Every now and then, there comes a time when a fondly remembered TV show of yesteryear gets marked for a particular treatment: the reunion special, and this can come in many a guise. The most common comes in the form of the standard bringing together of the cast and crew for a Q&A session, often on the anniversary of the show. For recent examples, look to last year's 10-year anniversary Firefly reunion or the very recent reunion for The X-Files. Other times, it's a more subtle approach, with actors reuniting (sometimes in character) in completely different shows, like the promised return of Corey and Topanga in sequel show Girl Meets World, or the multi-episode arc in Curb Your Enthusiasm that briefly brought the Seinfeld crew back to our screens. It's always good to see the old faces together again. It gives us a chance to sit down with the TV stars we shared our time with so long ago and reminisce about the good old days. Even better when we see them in action, getting into scrapes just like they used to back in the day. It helps to remind us of why we loved the show in the first place.
Here's the plot: Adam and Burt both receive mysterious invitations to a classic car museum gala, which just so happens to be unveiling its latest acquisition: the original 1966 Batmobile. However, the event goes awry when the car is stolen from the middle of the packed room. Looking to recapture the old glory days, Adam and Burt set off to recover the car. Will the duo find their beloved automobile? Will they be able to find out who's responsible? Wouldn't it be better if they just called the police?
Adam West is someone who has developed an almost secondary cult status in the last decade or so, thanks in large part to his occasional role in Family Guy("No one messes with Adam We!"), but he is who he is today because he was TV's Batman. Burt Ward was less lucky than his co-star. After the cancellation of the series, he wasn't really able to find regular work in the industry again, shy of sporadic voice-acting work and quasi-ironic sex comedies like Beach Babes from Beyond and Virgin High. For better or worse, neither actor was ever able to escape from the shadow of the Bat, but neither have they attempted to shake it off entirely. Both actors prove themselves to be game for Return to the Batcave, sending up the show, themselves and clearly having a ball as they go.
The contemporary events of the movie (the duo trying to track down the Batmobile) is filmed in the same manner as the TV series, though with production values that are a bit better. Set pieces are silly, the tone is campy and the angles are canted in times of trouble (which West acknowledges in one of the many moments of meta-ness). Along their journey, the pair will also stop and recall the good old days, as both nostalgic reminiscence and plot development.
The flashback portion of the movie recounting the production of the TV series and the development of the relationship between its two leads is sort of an odd creature. On a performance level, it's actually really very good. Jack Brewer plays the young Adam West/Batman, whilst Jason Marsden plays the young Burt Ward/Robin, and they're both great in their respective roles. Brewer ably plays West's confident swagger and knowing humour, but Marsden does a little better portraying Ward's naïveté in the world of show business (remember, the TV show was Ward's first acting gig... ever). The two play well against each other (almost as well as the real West and Ward), capturing a relationship that at times shifts from father-son to friends to almost rivals and back again with ease. And the supporting cast are also excellent, a great example being Bud Watson's uncanny transformation into Cesar Romero's Joker.
As a historical record of the behind-the-scenes events of the original series, Return to the Batcave probably has about as much detail as an average Wikipedia article, with probably the same amount of verifiable basis. It's light and fun, has enough detail to inform those who are less aware of the show, and comes with more than a few treats for those who are, though it still comes off as somewhat self-serving at times (for example, did you know that Burt Ward had to take medication to temporarily shrink his junk because it was too big for his tights?).
If you can overlook the rather objectionable sexual politics of the 60s period, Return to the Batcave actually comes across as one of the better and more inventive TV reunion specials to come along. The whole gang's there, it's a lot of fun and it gives the old Bat-fans the opportunity to revel in the moments of the original show that they loved so much in the beginning.
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