SLIFF 2016 Review – THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS: AN EPIC FAN FILM

THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS: AN EPIC FAN FILM screens Monday, Nov. 7 at 9:30pm at The Tivoli Theater as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. Ticket information can be found HERE. Inspired by Frank Miller’s seminal 1986 graphic novel, local filmmaker Wyatt Weed (“Shadowland,” “Four Color Eulogy”) offers his unofficial fan’s take on the Batman mythos. Following the death of Robin at the hands of the Joker, Bruce Wayne (Weed) hung up the cowl and cape 10 years ago. But now Gotham City is in the grip of a violent crime wave, and the venerable 55-year-old billionaire has decided that the time might be ripe for the Caped Crusader’s return. It will shown with COMMITTED. In this DC Comics fan film from former St. Louisan Terry Ziegelman, the Joker and Harley Quinn take a time-out from battling Batman to explore their own issues in couple’s therapy.

THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS Review by Stephen Tronicek

It’s become widely accepted as a fact that levity is almost completely lacking from the new incarnation of the beloved character Batman in the DC Comics Extended Movie Universe. For all the surprisingly intense work put into the character by acclaimed writer/director/actor Ben Affleck, his appearances in both Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad have been morose and grating. The costume and conception of the character lack any of the necessary fun that Batman should embody. Wyatt Weed’s fan film THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, based on the Frank Miller classic graphic novel does an almost fascinating job of putting all the levity back in both its design and performance.

That’s actually a weird concept because Miller’s revolutionary book is one of those credited to the advent of more adult “dark” comics. Weed’s film running 44 minutes and covering the first act of the novel seems to be an almost word for word adaptation that puts a spin on the material as to makes it the same story that Miller created, but more, well as mentioned before fun. A sorely unappreciated thing about comic books, especially DC’s over their long history is that a lot of it is  tongue in cheek. Marvel’s films do that to some degree but keep things under wraps enough so that the productions don’t come off as corny. This production disregards that. It is triumphantly corny as it is, but shameless in its entertainment. Director Wyatt Weed cast as Batman/Bruce Wayne is overdramatic as they come, but that’s perfect, calling to mind Christopher Reeves’s equally enthusiastic performance as SUPERMAN back in 1978.

The real show of THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS is its ambition. This is a comic book film made by local filmmakers lacking the resources of a large Hollywood company, and yet they still make the Batman movie they wanted to. They have succeeded in making a better Batman movie than a reported $250 million could. The effects, look fittingly like a comic book, blurring the line between a realistic and a drawn sensibly that really works for the film. The Batcave is particularly impressive, as the filmmakers embrace the more comics-centric museum of artifacts version of the cave, and any Batman fan will appreciate this. THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS is a good live action Batman film for this year. That’s an achievement after the last two.