Overly Serious
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Searched for an existing thread on DC Animated movies but closest I could find was the "Shitty animated movies" thread and that would have been appropriate up until this latest installment. Long Halloween is actually pretty good. Part I released this week. Part II to follow end of next month.
Good things: The art style is none of that recent shitty stuff. They've clearly tried to go back to people who actually look like people. Except the Joker who looks slightly deformed but physically very imposing which I quite like. The whole film has a slight "grain" to it which makes it feel quite noir and that complements the story very well. It's all crisp shadows and clean lines and muted colours. "Batman and The Soul of the Dragon" this is not. (Thank fuck!).
Women are allowed to be sexy. Men are allowed to be strong. Two-fisted action sporadically interrupts rainy nights and quiet murder scenes. Me like.
It's so long since I read the original graphic novel that I can't tell if they've changed things in this adaptation or not. The timeline is an odd mixture but seems to work. Batman is a young Batman, not quite settled into his role as a detective yet. Two-Face is still Harvey Dent but Joker, Penguin, Calendar Man and others are all established criminals that Batman has fought.
I like that the artists and writers lean into real character traits and aspects rather than everyone just looking and sounding the same. Harvey Dent is a one big dude, standing nearly a head taller than many other characters and I like that if and when he goes bad in this movie, it's not going to feel like he can beat people up just because he's now a bad guy but because this is one big and bad-tempered. Same with Catwoman - she's agile as fuck, quick. Not a power-house like Batman but different. When they interplay you can see the contrast. The movie gives me vertigo watching her cling to a buttress by her fingers. Similarly, Joker I've already mentioned with his big, rangy hunched torso - just on the edge of being grotesque.
Joker is one of the few minuses for me in the movie. He's just a bit too B:tAS as a character. Not the fault of Mark Hamill who tones him down a little bit for the more serious film whilst retaining the mania and reflexive, (deliberately) irritating laugh. But plots with biplanes and mass homicide feel too garish. Fair's fair though - it's from the novel and the movie keeps it reigned into the art and action style. Joker is frankly a grotesque in this movie which he needs to be.
Also, timeline wise, Gordon's marriage is still in one piece and James and Barbara are still little:
I like this return to an earlier point in the Batman mythos frankly. It's more fun to have a non-Godlike version of Bruce / Batman.
Anyway, it's a long time since I've really enjoyed one of the DC animated movies. And I'm someone who thought the first part of The Killing Joke was alright and Batman and Harley Quinn had some redeeming moments! I think I'd have to go all the way back to Justice League Dark to find a DC Animated that I last thought was genuinely good and before that Superman vs. the Elite.
At the very least, it will somewhat wash the taste of "Soul of the Dragon" out of my mouth. Anyone else seen this?
Good things: The art style is none of that recent shitty stuff. They've clearly tried to go back to people who actually look like people. Except the Joker who looks slightly deformed but physically very imposing which I quite like. The whole film has a slight "grain" to it which makes it feel quite noir and that complements the story very well. It's all crisp shadows and clean lines and muted colours. "Batman and The Soul of the Dragon" this is not. (Thank fuck!).
Women are allowed to be sexy. Men are allowed to be strong. Two-fisted action sporadically interrupts rainy nights and quiet murder scenes. Me like.
It's so long since I read the original graphic novel that I can't tell if they've changed things in this adaptation or not. The timeline is an odd mixture but seems to work. Batman is a young Batman, not quite settled into his role as a detective yet. Two-Face is still Harvey Dent but Joker, Penguin, Calendar Man and others are all established criminals that Batman has fought.
I like that the artists and writers lean into real character traits and aspects rather than everyone just looking and sounding the same. Harvey Dent is a one big dude, standing nearly a head taller than many other characters and I like that if and when he goes bad in this movie, it's not going to feel like he can beat people up just because he's now a bad guy but because this is one big and bad-tempered. Same with Catwoman - she's agile as fuck, quick. Not a power-house like Batman but different. When they interplay you can see the contrast. The movie gives me vertigo watching her cling to a buttress by her fingers. Similarly, Joker I've already mentioned with his big, rangy hunched torso - just on the edge of being grotesque.
Joker is one of the few minuses for me in the movie. He's just a bit too B:tAS as a character. Not the fault of Mark Hamill who tones him down a little bit for the more serious film whilst retaining the mania and reflexive, (deliberately) irritating laugh. But plots with biplanes and mass homicide feel too garish. Fair's fair though - it's from the novel and the movie keeps it reigned into the art and action style. Joker is frankly a grotesque in this movie which he needs to be.
Also, timeline wise, Gordon's marriage is still in one piece and James and Barbara are still little:
I like this return to an earlier point in the Batman mythos frankly. It's more fun to have a non-Godlike version of Bruce / Batman.
Anyway, it's a long time since I've really enjoyed one of the DC animated movies. And I'm someone who thought the first part of The Killing Joke was alright and Batman and Harley Quinn had some redeeming moments! I think I'd have to go all the way back to Justice League Dark to find a DC Animated that I last thought was genuinely good and before that Superman vs. the Elite.
At the very least, it will somewhat wash the taste of "Soul of the Dragon" out of my mouth. Anyone else seen this?
