DC Animated Superhero Retrospective Series - Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Pts. 1 (2012) & 2 (2013)

Written In February 2014

Did this truly need to be split up into two films? Could we not have just had a 2 and half hour adaptation of this story? Also, this makes me wonder, if it was so important to get every little part of the graphic novel into this film, why was the same not done for All-Star Superman, a story many would argue is equally important to the man of steel as this one is to the caped crusader? Sounds a wee bit fishy if you ask me.

Plot Summary Taken From Wikipedia:

After the death of his protégé Jason Todd, billionaire industrialist Bruce Wayne was forced to retire from his Batman persona. Ten years later, Gotham City is overrun with crime and terrorized by a gang known as the Mutants. The 55-year-old Wayne maintains a friendship with 70-year-old retiring Police Commissioner James Gordon, while the Joker (Batman’s archenemy) has been catatonic inArkham Asylum since Wayne’s retirement. Arkham inmate Harvey Dent undergoes plastic surgery to repair his disfigured face. Although he is declared sane, he quickly goes into hiding following his release. Dent’s disappearance, news stories of the crime epidemic throughout the city and the memory of his parents’ deaths drive Wayne to become Batman once more. He combats serious crimes, rescuing 13-year-old Carrie Kelley, but now struggles with the physical limitations of age.

Public reaction to his return is divided; Dent’s psychologist, Bartholomew Wolper, blames Batman for creating his own villains. Dent resurfaces, threatening to blow up a building unless he is paid a ransom. Batman defeats Dent’s henchmen, learning that the bombs will explode even if the ransom is paid; he realizes that Dent intends to kill himself. Batman disables one bomb, and the other detonates harmlessly. He defeats Dent, who reveals that although his face was repaired he still thinks of himself as Two-Face. Kelley dresses as Robin and looks for Batman, who attacks a gathering of the Mutants with a tank-like Batmobile (incapacitating most of them). The Mutant leader challenges Batman to a duel; he accepts, to prove to himself that he can win. The Mutant leader (who is in his prime) nearly kills Batman, but Kelley distracts him long enough for Batman to subdue him. The leader and many gang members are arrested. Injured, Batman returns to the Batcave with Kelley; he allows her to become his protégée (despite protest from his butler, Alfred Pennyworth).

Batman has Carrie disguise herself as a Mutant, and she lures the gang to a sewer outlet at the West River. At the Gotham City Police Department, the Mutant leader murders the mayor during negotiations. Commissioner Gordon deliberately releases the leader, providing an escape from the building, which leads to the sewer outlet. Before the amassed Mutants, Batman fights the leader in a mud pit; the mud slows the leader, removing his physical advantage, and Batman overpowers him. Seeing their leader’s defeat, the Mutants divide into smaller gangs; one becomes the “Sons of Batman”, a violent vigilante group. Batman’s victory becomes public and the city’s inhabitants are inspired to stand up against crime. Gordon retires after meeting his anti-Batman successor, Ellen Yindel. In Arkham, televised reports about Batman bring the Joker out of his catatonic state.

Feigning regret for his past, Joker convinces Wolper to take him on a talk show to tell his story; he makes plans for his escape with an old henchman, who supplies him with mind-controlling lipstick. Meanwhile, Superman, who works as a government operative in exchange for being allowed to covertly help people, is asked by the President to end Batman’s vigilante activities. Framing these events is a growing hostility between the USA and the Soviet Union over possession of the island of Corto Maltese. As Batman’s continued presence humiliates the national authorities, Yindel becomes commissioner and orders Batman’s arrest, and Superman warns Batman that the government will not tolerate him much longer.

Joker makes his talk show appearance as Batman fights with the GCPD on the studio roof; while they fight, Joker kills Wolper, gasses everyone in the studio to death and escapes. He finds Selina Kyle and uses one of her escorts and his lipstick to take control of a congressional representative, who calls for a nuclear strike on the Soviets before falling to his death. Batman’s investigation leads him to Kyle, whom he finds bound and dressed like Wonder Woman. Kelley notices cotton candy on the floor, and Batman deduces that Joker is at the fairgrounds. There Kelley accidentally kills Joker’s henchman while Batman pursues the Joker, who indiscriminately guns down dozens of people. As Batman corners a wounded and partially blinded Joker, he admits to feeling responsible for every murder Joker has committed and intends to stop him permanently. In the ensuing fight, Joker stabs Batman repeatedly, and Batman breaks Joker’s neck in front of witnesses.

Content that he made Batman lose control and that he will be branded a murderer, the Joker finishes twisting his neck, killing himself, ultimately brings an end of their conflict. The GCPD arrive and Batman, bleeding profusely, fights his way to Kelley and escapes. After Superman deflects a Soviet nuclear missile, he is hit with the blast and badly injured; the detonation creates an electromagnetic pulse that wipes out all electrical equipment in the United States and causes a nuclear winter. As the city descends into chaos, Batman, Kelley and Gordon rally the Sons of Batman and the citizens of Gotham to restore order, and Yindel accepts that Batman has become too powerful to take down. While the rest of the powerless U.S. is overrun with crime, Gotham becomes the safest city in America, embarrassing the President’s administration and prompting them to send Superman to finally stop Batman. Batman and Superman agree to meet in Crime Alley.

Wearing a powerful exoframe and supported by Kelley and former Green Arrow Oliver Queen, Batman fights Superman, using various tactics to make the fight even. When Superman gains the advantage, Queen hits him with an arrow made with synthetic Kryptonite, severely weakening him. Batman defeats Superman, and claims that he intentionally made the Kryptonite weak, to defeat Superman without killing him. Batman then apparently dies of a heart attack, while Wayne Manor self-destructs, and Alfred dies of a stroke. In the aftermath, the world learns that Wayne was Batman; all of his secrets are destroyed with the manor and his finances disappear. As Superman leaves Wayne’s funeral, he gives Kelley a knowing wink after hearing a faint heartbeat coming from Wayne’s coffin. In underground caves, Wayne is revealed to have faked his death and makes preparations to continue his mission more discreetly, allied with Kelley, Queen, and his followers.

If you listen to Kevin Smith podcast, Fat Man On Batman, then you’ve been gravely over sold the fight between Batman and Superman. But let’s talk about this matter for a brief second as well. Now Frank Miller was the first writer to start this immortal conflict, or as I prefer to think of it, the Batfan dick waving contest that never seems to end, and for the time it was monumental. It really sold just how big this story was, because now Batman has caused so much ruckus that SUPERMAN, the Last Son of Krypton himself, is coming down to crime alley to kick his ass. And then Batman “wins”! If you’re paying any attention to this article, you’ll note that I put quotes around that word. Because does Batman truly win? Think about it. At the end Bruce basically says that Clark’s gonna let ‘em slip so long as they keep quiet. Earlier in the story, Oliver remarks that Bruce had a bad habit of being mysterious but LOUD about it. If you’ve just gotten the living shit beat out of you and have had to go into hiding and change your methods of doing your business have you TRULY won? And as for the fight itself, Superman was beating Batman’s ass the whole time. And on top that, not only was he weaker than normal and holding back, Batman repeatedly had to weaken him FURTHER to really get the upper hand. And it wasn’t like he was fighting him with his normal Kevlar armor, he was basically working in the Mark I version of this thing.

If you’re getting your ass beat as basically Iron Bat, you’re not winning the fight, especially if you have a HEART ATTACK right on the spot once you finally get the upper hand. So put simply, Batman didn’t really win that fight. But let’s talk about the rest of the movie.

PROS:

• While a little wooden at some crucial moments, Peter Weller is terrific as Batman!
• Ariel Winter does great work as the wonderful Carrie Kelley!
• Wade Williams gives a really good, and surprisingly understated, performance as Harvey Dent.
• Michael Emerson gives a wonderfully creepy performance as the Joker, but that’s par for the course with Micheal Emerson.
• Mark Valley is terrific as Superman!
• Ariel Winter excels as Carry Kelly!
• I’m not familiar with this actor, but David Selby is terrific as Commissioner Gordon!
• The action is terrifc, more so in Part One I’d say.
• The score by Christopher Drake is stupendous as always!
• While I think there’s something lost in translation of the story, with the absence of everyone’s inner monologues, the script does a good job incorporating some of the more important bits into the dialogue.
• When everyone’s starting to realize that the Batman is back for sure, one of the news anchors gets a little smirk on her face like she knows for sure who this is and she’s glad he’s back!

CONS:

• It bugs me a little that Conan O’Brien is voicing Dave Endocrine in this movie since he was specifically designed to be an analogue to Dave Letterman. Look at this!
  
  And I love Conan! I love him to death! But don’t tell me it would’ve made more sense to go after Letterman!
• While Part 1 is pretty restrained, it feels like Part 2 is more interested in the violence of the story than the story itself like. Like did we really need to see the Joker stabbing Batman that many times? Take it from Hitchcock, Jay Olivia, not seeing things is more disturbing than actually seeing them!
• Did they fight for the topless woman with Swastikas tattooed over her nipples? Because that was random and ridiculous in the book and it’s still ridiculous here.
• Okay, it’s official. Andrea, you need to quit calling Rowin Atkin Downes, because he’s irritating as hell. You couldn’t called anyone else for a one armed crotchety old Green Arrow? Really?!
• Does Frank Miller have a thing for needlessly shoehorning in Catwoman? Because he did it here AND in Year One, and frankly I’m not sure which is worse. But I guess this is because instead of a badass martial artist and thief with an ill temper, you have an overweight madam. And am I the only one who questions that? If you didn’t enjoy being a hooker, why would you go on to employ them? Anywho, that’s another that should’ve been left out here.
• Again, Hitchcock. Leave it to the imagination. You didn’t need to show us Harvey completely disfigured to explain to us how he sees himself in his mind’s eye, we already got the point when he said he knew everyone was really disgusted by him even though they were pretending he looked normal. You already told us through that one what Harvey believed he thought he looked like, you could’ve gone without spelling it out for us.
• Why is Lana Lang the head of the Daily Planet? Wouldn’t it make more sense, if it was Lois? What did Lana ever have to do with the Planet? I get the feeling Frank doesn’t know his left from his right with Supes, so I get that he’d probably confuse the two perhaps, but why wouldn’t someone bother to change this little detail to improve the story?
• Why did they leave the bit with Selina dressed up as Wondy while tied up in the movie? This story was originally written by a known misogynist, he probably had Selina dressed up as Wonder Woman to degrade the character. Why not just leave her in one of these?
  
  I feel like this would’ve been a large improvement to the film, as not only would it it remove the degradation of a wonderful female character, but also make the scene make a little more sense, because why the hell would you have a Wonder Woman outfit at an escort agency?
• The scene where Superman saves a blind man who’s fallen on the tracks of a subway station, instead of just flying down scooping the guy up then dropping him back on the waiting platform he just stops the train. That’s stupid.
• Okay, I know it’s a little controversial to change the time and setting for a comics to film translation, but this sorely needs one! It doesn’t make any sense to have Reagan and the Cold War in  a movie released in 2012/2013! Here’s a suggestion, move up to say 2007 when we had the housing market crash and have the president be Bush, and the foreign baddies be Iran or North Korea or something. You still have a republican president to (justifiably) bash and you have a foreign threat for Superman to pound.
  

All in all, despite my problems with Part 2 and my dislike for the idea of Batman somehow beating Superman, I really dug this movie! I have a lot of affection for this story, despite it’s glaring problems, so all in all I’m gonna give it an 8.4 out of 10!

DC Animated Superhero Retrospective Series - Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (2011)

Written In January 2014

And we’ve come to another anthology movie, but unlike Gotham Knight, all the shorts here have the same animation style and character designs… And it’s the same one from the last GL movie, First Flight. Also unlike Gotham Knight, the shorts are framed as flashbacks instead of just individual stories taking place back to back. So I’ll just give you all the full summary, then review each individual segment without summary, then review the whole thing. Sound good? Okay then, Mr. John Harrison, if you would please

Plot Summary Taken From Wikipedia:

The sun of the Green Lantern homeworld, Oa, is becoming a gateway for Krona, an evil anti-matter alien tyrant that once sought to destroy all life. As precaution the Guardians of the Universe decide to evacuate Oa of all valuables, such as the Central Battery. While in line to charge their rings before the Battery is taken away, Green Lantern Corps rookie Arisia Rrab converses with Hal Jordan and expresses her self doubts as the newest Green Lantern. In response, Hal tells her the story of the first Green Lantern:

The First Lantern

Avra, a scribe to the Guardians, is chosen by the final of the first four power rings despite having no skill or aptitude as a warrior. Avra and the other three original Green Lanterns, G'Hu, Wachet, and Blu, are immediately tasked with stopping the Dominators, an aggressive species which is invading solar system after solar system. Blu is the first Green Lantern killed in battle, whereupon with defeat apparently at hand Avra uses his willpower and imagination as a writer to continue the fight: He creates the first construct from his ring, a sword, which is used to wreak havoc amongst the alien war armada. Following Avra’s lead the other two Lanterns, G'Ho and Wachet, also create their own distinct power ring constructs, and the battle is won. The power to shape constructs from the power rings becomes standard operating procedure, and Avra rises in prestige among the growing Green Lantern Corps. After his death, Avra’s ring is passed down and ultimately comes into the possession of Abin Sur, who is then succeeded by Hal Jordan.

Back in line at the Central Battery, Hal and Arisia meet Kilowog, the head drill sergeant of the Green Lantern Corps. He antagonizes Arisia as a rookie, reminding her that she still has to attend boot camp. Hal tells Arisia not to fear Kilowog, and recounts the story of Kilowog’s own trainer.

Kilowog

Sgt. Deegan trains the rookie Kilowog and others by removing their power rings and putting them in deadly settings such as a volcano about to erupt. Kilowog confronts Deegan and accuses him of employing a reckless training method and of having no value for the lives of his trainees. They briefly fight until Sgt. Deegan is called to deploy with his recruits when a nearby planet comes under attack by the Khunds, as they are the nearest Green Lanterns in the sector. Deegan purposefully drops Kilowog’s ring before departing with the other recruits, and Kilowog picks it up. In the battle Sgt. Deegan orders the rookies to protect the refugees as he deals with the invaders. As Kilowog catches up, Sgt. Deegan is mortally wounded. Kilowog destroys the army and goes to Deegan’s side. Deegan tells Kilowog he never would have let his rookies die and that he did what was best for their training. He passes his authority to Kilowog, who completes the mission.

Hal and Arisia arrive at a border patrol of the sun and await Krona’s return. Arisia and other Lanterns hear a Delphic prophecy from a Lantern named Laira who is levitating in the Lotus position(about which she remarks “That was strange.”), whereupon Hal shares Laira’s own story:

Laira

Once a princess, Laira is sent on her first solo mission to her homeworld to deal with charges that her people are attacking the Khunds unprovoked. Standing in her way, Laira quickly defeats her father’s mistress and her belittling brother. But when she faces her father she is saddened to learn that the recent war crimes were his own decision. He has been driven into rage by the loss of honor that Laira’s ring chose her and not him. Laira is ultimately able to defeat her father who admits she has truly earned her adulthood. He then commits ritual suicide to maintain his honor.

Back at the border patrol of Oa’s sun, every Lantern extant has been called to await Krona’s return, with the notable exception of Mogo. Hal explains who Mogo is and why he is not present:

Mogo Doesn’t Socialize

Bolphunga the Unrelenting seeks to fight and destroy all the most powerful warriors in the universe. He is told, however, by his latest opponent (a volcanic being whom he dismembers) that he will never defeat the Green Lantern Mogo. Bolphunga’s computer contains no data on Mogo save for his whereabouts on a mysterious green planet. Bolphunga spends weeks there tracking Mogo’s plethora of power signatures, but never finds the elusive Lantern. He then sets explosives all over the planet in order to flush Mogo out, but is horrified when the planet extinguishes all the bombs and Mogo is revealed to be the entire planet itself. He attempts to escape, but Mogo easily captures him.

At Oa’s sun Hal and Arisia are attacked by Krona’s Shadow Demons and rescued by Sinestro. Sinestro then speaks of the prophecy that Oa will be destroyed and relates a story of Abin Sur and the Lantern view on destiny:

Abin Sur

Hal Jordan’s predecessor Abin Sur fights Atrocitus, an alien criminal speaking dark prophecies. Abin Sur is assisted by Sinestro in capturing the alien. Sinestro and Abin Sur then have a conversation relating to the warnings that Atrocitus spoke and Sinestro insists that he does not believe in destiny. Parting ways, Abin Sur takes the criminal to a prison planet where Atrocitus again speaks on Abin Sur’s imminent death. He also warns Abin that Sinestro will rise against the Green Lantern Corps and create his own lantern corps built on the power of fear. Abin Sur however refuses to believe his friend would betray his Green Lantern duties.

Emerald Knights

Krona finally arrives from the Oa Sun. All the Green Lanterns fight swarms of Shadow Demons as Krona, an enormous figure, rises from the sun. Many Green Lanterns are killed and all others fall back. It is Arisia who devises a plan: if Krona is made of anti-matter then an equal or greater amount of matter will destroy him on contact. The Green Lanterns fall behind the planet Oa and push it at Krona. Krona uses Shadow Demons to push back and the Corps finds itself stymied while taking casualties. However, Mogo the Living Planet arrives and uses its own mass and Lantern Power to assist his comrades. Oa and Krona are forced into the sun and both are annihilated. The prophecy of Oa’s destruction is fulfilled, but Krona is destroyed and the Corps is saved.

Mogo volunteers to be the Corps’ temporary base as they build a new Oa. Arisia is honored with an official entry into the Book of Oa for her heroic ingenuity, although she still has to report for Kilowog’s training.

The First Lantern

This one is written by Michael Green and Marc Guggenheim, the same guys who wrote the Ryan Reynolds movie this whole thing was meant to promote, who are also the head writers and producers on CW’s Arrow, a show I adore! Which really leaves me to wonder, why did that movie suck? These are guys are clearly good writers, Ryan Reynolds is admittedly not an ill fit for Hal, the rest of the Lanterns were perfectly cast, the CG was pretty good, the director was Martin Campbell who directed two of the best James Bond movies in recent memory (Pierce Brosnan’s first outing, Goldeneye, and Daniel Craig’s first outing, Casino Royale), and the two Zorro movies starring Antonio Banderas are darn good fun in their own right. Well, we’re not here to debate at that piece of crap movie, we’re here to talk about this piece of crap movie. Except it’s not that crappy, especially not this first segment!

PROS:

• This story is simple and to the point.
• The story is a nice little play on the idea that the pen is mightier than sword, in that a mere scribe is able to do without fear what three great warriors were not able to even with their incredible strength.
• I’m of two minds about Hal being the one who now uses Avra’s ring, on the one hand I think it really shows why Hal is so special. But the other hand, I’ll address in the cons.
• I also like that a writer is able to create the first energy construct with the green lantern ring, especially when earlier in the fight, a comrade says to him to “Just use your imagination.”

CONS:

• I kinda don’t care for the fact that Avra even manages to create a construct, I think it would’ve been much more interesting for him to have just used bursts of energy blasts to defeat the bad guys (forgot what they were called).
• Bringing this back to Hal, I kinda take the fact that he has the very first Green Lantern’s ring as kind of a “fuck you!” to the other Green Lantern’s of Earth. Like Hal’s better than John, Kyle, Guy, and Alan because he has the first Lantern ever’s ring.

Overall, I’m gonna give this one a 4 out of 6! It’s pretty good, but not quite great. If you end renting this movie, I recommend you don’t skip this one.

Kilowag

Directed by Lauren Montgomery who directed the first GL movie here, and Wonder Woman and Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, and co-directed Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths with Sam Liu and Superman: Doomsday with Bruce Timm and Brandon Vietti, and has gone on to direct Batman: Year One and Justice League: Doom. Now if you’ve actually gone and read those reviews already or just did, then you’ll know I really like this lady. But, you know what’s even better? This story was written by none other than Peter Tomasi, the gentleman responsible in part for this beautiful image here, following the death of Damian Wayne.

I’m sorry about your heart. Anywho, what I’m saying is, this is a good team for this short, and the only thing that makes it better is

1. Kilowag, my favorite non-human Lantern, is the main focus of the story.
2. He’s voiced by punk rock legend, Henry Rollins.
3. It follows Kilowag at bootcamp being abused by an awesome drill sergeant.
4. Said Drill Sergeant is voiced by Wade Williams, who we all remember as Black Mask in Under The Red Hood.

Does the story live up to the hype I just gave it? Yes, yes it does!

PROS:

• Wade Williams is perfection in this role! I adore him and his character! It kinda makes forget that he was a complete douchenozzle in Prison Break, but that’s not important.
• Henry Rollins does great work as Kilowag in this short, I’m not a huge fan of his as a voice actor, I think he kind of falls into that trap of not being distinct enough, but he was really good as both the hardass and the nice guy in this movie.
• The action is terrific throughout this short!
• The dynamic between Kilowag and Drill Sgt. Deegan is so perfect! When Kilowag calls him out, you can tell Deegan’s trying to control himself because he knows this guy is just a rookie who doesn’t understand what he’s trying to do. And Kilowag doesn’t even care that he’s being an ass to him specifically, he cares that he seems so cold about the recruits, like he doesn’t even care if they live or die. And when Deegan kicks Kilowag’s ass, it’s not only delightful because Kilowag is getting beat by a guy only a third his size, but you really believe it when Deegan says that what is most important is that these rookies do their job to the best of their ability, because the innocent people out there who are counting on just that. And when Deegan says this again and explains that he would never let them actually come to serious harm after Kilowag just defended him while dying, you really hear that he respects this big guy so MUCH! That son of a bitch Tomasi had to make it even worse though with Deegan drawing the green lantern symbol on Kilowag’s chest with his blood as his last act. That final scene just left my heart in pieces, I was just sitting there like
  
  You’re an asshole Tomasi! Thank you!
• Kilowag immediately goes hardass on the other recruits, I get the feeling that it was partially out of anger because “Those assholes just killed Deegan!” but partially out of respect for him because, this guy pushed us to the limit because he believe in us, so I’ll continue pushing all of us because that’s what he’d do

.CONS:

• I don’t have any, this short was perfect!

6 out of 6! Easily! I’ll admit I’m overselling it with that ranking, but it’s for Deegan!

(PS, the voice actor is still very much alive, I just really loved this character, alright?)

Laira

This one was directed by a guy named Jay Oliva, I think DC are starting to like him because he just directed 3 of the last 4 four animated movies they released, and he’s directing JL: War…

This short doesn’t inspire much hope in me either, in fact, it left me with dread. I’ll explain why now.

PROS:

• Kelly Hu, who played Lady Deathstrike in X2: X-Men United, China White in Arrow, and voiced Black Mask’s secretary in Under The Red Hood, does good work as the titular character of this short. You really feel for her conflict as she is forced into conflict with her own family.
• An actor I really love, Tony Amendola, who I know best from playing Bra'tac in Stargate SG-1, another mentor figure, does a really good job as Laira’s father. A man who did what he felt he had to for his family and his people, but in the process lost his way, and in the end seeks a way to honorable amend his mistakes. Nice work Mr. Amendola, good to hear from you!
• You know that giant floating head you occasionally see pop up in Green Lantern related stuff?
  
  This guy right here? Well apparently his name is Galius Zed, and and he makes a quick appearance in this short while the enemies of Laira’s planet are being attacked, and he shows himself to be quite the badass! This is a pro for no other reason than it made appreciate a character I otherwise don’t normally think about.
• The action here is particularly good, I think we may have DC Animation’s Michael Bay in the form of Jay Olivia. An incompetent storryteller, but a hell of a fight director!

CONS:

• The conflict here is poorly explained.
• Laira really isn’t shown any true development here, since she acts as cold in this short as she does throughout the rest of the movie.
• Kentor’s (Laira’s father) ritual suicide is really random, and doesn’t make any real sense.
• It doesn’t work when he puts it on, but it really bugs me that Kentor could take off Laira’s ring and wear it all. It made more sense in First Flight wear the Lantern had to remove the ring themselves in order to use it.
• The douchebag older brother, I don’t get the point of him.
• Also, the “whore” wife, why is she here? Why do we need to see members of Laira’s family who seem to hate her?

All in all, I thought this short was okay, but it really had wasted potential behind it. It would’ve been cool to see Laira be a little bit looser as a Lantern but forcing herself to become colder and more hardassed because of having to face her family and then witnessing them take their own life. So that being said, I’m gonna have to just give this a 1.75 out of 6. Your move Jay!

I’ll believe that when I see it, but that’s not the Jay I was talking about. Next!

Mogo Doesn’t Socialize

Huhn… Well then… Good move Jay!

I’m still not buying it, and that’s still not what I’m talking about! Onto the pros and cons!

PROS:

• A return to simple story telling!
• There’s a green lantern that is entire living planet! That is fucking awesome! Although it does beg the question, where does he put his ring?
• Apparently WWE alumni, Roddy Piper, voices the thug "warrior,“ Bolphunga in this short… I don’t watch wrestling but I think he does a good job playing up this cocky tough guy in over his head.
• The comedy in this short is great! I love how angry Bolphunga gets when he can’t find Mogo, and how freaking terrified he is when he finds it’s the entire planet!

CONS:

• This isn’t really a con within the short, but Mogo’s existence within this universe kind of leads to a problem I’ll end having in another one later, but I’m not gonna hold it against this particular part of the movie.

All in all, this one was kind of fun, but I’m still keeping my guard up about you Jay!

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me thrice? I don’t think so!

Anywho, I liked this short, but I still don’t trust you Jay Olivia, I’ll give you a solid 4 out of 6 for it, but I’m willing to bet this is writer (and Alan Moore artist) Dave Gibbons’s doing than yours.

Abin Sur

What I find neat about this one, is while the last four stories were told from Hal’s point of view, this one we’re told by Sinestro, played delightfully by the returning Jason Issacs. Wait a minute…

What did they just jack the supporting cast from Under The Red Hood for these shorts?

PROS:

• Well again, Jason does great work as Sinestro, although feels a bit odd hearing his voice coming from a design that fit Victor Garber’s like a glove.
• I have no idea who this Arnold Vosloo fellow is, but he does very good work here as Abin Sur! I really like him as this character, in fact I generally like the character period, what with her persistence on waiting until the last minute to recharge his power ring.
• Apparently the actor who voices Atrocitus, Bruce Thomas, is the forgotten Batman, having played the Caped Crusader in both the unaired pilot for WB’s Birds of Prey and the actual pilot for that show, along with a number of GM’s OnStar commercials that featured the Dark Knight, which ran from 2000 to 2002. Wait, does that make those commercials canon with the Birds of Prey show? Anywho, I have no idea what to make of that, but I think he does a good job in this short. He comes off as clearly sinister and angry, but actually rather intelligent. I give him a pass!
• The actual story of this short is take it or leave it, but the final scene with Atrocitus telling Abin Sur that his death is imminent and that one day Sinestro, his best friend, will betray his oath of loyalty to the core, and form the Yellow Lanterns is great stuff!, especially when we the audience know this is true, but Abin Sur doesn’t buy it. He has total faith in his friend and doesn’t believe he’d ever do wrong against the core.

CONS:

• I really have no complaints about this short, I just wish more of it was as good as it’s ending.

This story was apparently written by Geoff Johns which explains this story felt so "Take it or leave it” for most part, but am left with a shining bright spot. I’m gonna go ahead and give Abin Sur a 4.25 out of 6. It’s slightly better than above average, but it’s still not the best these shorts have to offer.

Emerald Knights

And we’re back in Lauren’s wheelhouse! And this time we have Batman: TAS writer/producer Alan Burnett behind the wheel for this script, with his copilot being Todd Casey, who has written for episodes of Batman: The Brave and The Bold and the recent reboot of the Thundercats series. I gotta say, they all do pretty good work here, minus a very glaring Deus Ex Machina which I’ll get into in the cons, but first let’s get to the stuff I liked!

PROS:

• The idea of just letting Krona have Oa is a surprisingly smart one, given that everyone’s evacuated and if they do give it to him, it’ll kill him!
• It’s a pretty nice touch putting Asiria’s name in the Oa book of heroes.
• Asiria herself is voiced very nicely by Elizabeth Moss.
• It makes sense that Mogo would allow everyone to use himself as a base of operations while they look for a new Oa.
• The final joke with Asira being told she still has to report to Kilowag for training is fun.
• I was gonna call bullcrap on the movie for throwing a planet at a sun because a creature made of antimatter is in there and the only thing that can destroy is the same amount of actual matter in terms of mass. I was gonna call bullcrap on that, but then I found out that the Earth itself, while tiny in actual size ratio, is extremely massive compared to the sun. So I commend the short for actually being able to stand up to the bullcrap test!

CONS:

• Having a living planet on your side is a HUGE Deus Ex Machina for me, I don’t think it detracts from the actual movie, but I really wish it wasn’t there.

I’m gonna give Emerald Knights, the short, a 4.5 out of 6! Again, only above average, but still pretty good! Nice work everybody!

Now to review the whole damn movie!

PROS:

• Nathan Fillion is perfectly cast as Hal Jordan in this movie! Although it’s still weird to see his voice coming from the same design as Christopher Meloni’s Hal.
• The voice acting is pretty good all around!
• The action is great.
• The story ideas are never without potential.
• The threat itself is a tad bit generic, but gets the job done.
• Each segment has nothing to truly get angry over.
• The movie introduces you to a lot of cool characters you hadn’t gotten to know last time.
• No one who gets to talk is left without a moment to shine.

CONS:

• It bugs me that they used the same designs from the last GL movie.

Ultimately, I’d say there’s more to enjoy about this movie than there is to not enjoy, but I wouldn’t say you need to see it. I’ll let it pass and say it’s above average with a 4.5 out of 6 overall!

DC Animated Superhero Retrospective Series - Batman: Under The Red Hood (2010)

Written In January 2013

Plot Summary Taken From Wikipedia:

At a manor in Sarajevo, Ra’s al Ghul ruefully realizes his mistake in allying himself with the Joker, while his assistant informs him that the Joker has captured Jason Todd, the second Robin. In a warehouse, the Joker brutally beats Jason with a crowbar while Batman races there. Joker then leaves the warehouse and traps a half-dead Jason inside. Although Jason attempts to escape, a planted explosive destroys the building before Batman can rescue Jason.

Five years later in Gotham City, a masked criminal called the Red Hood takes command of the drug trade, assuring eight prominent drug lords protection from Batman and crime boss Black Mask and more money in return. Elsewhere, Batman intercepts a stolen truck carrying Amazo, anandroid weapon, and Nightwing arrives to help take it down. The drivers reveal they were under Red Hood’s orders before being assassinated by their employer. Batman gives chase and eventually ends up at the chemical plant that created the Joker, who was the original Red Hood. The current Red Hood confronts Batman and comments, before escaping, that it is the site of Batman’s first great failure.

Regrouping, Batman and Nightwing check on the Red Hood’s movements; since the Red Hood had appeared, drug trafficking is high, but crime as a whole is down in Gotham. Afterward, they interrogate the Joker at Arkham Asylum about Red Hood; the clown merely taunts them with Jason’s death and denies involvement. Angered over his stolen android, Black Mask puts out a hit on Red Hood, who promptly hijacks another weapon shipment, with Batman and Nightwing interrupting. During a chase over the city rooftops, Red Hood displays physical skills similar to Batman and Nightwing’s. Red Hood then eludes them at a train station, where a planted bomb explodes and injures Nightwing’s leg. Back at the Batcave, Batman sends Nightwing home and then discovers Red Hood knows his secret identity.

Batman also recalls that Jason once used such escape maneuvers, and that he became violent and impulsive as he grew older. Meanwhile, Red Hood is attacked by the Fearsome Hand of Four, a group of four assassins working for Black Mask. He stalls them to lure Batman out, and together they incapacitate three while Red Hood kills one. When Batman confronts him about it, Red Hood insists that he is doing what the Dark Knight is unwilling to do: killing criminals who step out of line. Batman offers to help Red Hood, who refuses and leaves. Batman later uses a blood sample from the battle to confirm that Red Hood is in fact Jason Todd, back from the dead. Meanwhile, Red Hood fires a rocket-propelled grenade into Black Mask’s office, nearly killing the crime lord. Pushed to his breaking point, Black Mask cuts a deal with the Joker: He will be released from Arkham in exchange for killing Red Hood.

Bruce discovers the body in Jason’s coffin is a fake. Enraged, he visits Ra’s al Ghul for the truth. Ra’s reveals that five years previous he commissioned the Joker to distract the Dynamic Duo during their investigation of one of Ra’s' terrorist plots, but the clown kidnapped and murdered Jason, which Ra’s saw as unnecessary. To make amends, Ra’s chose not to make war with Batman anymore, and attempted to revive Jason in theLazarus Pit, which yielded disastrous results: Jason was driven over the edge by the chemicals in the pit, and fled. Meanwhile, the Joker abducts Black Mask and his associates and tries to burn them alive in a bid for Red Hood’s attention. Red Hood reveals his plan the whole time was to intimidate Black Mask into freeing the Joker so he could arrange a meeting. Batman intervenes, saving Black Mask and his underlings, but Red Hood gets away with a captured Joker in tow.

Red Hood takes the Joker to an abandoned apartment and savagely beats him with a crowbar the same way he was beaten five years ago. He then meets Batman in Crime Alley, where they first met, and they get into a fight that culminates with Jason holding Batman at gunpoint and demanding to know why he has not killed the Joker. Batman says that although he’s thought every day about killing the Joker, he can’t bring himself to do it — he knows if he starts killing, he’ll never stop. Jason gives Batman a gun and an ultimatum: Either Jason will shoot the Joker, or Batman has to shoot Jason to stop him. Batman silently declines participation, drops the gun, and walks away. Angry and hurt, Jason shoots his gun at the back of his former mentor, but Batman dodges the bullet. Batman then disables Jason’s gun with a batarang. Jason activates a bomb, and slumps to the ground, defeated.

Batman tries to defuse the bomb, but the Joker stands in the way, determined to see that they all die together. Batman knocks the Joker aside to try and save Jason as the explosive goes off. When the smoke clears, the Joker and Batman are revealed to have survived, but Jason is nowhere to be found. In the aftermath of the incident, a news report reveals that the Joker was returned to Arkham and Black Mask is back on the streets after paying a million dollars bail. At the Batcave, Alfred Pennyworth asks Batman if he should take down the memorial holding Jason’s old Robin costume. Batman refuses, saying nothing has changed. The film ends with a flashback of Jason’s first day as Robin, in which the boy declares that it is the best day of his life.

This movie broke my heart. When Jason stood in front of the Batmobile, in the Robin costume, you could see just how PROUD he was! And then they made it even worse with this line…

Literally My Reaction:

 

If a freaking direct to video animated movie about BATMAN can create that level of emotion in you, it shouldn’t have been direct to video! There are some bits of acting here that I don’t think I’ve seen in some major movies, animated or live action. Time for some pros and cons!

PROS:

• Jensen Ackles is fantastic as the titular Red Hood, young, weary, arrogant, hotheaded, and at some points kind of noble. I really love how emotional he gets in one scene where he criticizes Batman for having never killed the Joker, especially when Bruce Greenwood and him were likely never in the studio together.
• Bruce Greenwod is a wonderful Batman, you can really hear the heartbreak and feelings of failure in his voice when he finds Jason’s body. And when he argues with Alfred over whether or not Jason’s situation was in fact, his fault, you FEEL his anger. He knows that he screwed up, and he won’t let it go. We even get some nice moments of levity at the end where he’s joking with Alfred about why Jason’s is taking so long. He’s just really great! I’m glad he got to even better work in Young Justice!
• Wade Williams as Black Mask! I already loved this guy from his days on Prison Break, but God almighty was this guy hilarious! I especially loved how over the top angry he was! ESPECIALLY the bit where he was punching his thugs in the face because he was so damn pissed off! I also the few moments where he wasn’t being funny though, where he’s actually considering the situation. Like the moment where he stops to wonder, maybe he isn’t actually the Hood’s target, but a casualty of his war with someone else.
• Jason Issacs as Ra’s Al Ghul, I’ll admit, I’m not a huge fan of this guy as a Batman villain. I kind of think that for the same reason I think Dracula was a random choice to have him go head to head with in The Batman. You have this ancient war lord who has lived on 4 centuries due to a mystical fountain of youth called the Lazarus Pit. And then you have Batman, a billionaire vigilante detective who fights to protect Gotham City. This guy is WAY out of Batman’s league! He’s not a threat to Batman, he’s a Justice League villain! But, all that being said, Jason does a pretty good job here. He sounds genuinely upset that he wound getting Batman’s ward killed for no damn reason at all. And he sounds honestly regretful that he underestimated that Joker. And I buy that he honestly wanted to help Jason.
• John DiMaggio’s Joker! I love this guy! He’s such a sick bastard! You see him laughing his head off about beating a teenager to death with a crowbar! And simultaneously awful and wonderful about this performance is he manages to makes something so terrible so entertaining! I also love how he sort of tells the same joke twice, but it really doesn’t work either time, it makes me think about how this Joker was apparently once an awful comedian, in this version at least. And what I also adore, are some of this Joker’s expressions. Like the bit where he challenges Batman to go ahead and kill him, saying “Are you gonna do it this time? Are you just gonna put in another body cast for six months?” Or when he realizes that Jason is the Red Hood and he’s just like “OH MY FUCKING GOD! BEST FUCKING PLOT TWIST EVER! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!” He also does a good job with the love of making Batman angry. Like the bit where he’s in prison and he’s talking about killing Jason, he knows he’s gonna piss Batman off, and he’s looking forward to it. Or the scene where Batman throws a batarang at Jason and causes his gun to explode, and he praises him, proclaiming “YOU ROOTIN’ TOOTIN’ EAGLE EYED GOTH LOVING MARKSMAN! YOU FOUND A WAY TO WIN! AND EVERYONE STILL LOSES!!!!” He’s just such a delightfully sick fuck!
• Vincent Martella as Robin is fantastic! He does great work throughout the flashbacks, but his first scene where the Joker is beating the crap out of him, he conveys so much so well through just some grunting, groaning, murmuring and stammering. In fact that entire scene was perfect on the part of both the actors and the animators. Jason tries to stand up and makes it just two steps when he’s trying to get out, and then he falls over, so he crawls over to the door and tries hard to get it to work. His face is determined, then frustrated. He thinks he’s just screwed up and he’s never gonna hear the end of it from Batman, but then he sees the bomb counting down from 9 seconds on the clock. He looks at in horror then lowers his eyes in resignation. He knows he’ll die, and he’s made peace with that knowing that he’s done good work and that even if he doesn’t make it, Batman will avenge him. All of that is conveyed through some sighing from an actor and a handful of hard working animators who put their soul into this movie.
• Neil Patrick Harris as Nightwing! Like I said last time with Justice League: New Frontier, perfect casting is perfect! I couldn’t say I could see him returning to the role, but I’m glad he got to do his great work here. He comes off as someone who’s used to working with Bruce, and while he knows he gets pretty rough with crooks, he doesn’t come like he’d be doing that himself if he were in his place. And of course, by obligation, he is quite the snarky bastard.
• This movie has such a great sense of humor! Not just with Black Mask and the Joker, there’s even some humor in the flashbacks. There’s a scene where Batman walks down an alley and finds the Batmobile with it’s wheels removed. He calls this unbelievable but he doesn’t even sound angry, he sounds genuinely impressed someone could fuck up his car while he was out. He’s just like
  
• The score is wonderful.
• The animation is awesome.
• The story is wonderful.

CONS:

• Ra’s Al Ghul is 400+ year old war lord and the Black Mask is a hardened criminal mastermind, WHY THE FUCK WOULD EITHER OF YOU HIRE THE JOKER?!?!?!?! YOU KNOW HE’S NOT GOING TO DO WHAT YOU WANT! HE’S JUST GOING TO FUCK YOUR SHIT UP!!!!!
• It feels like they tried to write Jason as a bad apple from the start, which really bugs me, because the entire reason Bruce took him in is because he was impressed that he could even manage to steal from him. And all of his interactions with Bruce where he’s acting rebellious were nothing you wouldn’t see any other teen do. Jason may have been a hothead, but he was a good kid. He wasn’t a bad seed.
• This wasn’t isn’t for something that is in the movie, so much as it is for something that isn’t in it. I would’ve liked to see Dick have a flashback about Jason. It wouldn’t have been difficult for a couple scenes with them. One with Jason as Robin and one with him as Red Hood. I can’t think of any time where they’ve been portrayed as being on good terms and that really bugs me. I get they’d be on bad terms now, but wouldn’t they be good together beforehand?

All in all, I can’t say this is the best DC animated movie or the best Batman movie, but it is definitely a grand one and I can’t help but love it! Batman: Under The Red Hood gets an 8.5 out of 10!