Movie Notes: Alyas Batman en Robin

October 5th, 2007

0 stars
So Bad It’s Good Rating = -8 stars

Starring Joey de Leon, Keempee de Leon, Rene Requiestas
Directed by Tony Y. Reyes

Best described as “Filipino Bat Man and Robin” this terrible-on-the-verge-of-hilarious flick is an unauthorized Batman spoof with the familiar caped comic-book crusaders played by local Filipino comedians – none that I recognized, naturally, since I know nothing about Filipino cinema. Batman and Robin fight the Joker and the Penguin, and the antics and costumes are all lifted from the sixties television show.

I enjoyed watching the first half hour, trying make heads or tails of the mostly Filipino dialog (this DVD had no subtitles) that occasionally lapses to English for key movie phrases like “my hero!” or “I love you!”. The film also occasionally lapses into a musical – one feel-good number features the Joker and the Penguin robbing a bank joined by fifty armed heavies. Most of the songs are covers of American rock tunes translated into Philipino except for a few English words, so the Beach Boy’s Surfin’ Safari is changed into Batman and Robin.

The actor who played the Joker (Rene Requiestas) was pretty freaking hilarious, cackling like a cockatoo, sporting an appropriately cockamamie hairstyle.

Here’s a really crappy-quality trailer but from it, you can get the gist of this inanity:

In watching Alyas Batman en Robin, I realized the leotard is an extremely unforgiving outfit – the average joe looks decidedly non-super. But what’s funny is how behavior transforms once the super-suit is donned. This Batman acts quite heroic, employing a unique double-fisted alternating punch-to-the-stomach technique that serves to eliminate 90% of the heavies that attack him. No wonder he never employed his utility belt.

Anyhow, there really isn’t much else to say about this film (not even the midget Spider-Man or the modified black Chevy Batmobile). Here’s a picture gallery if you have even a passing interest in this flick. It’s truly one of those toxic entertainments, that could be really awesome in certain situations and in particular company, but if you’re feeling slightly off, I feel you’d not get five minutes in before saying “this sucks.”

IMDB: Alyas Batman en Robin
Wikipedia: Alyas Batman en Robin
Rotten Tomatoes: Alyas Batman en Robin

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