Batman: Soul of the Dragon is the second post-DCAMU film from the
DCUAOM. This isn’t set in the same
universe as Superman: Man of Tomorrow
as I originally thought. I guess the
DCUAOM won’t be doing a shared universe replacement for DCAMU anytime soon.
Regardless, Batman: Soul of the
Dragon proves to be a pretty enjoyable standalone installment. In this
continuity, one of the stops that Bruce Wayne had while undergoing his international
pre-Batman training was Nanda Parbat (a secret monastery in the Himalayas; DC’s
version of Marvel’s Shangri-La), where he underwent martial arts training under
O-sensei with other DC martial artist characters like Richard Dragon, Lady
Shiva, Ben Turner a.k.a. Bronze Tiger, Jade Nguyen a.k.a. Cheshire, and Rip
Jagger a.k.a. Judomaster. When a snake
cult called Kobra sets out to open a mystical gate to another dimension, threatening
O-sensei’s legacy and the world, Batman reunites with his classmates to stop the
looming evil.
This movie is rather cheesy. But
this isn’t to its detriment as it is intentional and delightful with the
process. It is because it’s meant to be evoke 70’s exploitation and Hong Kong martial arts films. Thus, the setting, the plot, the music, the tropes,
the themes, the direction, the characterizations (most notably, Richard Dragon
is reimagined to look like Bruce Lee), and the fight scenes are all geared
toward that end. And the result is a groovy
romp that charmingly channels the vibes and style of the grindhouse cinematic era that it’s paying
homage to.
If I have one nitpick with this movie, it’s that Batman, although he has
his moments, doesn’t really shine much. Not
only is he established as the weakest martial artist among them, since he
joined O-sensei’s class much later than the others, but it also seems like he’s
also the least important character in the plot.
I understand – and even appreciate – that it’s designed to be an
ensemble movie among Batman, Richard Dragon, Lady Shiva, and Bronze Tiger. Nonetheless, it’s still technically a Batman film, and one would expect Batman
to be a tad bit on the center stage.
Heck, this movie even comes off more of a Richard Dragon film than a
Batman film.
In the end, I had a blast with Batman:
Soul of the Dragon. It’s just pure
fun. The idea of a superhero teamup
between DC’s best martial artists is already a treat by itself. But doing so through a funky retro caper exponentially
makes it such a rush.
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