films of the DCAU goes, it is decent entry but it came out in 2003, when this animation was becoming obsolete and so it didn't receive great reviews.

The story is an interesting one, in Gotham a new Heroine comes out and calls herself Batwoman and she is going after two of the most famous crime bosses in Gotham, the Penguin as well as Rupert Thorne. The issue is that, this emulator of the Dark Knihgt ,is more ruthless than Bats and it is up to the dynamic duo of Batman and Robin to find out what is her identity and why she is targeting those two gangsters.

So the story is fine, the fight scenes cool, now where is it lacking?

It lacks a bit to the emotional connection that Batman: The Mask of the Phantasm and Batman Beyond: The Return of the Joker had. Also an other issue is the tone, it is too light for a Batman film. Now I know that it isn't necessary to have it all dark and depressing, but it doesn't needs to become that, the two previous animated mentions and the 1989 live action film (I won't compare with the Nolan versions, because they weren't release yet, so it better to use as measure Batman films that were made up to 2003) were darker in tone, but also had a lot of dialogues and scenes with fun, excitement and delight!

Also and this my take, the animation, though well made, it is dated by toady's standards and even for the 2003 levels. If the flick had come out before the millennium it would have been praised, but after the millennium with series like, Justice League, Teen Titans and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) ,the levels had went up. In short the market demands were a bit to high for it!

In general it is a OK Batman film and if you are a fan of the Cape Crusader, I recommended you to added in your collection of Batman films, if you haven't already! To the rest give a try and if you don't like it, it is OK.

An interesting mystery resides at the centre of an entertaining animation.

[Pjtaylor-96-138044 · 7/10 · 9 June 2018]

Like most of the other films set in the universe of 'Batman: The Animated Series (1992)', 'Batman: Mystery Of The Batwoman (2003)' comes across as more of an extension of the specific show on which it is based, 'The New Batman Adventures (1997)', than a stand-alone feature. As such, it doesn't spend time setting up its pre-existing characters or world, jumping straight into the action as if it is an extended episode of the series. Yet, unlike some previous animated adventures, this entry does a good job at feeling fairly cinematic, without any 'commercial breaks' or an odd 'cliff-hanger'-centric structure, and will be recognisable to anyone familiar with any incarnation of the Bat and his friends. It isn't as cinematic as 'Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm (1992)' but it's more cinematic than 'Batman & Mr. Freeze: Subzero (1998)'. The flick favours its eponymous mystery above almost all else, giving 'the world's greatest detective' - and the audience - some decent detective work to do instead of just resorting to full-out fisticuffs. The enigma is believable, intriguing and satisfying once it is eventually resolved. There's also a fair bit of action, though. All of it is impressively animated and sometimes pretty painful. The best thing about the piece is that the Dark Knight is constantly at the centre of a story with characters that have proper motives and arcs that pay off pretty nicely. Each player feels like they have a reason to act as they do, which is refreshing because no-one feels like a cartoon character. The piece is as engaging as it is entertaining, a fun adventure with an interesting mystery at its heart, and it serves as a nice 'farewell' to this particular 'universe', too. 7/10

Not a must watch, but okay.

[Animany94 · 7/10 · 9 September 2019]

This is an okay Batman movie.

The mystery is good and surprised me when it was at an end around the climax of the movie. Batwoman is cool and is not afraid to shoot the badguys and blow all their stuff to pieces. And it's funny how her suit looks like the Batman Beyond suit. Was Bruce so marked by her to design a suit after it? Haha, joking aside, the animation styles was my least favorite thing about the movie.

Why? It is too bright for my liking and it took the character designs from The New Batman Adventures and they are already a big reason why I didn't enjoy that series as much as Batman: TAS. The backgrounds also seemed rather flat at times.

So don't expect a Mask of the Phantasm quality, but a decent Batman mystery movie.

"Batman, Batwoman, Batgirl; what is it with this city? The water?"

[gigan-92 · 8/10 · 12 July 2011]

I just bought the DVD and I'm very impressed by the quality of the story. It definitely keeps you guessing and the mystery itself is a reason to watch. The animation itself is that of the "The New Batman Adventures", although somewhat brighter than the actual show. Still, it is very good and there's not really much to complain about in the character designs. Some fans as I'm well aware of criticize the "The New Batman Adventures" but consider this movie for example. Bane looks great, and though the voice actor is Héctor Elizondo instead of the usual Henry Silva, the character retains the same intelligence and prideful personality as in the comics. Penguin's design changes drastically from the original "Batman: The Animated Series" design, now free of the Danny DeVito look and being pretty awesome in the movie. John Vernon reprises the role of Rupert Throne, though he does little in the movie to my distaste. Then of course there's Batwoman, and I can't reveal too much but she is a bad-ass character. There's less focus on Batman in this one you could say, but it's in order to allow the audience to explore new characters and this is done very well.

Lolita Ritmanis, a regular composer from the show, does the music for this film and while I find it okay it's a tad much of a departure from the usual darker music. Still, all in all, "Mystery of the Batwoman" has complex characters, great animation and an intriguing storyline that delivers action and mystery. I definitely recommend it.

Solid enough

[kristopherll · 7/10 · 9 February 2021]

I think this film unofficially closes the animated Batman trilogy that includes Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero, and if it does, this feature does not hold up to those two. However, if you think of it as a stand-alone film, then it really is pretty decent.

First off, nice voice acting from Kevin Conroy yet again as Batman. We also get some strong performances from the likes of Kelly Ripa and Kyra Sedgwick. The characters are also really well built, too, although they don't offer the depth of previous animated Batman flicks.

The animation quality may be a step down from other DC animated films, but it's still fun to look at and has a more cartoonish feel, despite feeling like it was made by a fan. The story lacks a bit of cohesion compared to the previous films in the trilogy, but it still has a somewhat-surprising twist and could confuse viewers a bit. Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman may act a bit brain dead, but it still manages to put its clues together to make a thrilling adventure.

The Real Mystery Is Who Cares?

[utgard14 · 4/10 · 29 May 2014]

Remember Mask of the Phantasm? That was a good movie. Well, this is not that. The plot here is that a new costumed vigilante has shown up in Gotham. She's wearing a costume similar to Batman's and I guess we're calling her Batwoman. So Batman has to figure out who she is. Thankfully we have female suspects coming out of our ears so it shouldn't take long.

There is so much off about this I don't know where to start. First thing, I hate the "New Batman Adventures" animation style and character designs but I could overlook that if it was the only flaw. It's not. The music is terrible. There's a distinct lack of atmosphere throughout. The whole thing is weirdly upbeat, despite the subject matter of revenge against criminals. Bruce Wayne spends a lot of the movie smiling. But why shouldn't he when he's the object of desire for all the jailbait in Gotham? Which brings me to the grossest parts of this movie. First, you have barely legal Batgirl being interested in Batman which is just all kinds of wrong. Then you have another girl whose age is not stated but she is at most early '20s. She becomes the love interest for Bruce. What was the obsession with giving Bruce a hot young girlfriend in this? If they thought they were being progressive by creating these female characters and making them such a big part of the plot, here's a thought: how about romance having nothing to do with it? Was it impossible for them to do this clichéd plot without making it even more clichéd?

The story is weak. I didn't care who Batwoman was as the mystery wasn't that intriguing to begin with but I was able to figure it out pretty quickly. It's so obvious it's insulting. Penguin, quite possibly the lamest of all of Batman's classic villains, is a poor choice to use here. He's so yawnworthy they have to bring Bane into things to try and introduce some actual menace to the plot. The worst part of the movie is that it's terribly dull. If it's not the worst of the animated Batman films, it's near the bottom.

A film OK

[klauzcezare · 8/10 · 17 March 2020]

A film ok. nothing better so good. everything is simple but batwoman is very good

More Robin...less stale romance

[thethovermind · 7/10 · 29 July 2008]

I give this movie 7 out of 10 because the villains were interesting in their roles and the unknown batwoman creates an interesting "guess who" game. The movie, however, needs more Robin in it. He appeared in the movie in the beginning and sporadically throughout the rest. I always thought the new animated series did little justice to the neat new Robin character, let alone Knightwing. This movie just continues that bad tradition. The movie spends too much time on Bruce Wayne and his romance which wouldn't be so bad in one movie if the romance wasn't so unbelievable. It is still a good movie if you are a Batman fan and I would recommend watching it.

Needs Salt

[masterbrain_27 · 3/10 · 10 February 2005]

Batman Mystery of the Batwoman, is, in a word, stale.

The plot goes that a mysterious female vigilante ("Batwoman") is intruding on Batman's turf, and while Batman is trying to combat a Penguin/Bane/Rupert Thorne threesome, he's trying to figure out who the mysterious Batwoman is.

There is nothing strikingly wrong about this, but there is nothing really special about it either, noting really made it stick out.

Mask of the Phantasm had Bruce's long lost love re surface and mess with his head.

Subzero was a major event in the life of Mr Freeze.

Even the Batman Beyond movie spin off, Return of the Joker, dug deep with the characters involved.

But Mystery of the Batwoman had some minor subplots, a lot of formula topped off by a mediocre setpiece on a cruise boat. Frankly, this thing is more Scooby Doo than Dark Knight, lacking the punch and bite that the Animated Series had in it's prime.