Review of Batman: Assault on Arkham (2014) by Ian G — 15 Aug 2014

While everyone believes that DC comics is behind in the superhero movie game, all one has to do is look a little to the left at their animated studios. Batman: Assault on Arkham is one of their best movies to date.

It is nice to see the studio tackle original works for a change, mainly because some of their latest adapted works have been a little off. This is because their latest adapted works have come off as either sloppy.

I believe that this is mainly due to the fact that they want to do original ideas but are being forced by the major studio to continue with these adapted works. Also, it seems that they couldn't mess too much with the source material because when they did it just didn't flow right or felt out of place.

While it is true that the movie is based on the popular Batman Arkham franchise, the story itself is original and you can tell that the studio is having fun playing with the universe and the idea. The film cleverly tells the story of a group of convicts working for the U.

S. government who are sent on a suicide mission to recover something from the Riddler inside Arkham Asylum. While marvels recent Guardians of the Galaxy has a similar premise involving criminals on a superhero team, Batman: Assault on Arkham completely follows through with that set up and keeps intact all of the violence that one would expect from a group of super villains.

What immediately jumps out at me is how well the movie and handles its obscure lead characters. While it is true that not every character makes it to the three dimensional stage they all still interesting and memorable.

This is because the film's greatest strength comes from its strong character interactions which is thanks to a witty and darkly hysterical script. What's great about the script is how much it works mainly on well-crafted in-jokes that don't confuse non or casual fans.

Because of this the characters are more likable in this scenario compared to Batman or the Joker who normally are the show runners in this game series but take a backseat in this film to the suicide squad which works great.

The film does this so well that when members of the suicide squad die you truly feel for them which is something that I feel is missing from many recent big budget films. Almost everything else flow's extremely well from its beautiful animation style to its magnificent voice cast.

It is amazing to see the Arkham world come to life. I had a blast pulling out all the design details taken from the game, as well as all the many Easter eggs that help to develop the world even further.

The film unfortunately is not without its flaws. Since most of the main characters die in this film you know you won't get a sequel which is a shame because as I said before you truly grow to like them.

That however is not the film's only mistakes as the film's major problems stem from some questionable story telling elements and a rather big plot hole. Also the films third act, while good feels very disjointed and sloppy compared to the rest of the film.

It's a real shame because when you go back and think about these mistakes it short of ruins the film just a bit but they thankfully do not completely destroy its entertainment value. These could have easily been fixed in a simple rewrite.

Above all that Batman Assault on Arkham is an energetic non-stop thrill ride that should not be missed especially if you are a fan of the franchise and the characters.