Assault On Arkham Review

I saw there was a sudden influx of traffic to site after I tweeted that I would be doing a review of the new DC animated movie Batman: Assault On Arkham. Sadly, plans changed a bit and my brother and I didn't have a chance to get together and watch it until late last night. Lucky for everyone out there, I am having a bit of insomnia so I decided to post my review before I head off to classes.

Before I start my review of this movie, let me say that I feel DC's animated films have fallen short of their normal grandeur as of late. While Marvel was mastering the live action films, DC had a definite advantage in the animated market (both films and TV). However, after Flashpoint Paradox, I could see a definite downturn in story quality for the next few films. None of them held my interest, or made much sense for that matter, and they lost some of the awesomeness that they captured with earlier movies. Perhaps it's because the later films are based on the newer DC52 Universe which is, for the most part, also poorly written.

I was excited, but wary, when I first saw the trailer for Assault on Arkham. We finally were getting a movie from the villain's point of view. Not that there's anything wrong with seeing another Batman story, but I like a little variety in my life. I collect a wide range of comics and not all of them revolve around Superman/Batman. I understand that they are the big names and will draw the most patrons, but it's nice to switch it up now and then; bring in the unknowns or B-teams, some of them have great stories to tell, too.

After an interesting, but unexplained, opening between The Riddler and Amanda Waller (and her snarky comment about using Google to solve his riddles), Batman interrupts his capture by Waller's team forcing her to bring in Task Force X. Begin the montage of introducing our motley crew of teammates: Killer Frost, Black Spider, Killer Shark, Captain Boomerang, KGBeast, Harley Quinn, and Deadshot. I really enjoyed the selection they chose for the team, most of whom my brother had never heard of before, but a lot of them classic members. I wasn't a huge fan of the Killer Shark redesign, making him more human than the actual shark-man he is in the comics. However, I'm glad that they didn't use the horrendous New52, hammerhead version.

Now seems like a good time to also add in the disclaimer that, despite the fact that this is cartoon based on comic characters, this is not a movie for children. Despite the massive amounts of deaths from bullets, boomerangs, and decapitations there is also a sexual undercurrent to the movie that was unexpected. We get a "flash" of naked Killer Shark during his intro and an obscured but obviously topless Killer Frost later. But worse was the sexual encounter between Deadshot and Harley -  complete with near nudity. And add to that Harley's encounter with the Joker and talk of an abusive, sexual relationship - for me it was all in bad taste. I understand that these are criminals, but not all of them are morally corrupt individuals.

Ultimately, the movie ends where the Arkham Assylum game begins. Joker releases the other prisoners from their cells and all hell breaks loose. There are definite loose ends left at the finale, but for anyone who played the series, or watched the storyline on YouTube, then you know exactly how everything ties together.

So my final thoughts on the movie? It was an interesting ride, though not the one I signed-up for based on the trailer. I enjoyed the Deadshot/Boomerang rivalry - straight out of the comics - but there were some other interesting characters like Killer Frost and Black Spider, neither of whom got the screen time they needed or deserved. And while it was more enjoyable than some of the most recent films, the added (and totally unnecessary) sexual content took the movie a place it didn't need to go.

My Final Score: D+  DC, you're making a move in the right direction, but you have to remember that a big chunk of your market is still children and I would NEVER let my preteen kids watch this movie. Pandering to the lonely fanboys using sex to sell a story... I was hoping for better from you.