Stylish but barely mediocre overall

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Batgirl is a rich woman that fights crime disguised with a mask in order to hide her secret identity. OK, you know that story, it's the same as Batman's. Indeed, her mask, cloak and car are very similar to the ones that Adam West wears and uses in the classic TV series. Though, this Batgirl is neither Barbara Gordon, commissioner Gordon's daughter, nor any other heroine created by DC Comics. This one is a Mexican pro wrestler! You can call her "Mujer Murciélago", "Bat Woman" in Spanish. Few people knows the true identity of this marvelous crime fighter who lives in Mexico City and works as a special agent for the police. As many luchadores are being mysteriously murdered in Acapulco, local police calls a special agent who contacts her as a partner to solve the case. Off course this is not a great film and does not have an innovative plot, but it is certainly not bad either. As a matter of fact, it is not very different from the stories of Batman's adventures from the 60's, as it is intended to get a ride in its success, although it is much less campy than Batman & Robin series or feature movie from that decade. In Mexican "La Mujer Murciélago", there is an archvillain who is a mad scientist with a dire laugh who lives in a yacht called Reptilicus - very cartoonish, isn't it? Guess what is the name of his assistant: Igor, the same used in many Frankenstein films! During the movie, the mad scientist, Dr. Williams, acquires a Two-Face appearance while fighting Batgirl, but not the coin-flipping craziness. While analyzing this movie, it is unavoidable to mention that Maura Monti, the Italian actress who portrays the heroine with big breasts and long eyelashes, is extremely beautiful. Unsurprisingly, there is some exploitation in the movie, showing her in bikini very often - yes, a masked Batgirl in bikini! -, but at least there are no nude or sex scenes, which are common in sexploitation B movies. The masked heroine, besides her wrestling skills, is also a super athlete and a diver. She also has gadgets and is very clever, like Adam West's Batman, being able to find solutions unrelated to her fighting and athletic abilities. Among the movie's flaws, I may mention that soundtrack is very bad and acting is not the most inspired. Piscis, the amphibious monster created by Dr. Williams, is quite ridiculous (though, not more than the monsters from Japanese "tokusatsu" and "super sentai" TV shows), basically a red version of the Sleestak from "Land of the Lost". The stuntwoman in the wrestling scenes has a very different body from Maura Monti, not convincing that she is the same person, in spite of the face being hidden by the mask. And the last but not least: come on, it is nonsense that a super heroine screams and faints in panic when she sees the monster (who she had already known!)! The final scene is also silly and sexist, but the film is overall amusing, much better than one may initially expect.

I bought this after catching the last 5 minutes on TV and thinking it looked like fun. How wrong I was. It's a poor Mexican film thrown together quick to try to cash in on the popularity of the American TV show "Batman." But it has none of the excitement and adventure or even campy humor of that show - and definitely none of the budget.I don't mind genre potboilers - but this one never gets even lukewarm. Car chases and spy scenes seem to go on forever. This is the longest I've ever seen it take for 79 minutes to go by. Much of the first half is so lackluster and dull it's unwatchable.It does have woman wrestler Maura Monti as 'batwoman.' Her costume is most often a blue bikini that matches her cape, cowl, and boots. She is quite physically blessed, and does fill out the skimpy bikini spectacularly in all possible directions. It isn't enough to save the movie from being awful. Batwoman has a 2nd, less revealing costume, gray tights with blue shorts and yellow belt. No bat insignias appear anywhere on either outfit, a budget pinch clearly inspired by those pesky things called copyright laws. If it wasn't for the enduring popularity of Adam West's Batman, whose costume is cheaply copied here, from our modern vantage point it might not even be clear what character she's a rip-off of. Things almost work up to the level of cheesy fun in the second half, with a mad scientist-made sea monster who looks like something from "Land of the Lost" that had an encounter with a can of red spray-paint. In a dismal anti-climax, Batwoman never fights him. It's all done so slapdash, low-budget and zero enthusiasm, I only counted one close-up of her face - the main character. The only moments of interest are Batwoman parading around in her bikini or tights, offering front and back views. If you're a heterosexual man you might enjoy Ms. Monti, but if you have a wife she'll probably be unhappy if she catches you watching this, as it is painfully obvious Ms. Monti's figure is the sole attraction. Some movies become obscure or forgotten because few people who saw them wanted to do so again, and I strongly suspect that's what happened to "La Mujer Murcielago." The only copy I could find was from Rare Movie Depot; it was taped off a telecast and the logo for that is on display in the upper right-hand corner throughout. They claimed it had English subtitles (it's in Spanish) but it doesn't. If your enthusiasm for all things 60's Batman and healthy women in bikinis tempts you to buy this, I'd recommend instead heading to any populated sunny beach, bringing a Batman mask, and asking a girl to model it for you. Not worth the time it takes to watch by any standard.

To wrestle she uses a Bat-suit. Only to save the world she wears the smallest bikini... A mad scientist (who else?) tries to breed a mutant being between fish and wrestlers!!! To see how it works drops a Ken doll in a fish tank where a goldfish swims happily and nothing happens. Of course nothing will happen, he need to use real people in his experiments, not dolls!As more and more experiments fail, mutant dead bodies are found on the beach and this is the time for the bat-signal! Bat-woman with her statuesque body, brief bikini and lethal karate moves will take care of that crazy Doctor Frankenfish...Mr. René Cardona only wanted to take advantage of the Bat-craze during the Batman high peak, with his version of the hero in the shape of a beautiful woman, Maura Monti... and he got it.

This is one strange little movie.Happened to pick up an english subtitled version of this one.It is known as Batwoman and was released during the Batman craze.Somehow DC comics didn't sue for the use of the name. Maybe because it was never really released in the USA.Anyway a mad scientist is wanting to create a race of super gill men.He uses the glands of wrestlers because they are "perfect".I don't write them I just watch them.Wrestlers are winding up dead all over Acapulco so the call goes out for that mysterious crime fighter BATWOMAN!She has the Batman cape, cowl and boots. Only Batman doesn't wear a bikini.I kept waiting for her to pop out of it during all of the violent fight scenes.No such luck guys.The doctor succeeds in creating a gill man. Batwoman tosses acid in the scientist's face.He wants revenge and wants to make her into a gill woman.Will he accomplish the dastardly deed?Tune in tomorrow!Same bat time, same bat channel.This is an average movie.Best thing to do is just turn your brain off, enjoy the local Acapulco scenery and while away 90 minutes watching this.