Paradox-Warrior

So let's put aside the fact that the characters in this show can't even hope to hold a candle to the original ones. Let's put aside the fact that John Larroquette is absolutely wasted in his reprisal of his role of Dan only now as a beaten down, crotchety old man who is now a public defender instead of a snarky, wise-cracking, womanizing ADA that made him such a popular character in the first place. Let's put aside the fact that other than Lorroquette none of these characters/actors are anywhere close to being witty or clever with their dialogue.

Actually, no, let's not put it aside because all of that and more is what makes this just a bad, bad show. I actually watched all 5 episodes aired thus far and I don't think I even cracked a smile once. The show just isn't funny and what's worse it doesn't possess ANY of the heart that the original series had. With the original series you had these moments, and they were plentiful, where the comedy flat out stopped and you as the audience were given serious, poignant, and thought-provoking moments of emotion that made absolute sense even in the context of a comedy show. None of that is in this show, because these are millennial writers who only know how to do millennial humor and have no idea how to write GOOD humor and mix it with needed moments of seriousness. Instead, we get a bunch of inane nonsense that you'd probably hear on a thousand different, junky sitcoms no one cares about or remembers and a show called Night Court that spends very little time actually in the court room during session. That very thing was the hook that kept bringing people back to the original time and again, the antics and kooky characters that took place during the court session and how everyone dealt with it, both comedically and seriously.

That's not present with this show, and it's painfully clear that, like every "reboot/re-imagining" Hollywood is doing because it's creatively bankrupt, there was zero heart put into this show. It was a cash grab riding off the coat-tails of a FAR better written and acted comedy from nearly 40 years ago that will wither and die after maybe one season.... if it even makes it that far.

Just read the title of this review and that's pretty much the entire review. That being said, the movie as a whole isn't bad. It's a fun throwback to the 60's and 70's kung fu action flicks a la Enter the Dragon (hell, one of the leads is basically a Bruce Lee clone) with some supernatural stuff thrown in. In and of itself, the animation is decent (though I've seen far better from DC and Bruce Timm) and the story was fine, but the fact that DC marketed this as a Batman movie is beyond a shameless cash grab and downright insulting towards Batman fans to the degree of a big middle finger.

Basically, Batman should never have been in this movie to begin with, and the movie damn sure shouldn't have his name as the titular character in the title. Basically, there are four primary characters and Batman ranks dead last on that list of what the movie does with all them in terms of story and character development. He doesn't even wear the suit for the vast majority of the running time other than less than 60 seconds in the beginning of the movie and about the last 10 minutes. That's it. That's how long we get Batman in a BATMAN movie. What's more, even going on the basis that this is a "young and not as experienced" version like the movie jacket says, the character doesn't feel like Batman at all. He doesn't possess any of the intelligence and investigative skills that Batman is known for, even if this is considered an earlier version of him. I'd be fine if he was just lacking in martial arts skills from the modern day equivalent because, yes, this is supposed to be a younger version of himself, but one thing that defines Batman is his absolutely incredible mind, deduction and reasoning skills, and his tactical ability. None of that is present in this movie whatsoever, even to a developing degree. Not only that, but his costume is treated like it's some kind of lame superpower, like he gets stronger or faster or deadlier when he puts it on... which he doesn't. There's the barest flash of the Batman we were praying to see at the end where he sets up a quick ambush, but that's it. But honestly, it's not the underperforming Batman that's so irritating, it's the fact that he's essentially a B or C list character in his own movie. The only two out of the four primary leads that get any kind of character development are Robert Dragon (aka Bruce Lee) and Ben Turner (who is a mashup clone of Williams from Enter the Dragon and Shaft). They are actually the primary leads.

The worst part? They end the movie like they're teasing a sequel is in the works.

Between this, WW84, and how bad I've heard Death in the Family is, I just don't know what the hell DC is thinking anymore with their films. Honestly, they should have left Batman out of this movie entirely and just done a fun 70's kung fu-style animated movie. He had no purpose being in it and his inclusion, as I said in the beginning, absolutely reeks of nothing more than an utterly shameless cash grab banking on one of their top tier superheroes that for some reason they seem intent on destroying any way they possibly can.