IFDB Review: Batman: Descent Into Mystery:

BATMAN DESCENT INTO MYSTERY I had the extreme honor of watching this fan edit yesterday, and after ages of anticipation, I can honestly say, I was not disappointed. This is a solid, entertaining edit. Dwightfry set out with a list of specific goals for this edit, I believe has achieved each one very successfully. The color correction work is very nice, the colors are deeper, cleaner and richer. The video quality is excellent. The audio work is strong and professional. Considering Dwight had a couple of really tricky scene transitions with little or inappropriate audio cues to work with, the end result is surprising, clever and masterful. The menu design is simple and functional. There are some nice bonus items, including a Joker (Heath Ledger) short by BluYoda. As for the edit itself, it works wonderfully. The two main objectives narrative wise were to remove the Vicky Vale/Bruce Wayne romance and to trim Batman's actions so they are more in line with the accepted traditional comic book version. Dwight is highly successful in both objectives. The new narrative flows smoothly, I did not even realized certain scenes were missing until after the edit was over and I started thinking about what I saw or did not see. So that is a fantastic testament to Dwight's storytelling ability! Great work! The story stays focused on the Joker and Batman, keeping the tension level high. Though the one downside of no romance story, is there is even less Bruce Wayne, making the movie feel even more about Jack and less about the Bat. But at the same time, it creates more of an air of mystery around Bruce and Batman. He feels almost more like a Force of Nature, than just a man. Which leads nicely into Dwight's second objective, making Batman closer to his comic book origins and removing the gun wielding Batman element. As every Bat Fan knows, Batman abhors guns! He would never use one. He certainly would not mount them on his Batmobile or Batwing and fire them into a crowd of people. This is the one element of the Tim Burton films I hated the most, and Dwight has masterfully removed them. Thank You! There are many other little tweaks and trims throughout that bring this movie Batman closer to his graphic novel counterpart that I think Batfans will catch and enjoy. As I said before, this is an excellent edit. It engages and entertains. The new story works and it is technically solid. I recommend it to all Batman Fans. THUMBS UP! Thanks for the great show Dwight!

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