'Batman: Soul of the Dragon' Delightfully Brings Together Some of DC's Best Martial Artists in a 70's Martial Arts Caper

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.

'Lego DC: Batman – Family Matters' Somehow Went Under My Radar

I’ve grown really fond of the Lego DC Comics Super Heroes franchise ever since my first encounter with it.  Its movies aren’t necessarily great, but as far as consistency in entertainment quality is concerned, I feel that it’s the most rewarding among DC’s ongoing non-comicbook shared universes.  For while the DCAMU, Arrowverse, and DCEU have managed to produce content that can be deemed “great”, that isn’t always the case.  The quality of their respective products varies, ranging from great to disposable.  On the other hand, while Lego DC Comics Super Heroes movies are only clever and enjoyable at a kiddie level, you can bet on it that each installment will entertain by those standards quite wonderfully.

Thus, I’m always on the lookout for a new Lego DC Comics Super Heroes movie, so I usually get to see it around the time of its release – give or take a few weeks.  However, the latest one, Lego DC: Batman – Family Matters, which was released mid-2019, somehow went under my radar last year.  It was only recently that I got to know about it and see it.

'Batman: Hush' Is a Solid DCAMU Adaptation of an Acclaimed Comic Book Story Arc

The 13^th installment (14^th, if we count 2013’s Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox as the first installment instead of Justice League: War) of the DC Animated Movie Universe series is an adaptation of the comic book story arc “Hush.”  The film pits Batman against a mysterious new villain named Hush, who appears to be aware of Batman’s secrets, allowing him to be a step ahead of the World’s Greatest Detective.  The Dark Knight also has to deal with several notable members of his rogue gallery – Bane (performing the role that Killer Croc played in the comics), Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Joker, Scarecrow, Riddler, and Clayface – whom Hush has manipulated into carrying out his schemes.  Meanwhile, the film also explores the love triangle between Batman, Catwoman, and Bruce Wayne as well as Bruce Wayne’s friendship with the renowned brain surgeon Thomas Elliot.

Batman: Hush is a pretty solid adaptation.  It gives justice to its source material, which is widely regarded as one of the best Batman storylines ever.  It condenses the plot into its runtime without turning it into a sloppy and rushed translation.  It’s well-paced and well-scripted.

'Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' Is a Pleasing Crossover Treat

Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sees Batman, Robin, and Batgirl team up with Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello in order to stop Ra’s al Ghul and the League of Assassins and Shredder and the Foot Clan from pulling off a devastating terrorist attack on Gotham City.  This direct-to-video animated film is based on the comic book mini-series Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which was one of my most favorite titles during the years it came out.  There are essential plot beats which are similar, but it’s not necessarily a direct adaptation of the comics.

'Batman Ninja' Is a Refreshing and Fascinating Spin on Batman

Reimagining Batman as a ninja isn’t that much of a stretch.  The motif and quintessence of the character are simply perfect for it.  Minimum twisting is required.  Plus, various versions of his origin story – most notably in the film Batman Begins – strongly suggest that the way of the ninja is one the countless areas Bruce Wayne honed himself in before he adopted the vigilante identity of Batman.  So, surely, there must already be a couple of Elseworld tales out there wherein Batman is reimagined as a ninja, right?

However, it looks like DC’s latest direct-to-video animated feature, Batman Ninja, is just the first time such concept is truly explored.

'Batman: Gotham by Gaslight' Features a Batman Tale in the Late 19th Century

The one-shot comic book Gotham by Gaslight is considered as the very first Elseworlds story, in which DC characters are reimagined in alternate universes or timelines.  It sets the Batman mythos in the late 19^th century and pits the World’s Greatest Detective against the serial killer Jack the Ripper.  The recent DC Universe Animated Original Movie, the 30^th one, is an adaptation of it.

In 'Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold', the Scooby Gang Helps Batman Tackle a New Villain and an Unsolved Case

The first movie of 2018 that I’ve watched is Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold.  It sees Batman recruiting the Scooby Gang into the “Mystery Analysts of Gotham”, a prestigious club of detective superheroes.  Subsequently, a mysterious new super villain arrives in Gotham going by the name of “Crimson Cloak”, who seemingly has ties to Batman’s one and only unsolved case.  Thus, Mystery Inc., Batman, and the other heroes must now collaborate to unmask this new threat.

'Batman vs. Two-Face' Is a Delightful Last Hurrah for "The Bright Knight"

Batman vs. Two-Face is the sequel to last year’s Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders, a brilliant revisiting of the beloved campy 60’s Batman TV series.   Once again, Adam West, Burt Ward, and Julie Newmar reprise their roles from the original show as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Dick Grayson/Robin, and Catwoman, respectively.  Meanwhile, William Shatner – Captain Kirk himself – plays Harvey Dent/Two-Face.

This film also serves as a fitting swan song for Adam West, who died earlier this year, but not before completing his voice acting duties.  It’s simply perfect that he was able to get the chance of playing again the role that has made him a household name to cap his career and life.

'Batman and Harley Quinn' Is Batty

Animated in the same style as Batman: The Animated Series.  Helmed by Sam Liu, the director behind some of the best superhero animated films ever made, like All-Star Superman, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Hulk Vs., Justice League: Gods and Monsters, and the recent Teen Titans: The Judas Contract.  Bruce Timm, mastermind of the beloved “Timmverse”, doing the story.  Legendary Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy returning to his iconic role.  As well as Loren Lester as Nightwing.  And the adorable Melissa Rauch voicing Harley Quinn – which is seemingly perfect, especially if you’re familiar with her work as Bernadette in The Big Bang Theory.

These are the cool elements at play in the latest DC Universe Animated Original Movie Batman and Harley Quinn.  Thus, on paper, it has the potential of being great.  Unfortunately, it’s not.  Oh, it’s entertaining, I’ll give it that.  But it isn’t the even, delightful, well-crafted animated film I thought it could be.  In fact, I understand if others would think of it as a bad movie.

The Documentary ‘Batman & Bill’ Tells the Story of an Unsung Hero (the Secret Co-Creator of Batman) and Another Man’s Batman-like Crusade to Bring Justice to His Legacy

Being a huge fan of Batman, and comic books for that matter, I’ve been familiar with this fact for a while:  Bob Kane – who had been exclusively credited for being Batman’s sole creator for many, many years – apparently had a secret collaborator, and his name was Bill Finger.

'The Lego Batman Movie' Makes Nonstop Batman Jokes and References

2014’s The Lego Movie was surprisingly awesome.  And one of the best things about it was its brilliant, satirical depiction of Batman, fantastically voiced by Will Arnett.  Back then, I thought it would be great if an entire movie could be dedicated to the character.  I guess many felt the same way since a spin-off movie was indeed made – The Lego Batman Movie.

'Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders' Is Not Just Delightfully Campy as Expected, but Freakin' Brilliant!

Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders is easily my most favorite Batman movie – animated or otherwise – of 2016.  Yes, I found this movie more gratifying than Batman: Bad Blood, Batman: The Killing Joke, and especially Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.  And it’s not only because I had enjoyed the classic 1960’s Batman TV series this animated movie is based from (watched the reruns as a kid) – that was just the initial reason why I was looking forward to this film.  But beyond being the nostalgic, campy fun that I expected it would be, it turned out being absolutely brilliant!  This is a better, more delightful revisiting of the TV show than the excellent Batman ’66 comicbook series.

'Batman: The Killing Joke' Is Creepy and Shocking... But Not in the Way Expected

The Batman: The Killing Joke graphic novel – written by Alan Moore (who I’m a big fan of) and illustrated by Brian Bolland – is widely considered as one of the best Batman stories of all time.  It’s an intelligent, visceral, and endearing – albeit also disturbing – tale about the Joker terrorizing Commissioner Gordon at length in an attempt to drive him crazy, in order to drive a point to Batman.  It’s particularly a fascinating character study of the Joker, and an analysis of the psychological parallels of Batman and Joker.  It also presents an origin story for the Joker, though its authenticity is questionable since he’s an unreliable narrator.  Another significant thing about it is that it brought about the paralysis of Barbara Gordon in the DC Comics continuity, which she had been for many years afterwards (prompting her to retire as Batgirl; becoming the super-hacker Oracle later on, until the New 52 made her Batgirl again).

Thus, as a comic book fan, I was thrilled when it was announced last year that such monumental comic story was going to be finally made into an animated movie.  And having Bruce Timm oversee the whole thing, and with the voice cast of the 90’s Batman animated series – Kevin Conroy (Batman), Mark Hamill (Joker), Tara Strong (Batgirl), and Ray Wise (Commissioner Gordon) – reprising their respective roles for the movie, there’s more than enough reason to expect that it would be great.

As I've Expected, 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' Ultimate Edition Is Barely an Improvement

When I saw the theatrical cut of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice earlier this year, I was disappointed.   Though I don’t agree with the intensity of how critics panned it (it’s a mess, but it’s not Fant4stic bad), I nonetheless think it failed of being a satisfactory vehicle for showing the “DC Trinity” together in the big screen for the first time.   It did have aspects that were genuinely exciting and entertaining, but they weren’t sufficient to redeem the movie as a whole.

When it was announced that this movie has an R-rated, extended “director’s cut”, there was an anticipation among fans that this would mightily improve the otherwise underwhelming theatrical version.  As for me, I was doubtful.  True, its problems with pacing, editing, and poorly developed plot points and character arcs would probably be remedied by a director’s cut.  However, BvS had other significant flaws that were rooted at its core, making them impossible to address without completely overhauling or changing the movie itself.  Examples are the gritty tone that doesn’t mesh with the silly plot points; the shortage of clever or powerful dialogue; the bad characterizations; the missed opportunities; and, to some extent, the inorganic scenes that don’t really fit to the narrative but are just obviously there in order to set up future movies.

'Lego DC Superheroes: Justice League: Gotham City Breakout' Gives an Amusing Shared Backstory to Batman and Deathstroke

After Cosmic Clash, the other Lego DC Superheroes: Justice League movie for this year is Gotham City Breakout (I don’t know if there’s another one; it’s usually two movies a year).  The plot is about Batman being convinced to go in a vacation with Nightwing and Batgirl, while Superman looks after Gotham City in his absence.  However, Batman’s vacation doesn’t go as expected as they find themselves dealing with Deathstroke and his unlikely allies.  Meanwhile, Superman’s stint in Gotham also doesn’t go as easily as he thought it would be.  Batman’s villains break out from Arkham and overrun the city.  Superman underestimates them due to their lack of powers, but they turn out being too weird for the Justice League to handle.  It’s now up to Robin to teach the heroes how to handle the villains the Batman way.

'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' Is a Mess of Awesomeness

Coming to this movie, I know that it is strongly disliked by the critics.  But even without those bad reviews, right from the start, there were already elements of its production that made me worry.  No, casting Ben Affleck as Batman was not one of them.  The first red flag for me was the title.  I hated the annoyingly pretentious use of “v” instead of “vs.” Furthermore, putting “Dawn of Justice” as subtitle suggested that the script would heavily shoo-in elements that would set up the Justice League movie, potentially distracting the focus on what the movie should essentially be: Batman and Superman clashing.  Second, the trailers seemed to have revealed so much information about the plot already.

All in all, now that I’ve finally seen it, I find Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice convoluted, problematic, and messy.  My initial dislike for the implications of the title and trailers are justified.  However, I don’t reflect the brutality of the critics’ negative reception of it.   I don’t think it’s that awful.   It actually has terrific aspects as well.

First, let me discuss the negatives.  (By the way, there are going to be SPOILERS in this review.)

A Terrific Concept Is Wasted on 'Batman: Bad Blood'

Batman: Bad Blood is the sequel to last year’s Batman vs. Robin, and completes the trilogy that started with Son of Batman.  Here’s what it’s about in a nutshell:

• Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman goes missing after saving Batwoman from a group of supervillains led by the enigmatic Heretic.
• Batwoman investigates on Heretic.
• Unsure of whether Bruce is alive or dead, Dick Grayson a.k.a. Nightwing decides to take up the cowl of Batman to fill up the void left in Gotham by Bruce’s absence.
• Damien Wayne a.k.a. Robin cuts his Himalayan sabbatical and returns to Gotham after learning of his father’s disappearance.
• Talia al Ghul is plotting to take over the world which involves the use of mind control, and it’s up to the Bat family to stop her.
• The son of Lucius Fox, Luke Fox, is drawn to the conflict and becomes Batwing.

In ‘Batman vs. Robin’, Batman Faces One of His Biggest Challenges Yet – Being a Father

Batman vs. Robin is set months after the events of 2014’s Son of Batman.  Damien Wayne – now permanently staying with his father, Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman, and serving as his Robin – is struggling with the paradigm change.  Raised and trained by his grandfather Ra’s al Ghul to kill without hesitation but is now being taught by Batman to avoid it – “Justice, not vengeance,” as Batman constantly reminds him – Damien has a difficult time keeping his grim, murderous instincts in check when dealing with criminals, but overcomes the temptation because of a sincere desire to honor his father. 

However, with both Bruce and Damien suffering from flawed and damaged personalities, friction between them is inevitable.  Bruce, concerned for Damien’s safety as well as the chance of him succumbing to the darkness inside him, wants to keep him in a tight leash.  On the other hand, Damien is deeply frustrated of his father’s lack of trust.

Batman and Robin’s strained, “powder-keg” relationship is inevitably set to explode.  All it takes is a spark.  And that spark came in the form of the Court of Owls – a sinister, secret society of Gotham’s rich and elite, who has manipulated the city from the shadows for generations to advance their agendas and preserve their power.  A part of their plans involves recruiting the rich Bruce Wayne into their ranks, but, ironically, also involves destroying his alter-ego, Batman, who they consider a great threat to their operations (I have no idea, though, why they didn’t do it sooner in Batman’s career).  The Court of Owls plans to attack Batman by exploiting the rift between him and Robin, and create conflict between the two (hence, the “Batman vs. Robin” title).  They intend to do this by sending their lead henchman, Talon, to win over Robin and manipulate him into joining their side. 

Batman vs. Robin’s plot made it possible for a compelling father-and-son drama unfold in its storytelling. And I believe the movie has successfully fleshed out what I think is the most powerfully unique thing about the whole “Damien Wayne as Robin”: the father-and-son drama it brings to the “Batman and Robin” dynamic – Batman struggling to be a father, Robin struggling to be a son.  Sure, Bruce Wayne also served as a father figure to Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake.  But it’s different with Damien because he’s his biological son.  The connection between them is much significant – as well as any chemistry and conflict that can develop – due to being their own flesh-and-blood with each other.  Batman’s struggles as a father put additional depth to the unique “humanized” charm that makes him stand out in the DC superhero pantheon.  And Damien being tormented in his search for identity, acceptance, and redemption makes him distinctive above all the Robins that came before him.  Above its enjoyable action and beautiful animation, this aspect, for me, is what makes Batman vs. Robin a great film. 

Miscellaneous musings:

• Observation: Batman animated films > Justice League animated films.  So far, I haven’t disliked a Batman animated movie yet.     
• I would love to see Grant Morrison’s “Batman and Robin” – wherein Dick Grayson was Batman with Damien Wayne as his Robin – adapted into an animated film.  But since that happened pre-New 52 and DC is seemingly adapting New 52 concepts exclusively for their current direct-to-video animated features, I don’t see this a likely thing happening.  Bummer.
• I like Damien Wayne as a character.  The fantastic development of the character made him my choice as favorite Robin.  Yes, he’s an arrogant brat, but he’s a lovable arrogant brat.  However, I noticed that some annoyance was being provoked by the quality of the voicing of Damien in this movie.  The experience was like hearing Sarah Silverman’s Vanellope in Wreck-It Ralph.  
• The cameo of future Damien Wayne Batman from Batman #666 was much appreciated.
• Next on DC Universe Animated Original Movies: a dark, Elseworld-style story titled Justice League: Gods and Monsters, wherein Superman is the son of Zod (not Jor-el), Wonder Woman is a New God, and Batman is a vampire.  I recently saw the teaser trailer.  And it looks pretty godawful.  And the worst thing is that this is produced by Bruce Timm, the man who created the beloved “Timmverse” – the greatest animated adaptation of the DC universe.  I wish he opted for a more lighthearted project.