Directed By: Jay Oliva & Ethan Spaulding

Written By: Heath Corson

Production Company: Warner Bros. Animation / DC Entertainment

Distributed By: Warner Home Video

Released: July – August 2014

Run Time: 76 minutes

Content Warning: Mild Adult Language, Adult Situations, Use of Tobacco and Alcohol, Animated Violence and Blood

A Real Suicide Run

*No Lemur Monkeys were harmed in the making of this review.

I mean….. we TRIED but…. Lemurs are a lot faster than we thought.*

I have to admit, Marvel may have the better live-action movies, but hands down DC is kicking their ass in the animation department. There’s just no competition really. True, while some of DC’s earlier iterations were pretty tame by comparison, once they started to really delve into darker and more mature-related content, by the time their “Flashpoint” movie hit we were treated to a pretty bloody and violent spectacle. And I think that because of it, we were finally treated to a better rendition of Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns. A rendition that painted a pretty bleak and dismal future for an aged Batman forced back into the role of Winged Avenger. Having done anything less would’ve been an insult to the character and the story itself.

So it only seemed fitting to expect the same level of treatment for DC’s latest animated outing – Batman: Assault on Arkham Asylum. Set within the Arkham universe (more specifically, shortly after the events of Arkham Origins), the story follows a group of notorious DC villains forced into a team role by Amanda Waller – whom many of you might remember from the Justice League animated series – as the leader of a shadowy arm of the government that employs fringe or criminal elements into “Suicide Squads”, teams that attempt wetwork black ops in exchange for numerous rewards and perks such as reduced criminal sentences or full-on pardons if they succeed. Or more importantly, if they survive. You see, to maintain their loyalty (and to ensure that they don’t simply walk away once they’re freed) they’re force-implanted with explosive devices in their body. Failure to adhere to Waller’s orders have had…. some rather messy ramifications, as past associates have found out the hard way (in fact, KGBeast, one of Batman’s more notorious foils, found that out about ten minutes into the movie).

Even as a team, however, they’re not always the best of friends. While some, like Deadshot, maintain a certain dark code of professionalism, most are amoralistic by nature, often going against the rules or even finding that killing someone is easier than simply sneaking by them. In fact I’d say that Assault on Arkham is bloody, but not graphically so. It’s a dark tale, but more in the same vein as The Dirty Dozen, lighthearted at times, but rather antagonistic and dark in narration.

Batman, meanwhile, plays more of a support role in the movie. Though we do see him in action from time to time, he’s more of a secondary persona until roughly the later parts of the movie. Though while on-screen, he proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Dark Knight is plenty capable of holding his own against this cadre of villainous anti-heroes. We also get to see hints as to where some of his tech comes from, in a later fight with one of the Squad’s members, for example. I don’t want to spoil it, but it’s a nice tie to the Arkham games both past and future.

The voice acting is good, with Troy Baker as the Joker being the most surprising. He’s just about dead on for Mark Hamill’s almost twenty years portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime. Though he doesn’t quite have the menacing, signature laugh down quite like Hamill, if I hadn’t known any better I’d almost venture to say that they were the same person on a casual listen to. Kevin Conroy returns to portray a Batman that just sounds authentic. And honestly, I cannot imagine anyone better suited for the character. Hearing others portray Batman in many of the other animated movies I’ve watched just cannot stack up to this man. And I don’t want to type-cast the man, but Conroy is Batman. Anyone else is just a pale imitation.

And of course, there’s the…. “fan service” moments. The naughty bits, in other words. Though they’re more implied than anything else; Harley’s rough and tumble with Deadshot, her little “distraction” dance (complete with butt cleavage and a Joker Tattoo), and Killer Frost hiding in a body bag near nude, well… O.K. Again, it’s more implied than anything, but I have to admit that this is probably the most risqué animated movie I’ve seen either DC or Marvel do since, well, ever. But I do have to give DC props for taking the risk over Marvel’s more pedestrian approach.

The story is good. The whole “Dirty Dozen” / “Inglorious Basterds” vibe is apparent. Without trying to give too much away as far as the plot goes, it gives people enough time to get to know the main players and their mission before stringing them through the narrative, and the ties to certain events in the Arkham games are referenced throughout. Amanda Waller is more the villain in this movie more than anything else, probably one of the most unlikable characters, in fact. But she does the job of twisting the story around by making secret deals with separate entities predictably enjoyable, if not engrossing. It does make the ending to the movie rather cathartic, if open to interpretation.

Other characters, however, might take some time for people unfamiliar with the comic, games, or even the animated series to get used to. Like King Shark, Black Spider, and KGBeast. These are more comic book based filler characters more than anything else. But there are enough familiar faces out there for fans to feel comfortable with; The Joker, The Penguin, The Riddler, Commissioner Gordon and so on. There are even some sly cameo moments from some previous Arkham villains like Bane, Scarecrow, and Poison Ivy. Just enough to touch up on some past faces, maybe even make some viewers out there go “Hey, that was ___.” But they don’t overstate their welcome to the point that it dilutes the story.

The animation, meanwhile, is considerably good. I liked the art style DC is taking with their more recent animated movies. It’s reminiscent of comic panels come to life; highly stylized in its action sequences, character and environmental design, but not too over the top to look “cartoony.” I hope they stick with this style for the foreseeable future. I think it’s a hell of a lot better looking than Marvel’s rather boring anime.

So the question finally comes around to: Would I recommend Batman: Arkham Asylum to my friends? And the answer is” without a doubt, yes. I liked Assault on Arkham. I liked it a lot. This is probably one of DC’s darkest animated tale to date. And as often as you’re rooting for Batman to take down the bad guys, I found myself rooting for certain villains to make it though this suicide run as well. As amoral as they are, they’re still hilarious to watch trying to work together, and as brutal as the action can get, or even suggestive, it’s not gratuitously so. Kevin Conroy as Batman and Troy Baker as The Joker were the highlights, even though we weren’t fully treated to either. I do hope that DC considers making another one like this. Or at least sticks with this art style for a while.

Because it’s a lot more mature than their competitors. Marvel just can’t hold a candle to DC’s animated department. True, they’re kicking DC’s ass on the live action front, but DC has their number, and has it locked down tight, when it comes to animation. And I can honestly get behind that.

“Bang. Bang.”