Saturday Movie Review – “Return to the Batcave”

Once my landscaping is done, I’ll get back to doing these reviews and the DVD picks on the same day. Until then, the DVD picks will continue to come in on Sundays.

Cast and Crew

Adam West as Himself
Burt Ward as Himself
Frank Gorshin as Himself
Lyle Waggoner as Himself
Julie Newmar as Herself
Jack Brewer as the young Adam West
Jason Marsden as the young Burt Ward
Lee Meriwether as the waitress
Brett Rickaby as the young Frank Gorshin
Betty White as the window woman

Written by Duane Poole
Directed by Paul A. Kaufman

Premise

Adam West and Burt Ward are lured to a charity benefit, where the Batmobile from their old series is stolen. They decide to hunt the Batmobile down themselves, and are forced to recall several of the events that took place during the course of the series.

High Point

They managed to avoid most of the traps in these nostalgia shows, which either feature conversations with the actors, or a poor attempt to reproduce the series in a “where are the characters N years later” bit. This actually puts the actors into the series, giving interesting recollections mixed with a good feel for the original.

Low Point

Where were the other cast members? Yvonne Craig is still alive, for example. Granted, many others are dead, but they could have included more.

The Scores

They’ve got an original approach to the nostalgia show format. I give it 5 out of 6.

The effects are at the same level as the original series, though the original series seemed to have the budget for real fire from the Batmobile. Of course, those lousy effects may have been a deliberate choice. I give it 3 out of 6.

The acting was well done, playing caricatures of themselves in their former roles. The goal was to reproduce the feel of the original, and that’s exactly what they did. I give it 6 out of 6.

The story was not great in general, but it’s better than the average reunion show. I give it 4 out of 6.

The production accurately reproduces the production style of the original series, which seems to be the intent. I give it 5 out of 6.

The emotional response is very good. There were some very well chosen scenes to recreate, which led to a very amusing telling of the behind the scenes story. As a fan of the original, I really enjoyed this. I give it 6 out of 6.

Overall, it’s a worthwhile amusement for fans of the series, but it won’t appeal to others very much. I give it 4 out of 6.

In total, Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt receives 33 out of 42.

One reply

  1. missed this
    I missed this when it came out. It seems a likely candidate for rerun and "cheap" rental.

    (Spoiler: clearly, someone found the batmobile)

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