Just what we needed; another animated superhero movie. Reason why I never get too excited about these movies is because they rarely- and I mean very rarely, turn out to be truly great ones. Most of them are extremely and disappointingly mediocre ones, this one included unfortunately.
This movie is definitely nothing to get too excited about. The premise perhaps still sounds like something interesting and original to watch but the actual movie is a very shallow and formulaic one.
It's actual the very same 'original' and interesting sounding premise that eventually works against the movie. The problem with the premise is that it absolutely never works out as anything convincing or interesting. It's ridicules how everybody simply and quickly accepts the fact that Bruce Wayne/Batman has a son. And not just that, it's also ridicules to see how everybody is taking the annoying little brat seriously, as a great and powerful fighter. You may be able to get away with it when your name is Hit-Girl but not when you are Damian and you look like a puny and small 12-year old boy.
'The son of Batman' is exactly the annoying, spoiled, little brat that you fear and expect him to be. It doesn't help that his character is voiced by the very boyish and young sounding Stuart Allan. It's seriously hard to take the character seriously and I just don't understand why all of the villains fear him so much and why Batman isn't even all that reluctant to take him along with him, on his dangerous missions across Gotham and the rest of the world.
But that maybe isn't even the biggest problem of the movie. The main reason why it feels like such an incredible shallow and simplistic movie is due to the fact that none of the characters go through some interesting transitions. Bruce Wayne doesn't slowly turn into a caring and loving father, Damian doesn't change into a more 'normal' boy and good son and Talia al Ghul and Batman don't grow closer to each other neither, despite the fact that they apparently have a son together. It's a completely emotionless and flat movie, devoid of any good drama or interesting enough developments. The Bruce Wayne at the end of this movie is still the same Bruce as he was at the start of it and that goes for every other character as well, which is all very disappointing as well as unlikely.It's also annoying how these movies always try to cram in as many familiar faces from the Batman universe as possible. Really, I like characters such as Killer Croc, Comissioner Gordon and Nightwing but what's the point of having them in the movie when you give them nothing good or interesting to do? Seriously, half of the characters who show up in this movie feel redundant and interchangeable.
Still, it isn't a terrible movie as well though. It's just disappointing to see how little it's doing with its interesting sounding premise and how flat and shallow the movie as a whole feels. But sure, there still were some things that I liked about this movie as well.
I for instance liked Jason O'Mara as Batman/Bruce Wayne. I know that a lot of fans are still screaming for Kevin Conroy but fair is fair, O'Mare does a great job voicing the the caped crusader in this movie. Same can be said for most of the other voice actors as well, though their lines are a little flat sounding at times.
The animations all obviously aren't anything too bad either. It's very typical and simplistic looking all at times but it's just a look that suits the Batman universe and all of its characters well in my opinion. i also have to say that I really enjoyed all of the action in the movie and luckily there really is plenty of action in this one. It all was well animated and directed and pretty exciting and creative to watch.
The movie is hardly the best thing that Batman has ever been in though obviously.
6/10
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Dear Bruce Timm,
ReplyDeletePlease come back and show DC how it's done.
I'm embarrassed to say it, but even JLW was better than this. Lazy, shallow and the sheer number of things wrong in this film is astounding. Just like in JLW, voice acting is terrible. O'Mara's voice might work for another character but not for Batman. It is emotionless and lacks the appropriate menace. His lines sound as bland as his opening line in JLW ("What were you doing at the docks? I want answers."). Just like in JLW, characters are once again shallow and out of character, but this time... it's worse. Ra's fights like a Jedi; Bats isn't smart enough to know NOT to fight Killer Croc head on (nor is he smart enough to avoid date rape); Deathstroke is weak enough to be defeated by a crippled child; and said child is apparently (1) tough enough to scale mountains with a broken wrist, (2) skilled enough to parry two-handed sword strikes with one hand, and (3) strong enough to carry and/or knock around grown men at least 2-3x his size/weight. Many, many things are wrong with this film, some of which have already been stated. Batman would never test a ward's reflexes with a surprise lethal attack (he threw a shuriken at Damien's head!). He would never be preoccupied with an intimate moment while his ward is off having a death match. It's pretty hard to believe that at 9-10yrs old, Damien would be a formidable match for the likes of Ubu (Ra's bodyguard), Nightwing or Deathstroke (while crippled!!). Damien swimming 50 miles? Landing on an elevator from several feet up without the person inside noticing? Ninja bat army? Seriously?? To top it all off, the art and animation is the worst it has ever been. Just compare this to First Flight, Under the Red Hood, or Crisis on Infinite Earths. This is honestly on the same level as most Marvel productions (not a compliment). I thought JLW was bad but this might be worse.
On the bright side, at least the final fight scene was good.
You're an extremely and disappointingly mediocre writer. Aside from your spelling and grammar mistakes, you also display poor style. Since you obviously don't have an editor, you should at the very least care enough about your own writing to proof your work and read it aloud - your ear will tell you how boring and broken this review is. Lastly, I agree this wasn't a great movie.
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