Batman: Assault on Arkham (2014)

Batman works desperately to find a bomb planted by the Joker while Amanda Waller hires her newly formed Suicide Squad to break into Arkham Asylum to recover vital information stolen by the Riddler.

Directors:

Jay Oliva, Ethan Spaulding

Writers:

Heath Corson, Bob Kane (Batman created by)

Stars:

Kevin Conroy, Neal McDonough, Hynden Walch

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Conroy	...	Bruce Wayne / Batman (voice)
Neal McDonough	...	Deadshot / Floyd Lawton (voice)
Hynden Walch	...	Harleen Quinzel / Harley Quinn (voice)
Matthew Gray Gubler	...	Riddler (voice)
Troy Baker	...	Joker (voice)
Eric Bauza	...	Security Guy (voice)
Chris Cox	...	G.C.P.D. Commissioner James Gordon (voice)
John DiMaggio	...	King Shark (voice)
Greg Ellis	...	Captain Boomerang / George Harkness (voice)
Giancarlo Esposito	...	Black Spider / Eric Needham (voice)
Jennifer Hale	...	Louise Lincoln / Killer Frost (voice)
Martin Jarvis	...	Alfred Pennyworth (voice)
Peter Jessop	...	Watch Commander (voice)
Christian Lanz	...	Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow / Victor Zsasz / Smitty / Guards (voice)
Nolan North	...	The Penguin / Oswald Cobblepot / KGBeast / Anatoli Knyazev (voice)

Storyline

In Gotham City, the Riddler has secret information on the top secret Task Force X that he threatens to make public, but before Amanda Waller can have him killed, he is captured by Batman. Now with Riddler imprisoned in Arkham Asylum, Amanda Waller reassembles the Suicide Squad of captured supervillains with the mission to infiltrate the forensic mental hospital to retrieve Riddler's information. Led by Deadshot, this black ops team makes their way into the facility, only to face complications from within and without the team with secret agendas and double crosses all around. Meanwhile, Batman has his own concerns with an urgent search for The Joker's deadly bomb that threatens Gotham City. Eventually, all these players converge on Arkham Asylum for a showdown that few are going to escape alive.

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Plot Keywords:

batman | arkham asylum | suicide squad | harley quinn character | the joker character | 

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Taglines:

Get ready to root for the bad guys.

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Crime | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence, sexual content and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 July 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Batman: Assault on Arkham

Company Credits

Production Co:

DC Entertainment,Warner Bros. Animation,Warner Premiere

Technical Specs

Runtime:

76 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film contains references to Batman Returns (1992):

• the appearance of the Penguin is a near-facsimile to Danny DeVito's appearance in the film, complete with him eating raw fish
• when Harley Quinn is about to rob a toy store she puts her head against the glass very much in the same fashion as Catwoman did in the movie
• and Batman saves a female hostage from a criminal by shooting his grapple-gun's hook into the wall behind them, then retracting it so that a chunk of the wall whacks the criminal in the head.

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Goofs

One of Harley's balls on the end of her jester hat is cut off during a fight with batman, but a few minutes later it's somehow back on her hat.

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Quotes

[arriving in Arkham through a parachute]
Harley Quinn: Don't worry! I landed on my head!

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Crazy Credits

Harley Quinn appears on the letter C of the DC Entertainment logo.

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Connections

Spun-off from Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009)

User Reviews

As if i wasn't already excited enough for Suicide Squad!

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.