(Opening credits from “Batman Beyond” play as it puts in
place of the word “Apathy” the word “Movies” at the 0:08 mark of the Opening
credits before continuing on with the on to the word replacing the word “Greed”
with the word Television before cutting to the Batman Beyond opening credits
until James’ dad’s disappointing face appears and at the 0:13 mark of the
credits is James smiling mug before seeing James in all the places of Terry
McGinnis’ Batman as the words “Batman Beyond” is replaced with the word
Americans in the back and up front is The Last Of The before the opening
credits continue until it ends and the words “The Different Cuts” is seen then
cut to clips of the series as James does a voiceover)
TLOTA (Voiceover): In 1999 Warner Brothers Animation after
finishing their Batman & Superman animated series wanted Bruce Timm to
produce the series “Batman Beyond” set in the year 2039 the series showed an
aged Bruce Wayne performed again by Kevin Conroy having retired from being
Batman pass on his mantle of being Batman to Terry McGinnis voiced by Will
Friedle. (Cut to James physically)
TLOTA: Will Friedle? Hmm, where have I heard that name
before? (Cut to a clip of “Boy Meets World” in which Eric sets Cory’s dorm room
on fire! Before cutting to clips of Batman Beyond while James does a voiceover)
TLOTA (Voiceover): That’s right the guy who played the
lovable goofball known as “Eric Matthews” on the series “Boy Meets World” voiced
a futuristic Dark Knight! I wonder what else he did after “Batman Beyond”. (Cut
to clips of both Kim Possible as Ron Stoppable and “Thundercats” 2011 as Lion-O
before cutting back to clips of Batman Beyond while James does a voiceover.)
TLOTA (Voiceover): Oh yeah, forgot about those. The show was
incredible. The animation style mixed Cyberpunk, Anime with Bruce Timm’s
character design to give Kids WB a standout series in what seemed to be a
decent line-up of animated series. (Cut to promo image of “Pinky, Elmyra and
The Brain”)
TLOTA (Voiceover): That series was terrible, Watch Rowdy’s
review of it on “TV Trash”! (Cut to James physically)
TLOTA: But believe it or not, there was a straight to DVD
movie that for me what served as a bit of a connecting moment between the
Batman Animated Series and Batman Beyond and ended the DC Universe’s run on
Kids WB. That of course being “Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker” (Cut to the
title of “Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker” before cutting to clips of
“Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker” while James does a voiceover.)
TLOTA (Voiceover): It was alright and I kind of found of the
movie entertaining but I didn’t know until years later that the movie I did see
was edited because of Columbine and I eventually did see the unedited version
and while it was better there was enough for me to ask which cut was better,
The Warner’s cut or The uncut version. Let’s find out in another edition of
“The Different Cuts”. (Show James, Paulo
& Rebecca dressed as butchers grabbing the same reel of film and a diagram
of the reel of film. James Paulo & Rebecca look at both the three go to a
meat slicer, all three slice different thicknesses with Paulo’s cut saying “The”
James’s cut saying “Different” and Rebecca’s cut saying “Cuts” before cutting
to James physically.)
TLOTA: There’s gonna be a few changes from how I do this
usually but not at the beginning so let’s start at where it actually is the
same, slightly, first off with, the plot. (Cut to DVD Covers of both “Return Of
The Joker” the Warner’s Cut & the uncut version as the opening Music from
the Opening Credits of “Batman Beyond” and the words “The Plot” in the Batman
Beyond Bat-Insignia before cutting to James doing a voiceover clips from both
versions.)
TLOTA (Voiceover): After having been gone for some time The
Joker returns to see a new Gotham for him to turn into his chaotic slaughterhouse
of fun and apparently a new Batman to make Bonkers for Bat-Balls. But which one
uses this plot better? In the Warner Cut they go into depth as to what happened
but they had to limit how far they went as I said already this cut happened
because of Columbine the Warner’s cut had to remove anything as to how he died
and had to limit the amount of the heavier materials like how The Joker died.
In fact, they barely said anything about how he died. But in the uncut version,
Terry assumed Bruce’s Batman had to kill him when later it was revealed that it
was Tim Drake’s Robin who killed the Joker. But I’ll get into those details
later with the editing. But for now both versions get the point because we do
get to see the moments that eventually bridged the 1990’s Batman Animated
Series to Batman Beyond and both did a great job of telling a portion of the
Batman tale that possibly happened after The Justice League Cartoon series and
before this movie and this series. (Cut to James physically)
TLOTA: Point goes to both versions.
(Cut to DVD Covers of both “Return Of The Joker” the
Warner’s Cut with one Batman insignia on it & the uncut version with one
Batman insignia on it as the opening Music from the Opening Credits of “Batman
Beyond” before cutting to James physically.)
TLOTA: And now this is where I would talk about the editing
but I think that’ll have to wait until before I talk about the Re-Watch Factor
and of course the next portion of this review, The Cast and Characters (Cut to
DVD Covers of both “Return Of The Joker” the Warner’s Cut & the uncut
version as the opening Music from the Opening Credits of “Batman Beyond” and
the words “Cast & Characters” in the Batman Beyond Bat-Insignia before
cutting to James doing a voiceover clips from both versions.)
TLOTA (Voiceover): The Cast in both cuts are great and the
characters they performed. While Tara Strong was amazing as a younger Barbara
Gordon/Batgirl while Angie Harmon was great as an older Barbara Gordon who just
like her father, became the Gotham Police Commissioner. Then we have of course
the two most iconic voices from Batman mythos. Kevin Conroy is always the first
name I think of when I think of the voice of Batman in general and of course
Mark “Luke Skywalker” Hamill as not only The Joker but as what many a bat fan
has theorized is a relative or descendent of The Joker Jordan Price instead of
the red herring he was claimed to be by the producers. Then there is Dean
Stockwell if you remember him as “Al” from “Quantum Leap” then congrats on
being as much a TV Geek as I am. Dean plays the voice of the Older Tim Drake
who if people remember the last couple of seasons of The Batman Animated Series
Tim Drake was the character who replaced the Dick Grayson version of Robin. But
that’s to name just a few of the names in the cast. So which version performed
better? While yes technically they are the same cast their performances differ
slightly especially when we hear Terry’s backstory as to why he became Batman
in the first place. (Cut to Terry telling Bruce Wayne his backstory before
cutting to James physically.)
TLOTA: Well obviously you’re out to make up for your
troubled past by becoming a costumed vigilante. That’s like me having to
rewrite the Space Time Continuum in order to make sure a monster doesn’t take
the office of President. Oh wait… (Cut back to clips of the movie as James does
a voiceover.)
TLOTA (Voiceover): But the point worthy cut is the uncut
edition. Why? Two words Michael Rosenbaum! Who is he? Well outside of his Walken-Esque
Performance as “Ghoul” in this special and an episode of “Justice League
Unlimited”, he’s been in many a performance in the DC Universe including Wally
West in the Justice League series, he was Deadshot, Deadman and probably his
most notable performance in the DC Universe as Lex Luthor in a certain other
series. (Cut to clips of Lex Luthor in “Smallville” before cutting to James)
TLOTA: Yeah, he was in “Smallville”. I watched and thought
it was Okay at best and I really liked the Series Finale! But I digress, point
goes to the uncut edition. (Cut to DVD Covers of both “Return Of The Joker” the
Warner’s Cut with one Batman insignia on it & the uncut version with two
Batman insignias on it as the opening Music from the Opening Credits of “Batman
Beyond” before cutting to James physically.)
TLOTA: So the uncut edition is ahead two to one but when we
return we’ll see where they differ greatly and if The Warner’s Cut can make a
comeback in a big way.
(0:36-end mark from the theme from the final season of
American Gladiators original run play as the camera moves back to see James on
top of the slab with the words “The Last Of The Americans” on it act as the
commercial break intro and return to the review.)
TLOTA: Now let’s get into where the two are greatly
different and where the spoilers are a plenty in the editing!
(Cut to DVD Covers of both “Return Of The Joker” the
Warner’s Cut & the uncut version as the opening Music from the Opening
Credits of “Batman Beyond” and the words “Editing” in the Batman Beyond
Bat-Insignia before cutting to James doing a voiceover clips from both
versions.)
TLOTA (Voiceover): This is where the movie is as different
as night and day and here is where we go into Spoilers territory. The Warner’s
cut has different dialogue, no blood, death is implied but never said outright
as a matter of fact the deaths are as different as day & night as well.
Bonk’s death in the Warner’s cut is him getting hit with a heavy and lethal
dose of the Joker’s laughing gas as opposed to how Bonk buys the farm in the
uncut version. Heck the way The Joker meets his end is as different. In the
uncut version Robin having been warped and twisted into being a Joker Mini-Me
shoots the joker with his own gun. But in the Warner’s cut, The Mini-Joker
Robin shows that Robin is still inside and still fighting The Joker’s
reprogramming and shoves The Joker into a backroom filled with water and live
electrical wiring and as we all know water and electricity equals in the case
of The Joker well…. (Show clip of Joker screaming in pain as he’s being
electrocuted off screen as Batgirl hears it.) Yeah a painfully excruciating way
to pay the piper and I could go on forever but I suggest you check out the
Wikipedia page to discover all the differences. So which cut was better? Well
it depends on how you want to see the Joker die. Me personally I liked how the
death was implied in the Warner cut over actually seeing it in the uncut
version. Seeing him die from a gunshot wound was kind of underwhelming and I
think this is where the Warner’s cut shine it allowed for more suspense. Now
don’t get me wrong seeing a more mature Batman Beyond was great but here’s the
thing even at its most intense while it was rated TV-Y7 was more mature than
the uncut version of Return Of The Joker. (Cut to James physically)
TLOTA: Point goes to the Warner’s cut. (Cut to DVD Covers of
both “Return Of The Joker” the Warner’s Cut with two Batman insignias on it
& the uncut version with two Batman insignias on it as the opening Music
from the Opening Credits of “Batman Beyond” before cutting to James
physically.)
TLOTA: We’re tied up and now we’re on to the deciding factor,
The Re-watch Factor! (Cut to DVD Covers of both “Return Of The Joker” the
Warner’s Cut & the uncut version as the opening Music from the Opening
Credits of “Batman Beyond” and the words “The Re-Watch Factor” in the Batman
Beyond Bat-Insignia before cutting to James doing a voiceover clips from both
versions.)
TLOTA (Voiceover): This is where things are probably the
MOST different. After watching the uncut version, you understand why Warner
Brothers reedited the movie. Sometimes going down the safer route is the better
way. Now don’t get me wrong the uncut version is great but after a while seeing
the Joker die in such an underwhelming death in the uncut version is pretty
boring. So when Barbara said “We buried The Joker deep under Arkham” after
hearing The Joker’s screams of death. Even the audience wasn’t sure if after
being buried if he was still alive or wonder how he survived. So it adds to the
mystery is it truly The Joker or is it someone else continuing on taking on the
mantle. But which cut makes the grade? Well if you want to see the cut some
people consider better because it was the original idea. Well then that’s your
prerogative. Me personally as much as I like The Uncut version, I have to give
The Warner’s version it’s just due. It just feels darker than the uncut version
and it also moves at a better pace than the uncut version. (Cut to James physically)
TLOTA: So the superior cut is “The Warner’s Cut” of Batman
Beyond Return Of The Joker. (Cut to DVD Covers of both “Return Of The Joker”
the Warner’s Cut with three Batman insignias on it & the uncut version with
two Batman insignias on it as the opening Music from the Opening Credits of
“Batman Beyond” before cutting to James physically.)
TLOTA: Well I hope… (Static breaks the feed before cutting
to a completely dark hole with no light whatsoever.)
C.N. Batman (Audio only portrayed by Paulo Fonseca): WHAT’S
THE BIG IDEA? (Cut to James.)
TLOTA: I knew you were coming I just can’t seem to see you right
now. (Cut to the dark hole with no light whatsoever that’s supposed to be the
Batcave.)
C.N. Batman (Audio only portrayed by Paulo Fonseca):
SERIOUSLY?! I’M STICKING OUT LIKE A SORE THUMB! (Cut to James.)
TLOTA: No, you’re not! (Cut to the dark hole with no light
whatsoever that’s supposed to be the Batcave.)
C.N. Batman (Audio only portrayed by Paulo Fonseca): Oh well, let me fix that! (Two seconds of grunting
and nothing has changed.)
C.N. Batman (Audio only portrayed by Paulo Fonseca): HOW
ABOUT NOW? (Cut to James.)
TLOTA: Did you hit the on switch? (Cut to the dark hole with
no light whatsoever that’s supposed to be the Batcave.)
C.N. Batman (Audio only portrayed by Paulo Fonseca): WHAT
KIND OF FOOL DO YOU TAKE ME FOR?! OF COURSE I HIT THE ON SWITCH! (Cut to
James.)
TLOTA: Allow me! (James pulls out a sonic screwdriver as we
cut to the batcave now properly lit and The Christopher Nolan Batman now played
by Paulo Fonseca recoiling in fear and groaning in agony.)
C.N. Batman: TURN DOWN THE BRIGHTNESS! THE LIGHT HURTS THE
FACT THAT MY DARKNESS IS THE MOST OBVIOUS TRAIT! (Cut to James.)
TLOTA: Oh really? I thought your best trait is supposedly to
be on par with famous fictional and realistic detectives? (Cut to The
Christopher Nolan Batman)
C.N. Batman: STOP WITH THE HUMOR! STOP BEING FUNNY! HUMOR
MUST NEVER BE IN A COMIC BOOK FILM! ONLY TOPICAL EVENTS THAT WILL REMAIN
RELEVANT TEN YEARS AFTER IT BECOMES HISTORY IS WHAT’S NECESSARY IN COMIC BOOK
FILMS AS WELL AS BROODING IN DARKNESS AND IT CULMINATES WITH HEROES ENDING UP
AS MARTYRS SO PEOPLE CAN RISE UP AND BE MARTYRS FOR THEIR OWN CAUSES JUST LIKE
IN THE EPIC MASTERPIECE “THE DARK KNIGHT RISES”! (Cut to James.)
TLOTA: Well what a predicament you’re in because guess what,
next time, I’m going after “The Dark Knight Rises” and guess what in one review
I will take you down and show that your magnum opus is a magnum anal evacuation
that shows how far down you have taken DC Comics AND how far you’ve fallen. So
take me on if you dare! I’M JAMES FARACI THE LAST OF THE AMERICANS AND THAT’S
MY OPINION!
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