Now that we’re on the verge of seeing a new incarnation of Batman courtesy of Zack Snyder and Ben Affleck, the Nolan trilogy is fading from pop culture consciousness and Michael Keaton is reflecting on his superhero career in BIRDMAN it seems like a good time to revisit all the Batman films. Some I’ve seen many times, and others only once. So we start with the one that interestingly I have probably seen the most times, but remember the least about: BATMAN: THE MOVIE (1966).

This film was part of our family video collection that consisted in its entirety of about 25 tapes recorded off the TV and as such was a film I watched again and again. The only films I probably watched more than this were the Star Wars trilogy and Teen Wolf. But before re-watching it the only things I could remember clearly were the characters and that at some point batman was unable to get rid of a bomb (some days).

Watching Batman: The Movie for the first time as an adult had an effect on me like recognising the smell of a place I hadn’t visited for many years. Certain shots and specific sounds or half-lines of dialogue kept waking long dormant memories as clearly as if I had watched this the previous day.

Things like Catwoman’s Russian alter ego Kitka saying “Dah Dah” in her Russian accent, or her little Morse code generating pocket cat thing, the sound of the pirates dehydrating and rehydrating and the image of Batman and Robin climbing up the side of the building. These were all familiar but there were no threads in my head that connected these together.

I came to realise that despite these strong memories it was clear that as I kid I had absolutely no idea what was going on. I couldn’t have said why any of the characters did any of the things they did nor what relation these actions had to any other actions of any other characters, or even themselves from earlier in the film. Stuff just happened. And Batman and his pals did the stuff. and that was enough to keep my attention as a kid.

I couldn’t understand that Catwoman would be trying to trick Batman into seducing her – I was sure it was a genuine courtship, and I couldn’t comprehend that he didn’t know she was Catwoman since that was completely obvious to me with or without the mask.

So, I now know for the first time despite the many, many times I have watched this that the plot centres around the coming together of the world’s top Super Villains – Catwoman, The Penguin, The Joker and The Riddler. They have acquired a device that can dehydrate people to a powder and intend to use this on the members of the United World Security Council and hold them for ransom. Before they can do this though, they need to take Batman out of the picture and hatch a ridiculously over complicated plot to seduce and kidnap Bruce Wayne in order to entice batman to the rescue who will in turn step on a spring loaded box and be catapulted out to sea where he will be met by an exploding octopus.

It was really Surprising,given the more recent iterations of Batman that in this film the Dynamic Duo are completely endorsed by the police and the people of Gotham. Commissioner Gordon even says they are fully deputised members of the police force.

The film is populated with some of the worst acting and some of the best lines of dialogue I have come across in recent months. Favourite lines have to be Batman talking about the consequences of the Riddler carrying out his plans – “I will bash him BRUTALLY” and Robin discovering Batman has not been blown up as he had previously thought – “Holy Heart Failure!”

Despite Adam West’s bizarre delivery and similarly that of the super villains, they all manage to make distinctive and memorable versions of their characters, and they get the tone just right – playing for laughs by keeping the performances deadly serious. Batman smugly announcing at the end that their work “may be the greatest single service ever performed for humanity” and then advising robin that they should leave “but inconspicuously, out of the window” only draw those big laughs because of their sincerity.

I also really liked the brawling fight style, the Batmobile, the costume changes as they slide down the fireman’s pole, the swinging 60’s soundtrack and most of all when the aforementioned spring box gets used on a henchman.

Despite the fun, alas, I have to say this was a struggle to get through and I found my attention wandering a number of times. I can’t in all honesty say its a good film. It remains bizarre from the first frame to the last (can anyone explain what “The Living End” means?) and though there are a good few laugh out loud moments I was never sure if I was laughing with or laughing at.

In the end, beyond the films ability to whisk me back to a time sitting on the floor staring up at a bunch of bright colours, weird vehicles and funny people, there’s not much else that would have me coming back to this one.