This is a very silly kids Batman film that has enough jokes for adults to keep you laughing but is pretty damn cheesy.

Like so many 21st century kids movies, this one tries to find a balance between appealing to kids and adults. I don’t know how much this appeals to kids, but I can guess based on how manic it is and how cheesy the end is. But I will say there are a lot of jokes and references that most kids won’t get. And that’s where the entertainment value is for us adults.

I laughed a fair amount, especially in the early going. The opening is quite funny, though it got a little much for me after a while. The humour really comes in waves, there were stretches where I was laughing fairly frequently, and then there would be stretches when I didn’t laugh much as all, particularly whenever it gets sentimental. There are some good gags about the various Batman films though. Having re-watched all of them recently, these gags worked better. But I really have no idea what kids are supposed to make of them.

For me, the real issue with the film is tone, as it jumps back and forth between parody and reference-heavy comedy and kids movie adventure. The kids movie parts vary from being manic to being sentimental. I understand most kids don’t care and likely just enjoy the whole thing but as an adult I do see it as a problem.

And, at the end of the day, though I laughed, the whole thing was just a bit too cheesy for me. And you really can’t think too much about it, as the whole thing about the bad guys becoming good twice is pretty silly.

But I laughed a fair amount. It was funny enough.

6/10