Batman : Assaut sur Arkham

I saw the SDCC exclusive trailer for Suicide Squad very recently and it got me so hyped up to see what the DC cinematic universe had in store for us. At first the DCU looked like it was trying to be what Marvel had set up but looking at the two latest trailers it looks like they really do have some spectacular surprises in store! Anyway, after seeing the trailer i wanted to see a lot more of the Suicide Squad in action. I was lucky enough to find Batman Assault on Arkham and well.. as if i wasn't already excited enough for Suicide Squad!

First things first, this film may have the Batman name in the title, but this really isn't a Batman he is merely a co-star. This film very much belongs to the squad themselves. Amanda Waller needs to get a thumb drive from the Riddler's cane so in order to do so she recruits the baddest criminals she can find from the very walls of Arkham Asylum to get it out. Meanwhile Batman is attempting to find a dirty bomb left behind by the Joker who is still trapped in his own cell, which he of course links to Harley Quinn. We get to see characters we will soon be introduced to in the film including Harley, Captain Boomerang and Deadshot who serves as the protagonist. Among these 'big names' we also encounter lesser-known villains like King Shark and Killer Frost who form an unexpected bond and Black Spider (voiced by Giancarlo Esposito from Breaking Bad). All ending with a climatic battle between Task force X, the Joker and Batman himself.

The film claims to be based off of the Batman Arkham series of games. The voice of Batman is as always played to perfection by veteran Batman actor Kevin Conroy. Every time Conroy lends his voice to the character, even only for a small role like this film, you really feel like you are listening to the only actor fit for voicing him. Troy Baker mirrors Mark Hamill like he did in Arkham Origins and steals the show. He may not be as threatening and villainous as Hamill is but he comes a close second. I also loved Hynden Walch as Harley Quinn and I will go as far as to say that Harley was my favourite character in this film. She takes on the role and manages to be both ditzy and villainous, which is all a fan really wants from such an iconic character. Each member of Task Force X gets their own chance to shine in a different way and i was on board with each character so well that I was rooting for them more than i was for Batman by the end of it.

DC can be hit and miss with their animated features, and this is in the ranks as being one of the best they have developed so far. I hope that the adaption of 'The Killing Joke' that is in the works can be as great as this one manages to be. It is also the right element of dark. The violence was not watered down for this one and we get our fair share of head explosions. I am hoping the movie is not watered down and manages an 'R' rating because it has the potential to be something very special. This film raises the hype metre even higher and i am hoping for something great that could even trump The Dark Knight in terms of darkness and pure character development. The DC Universe will be kicked off with a 'BANG!' (Pun intended) and i hope more animated DC adaptions take a leaf out of its book.

Assault on Arkham is meant as a prequel to the events that occurred during the Arkham video game trilogy. Waller has collected some villains to help her take back top secret information from the Riddler. The Squad most infiltrate Arkham Asylum, find the Riddler and get the device before reveals the secrets to even worse villains.

This film really does a good job at capturing how expendable each character is to the mission. At any moment someone could die and the team just has to move to the next objective. This is even tougher because the writers of the movie actually created relationships between characters so the loss hits them and the audience more. Even with all the serious moments there is also funny dialogue exchanged, mainly from Captain Boomerang and King Shark.

There are no characters that are left in the background either. Mostly everyone gets a fair amount of screen time in order to fully bring their personality to the audience. I thought this would be heavy movie on Deadshot and Harley, but that was not the case. The biggest enjoyment I got was Harley as that was probably my favorite depiction of her that I have seen. She had the right amount of sweet with a side of insane.

Action scenes were fun for the most part, as there was a scene or two where they maybe went a little to over the top even for an animation movie.

This was a fun watch and if you are a fan of the Suicide Squad, you most definitely have to see this.

Based on the so-called "Suicide Squad", 'Batman: Assault on Arkham' plays like a 'Dirty Dozen' comprised of mostly B-list Batman villains. Batman himself is really a side player here, and quite honestly by the time he becomes involved in the story, his presence is unwelcome. By that point we're fully invested in the Suicide Squad and Bats feels like a bucket of cold water.

I've seen a handful of these direct-to-DVD animated 'Batman' movies and I continue to be amazed by how far they push the violence envelope. I'd dare say this is more brutal than even 'The Dark Knight', with exploding heads, lots of human collateral damage and blood aplenty. There are even a couple of cases of near nudity (and I mean *near*) and implied sex. Definitely not for kids.

Good animation, solid voice acting and a refreshingly different story make this one a worthwhile watch.

Assault on Arkham can stand alone as a title without the Batman branding getting in before the colon. Bats is hardly in this movie, reduced to a bit-part player in a grander scheme which doesn't really need to involve him. The Suicide Squad never really interested me and I will probably pass on the forthcoming movie (purely because charisma-vacuum Jai Courtney is in it) but damn to they make for a great team here. I almost wished Batman was stay out of it and let their plans unfold as intended.

Shady US Govt. lady Waller (CCH Pounder) recruits Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, Harley Quinn, Black Spider, King Shark, and Killer Frost to break into Arkham Asylum undetected and steal something belonging to the Riddler before finding and defusing a dirty bomb hidden by the Joker. I'm sure Batman (here, properly voiced by Kevin Conroy once more) would have done a much more efficient job without the high body count, but then we wouldn't have a movie. He and Waller don't see eye-to-eye anyways. It's fun watching them execute their plan and infiltrate the deep recesses of the island. It could have been more atmospheric though. A lot of the backgrounds look to clean and polished. It lacks the Gothic pathos of Arkham City games that inspired it. Batman soon shows up anyways and spoils everything, but does it smartly.

Assault on Arkham is a major step away (and in the right direction) from the family orientated animated Batman series and movies from the 90s. With sex, nudity, and graphic death on show for our enjoyment it's not exactly something you can distract your 7-year-old (if you're really prudish, that is). But I believe Batman should be geared more towards adults anyway.

Joker is voiced by Troy Baker but he does a great job of emulating Mark Hamill's style, and the higher rating allows him to be more violent and evil. The writing could be tighter and it could have had more of an atmosphere, but this one still comes highly recommended, even if Batman's presence sort of spoilt it a bit.

I just finishing watching Son of Batman, and I was thinking to myself, this movie is pretty edgy and leans more toward adults than I would ever expected. Than I saw Assault on Arkham, and can see were the DCAU is going. This is far more Edgy.

The movie takes elements from the recent run of Suicide Squad of the new 52s revamp at DC comics and mixes it with elements of the Batman Akrham game series. Batman wears the costume from the game, but has the voice of the greatest man ever to play (voice) Batman, Kevin Conroy.

Batman takes a slight step back in this movie as Amanda Waller assembles the suicide Squad to get a thumb drive the Riddler has on all the members of the Suicide Squad before he makes it public. They have to infiltrate Arkham in order to do it.

The animated film is Dark, it reminds me of the late 80's early 90's anime like Gogolo 13 and fist of the North Star that got me into anime in the first place. I'm happy to see Warner Bros. animation go in this direction.

Two thumbs up!