Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2

WB/DC's Direct-to-DVD Animated Film "BATMAN : THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS" is an Adaptation of Frank Miller's comic published in 1986.

Summary (Without Spoilers): Bruce Wayne is now 55 years old & 10 years have passed since the retirement of Batman. With the rise of a new nemesis called the Mutant Gang, the city descends deep into chaos and the Dark Knight is forced to wear his cape again. Despite his age clearly showing, Batman still takes the fight to injustice with the help of a new Robin in the form a teenage girl named Carrie Kelly. While 70 year old Commissioner Gordon is being replaced with an Anti-Batman minded Ellen Yindel. Things get worse as two of Batman's Greatest Villains, Two Face & the Joker who have been keeping quite with a plastic surgery and in a catatonic state respectively break out of Arkham Asylum with the public blaming Batman for their returns. The government feels Batman has gotten out of hand with his Do-whatever-to-do-what-is-right policy and sends his former ally, Superman to take him down once and for all. The film also features Selina Kyle who is no longer Catwoman and Oliver Queen (Green Arrow) who plays a short but vital part to tie up this Masterpiece.

My Views: This is one of the darkest portrayals of the Batman universe and it makes me wonder how the hell did they get away from an R rating. Never has been an animated movie been so thrilling and so serious for me like these. The whole story and some of the fight scenes are just epic. While face-offs with Harvey Dent & the Mutant Leader in Part 1 was great, battles with the Joker & Superman in Part 2 takes animation movies to a whole new level. Some might be disappointed not to hear Kevin Conroy & Mark Hamill's familiar voices, I'd say the chosen actors to play the older counterparts was a right decision. Some subplots might be mildly uninteresting, but that is irrelevant when most of the package is stuffed with such greatness.

All this ties up perfectly as a well paced, superbly written, beautifully animated and savagely action packed movie with many surprises. The Dark Knight Returns reaffirms the fact that the Legend of the Dark Knight will continue to amaze us in unprecedented ways and be part and parcel of us fans forever.

Final Verdict : 10/10

Part 1 was good but part 2 was great. I haven't seen many Batman animations and this just makes you want to watch more.

The plot is great and dark, the way it should be. There is plenty of action (shooting, fighting, chases). Two epic battles, just non stop action, bloody action as well.

The animation looks great and it sounds great too. This was really enjoyable and extremely well made, one of the best animations I have ever seen. Batman, Superman, Joker - What more do you need?

Well worth watching, this is one not to be missed.

8/10.

Following directly on from the passable Dark Knight Returns Part 1 we see an aged Batman doing what he does best.

Clearly tired and with a new young Robin protege he is forced to contend with the return of the Joker, civil unrest, an increasingly hostile police force and Superman himself.

I went into this expecting more of the same, little did I realise it would be a contender for the best Batman movie out there.

Well written, thoughtful, very dark & with some genuinely game changing moments this second (And likely last) part really delivers. I find the old Batman so much more interesting, tired, hurting but determined to continue his crusade until his final breath.

This is evidence that the franchise has plenty of life in it, it just needs to be placed in the right peoples hands. If Batman vs Superman had been like this the DC Universe would be looking a whole hell of a lot more promising right now.

The Good:

Dark, gritty and violent

The Bad:

Robin, really?!

Odd version of the Joker

Timeline is weird

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

More movies need topless villainess's

Catwoman becoming a Madam, not really surprising

The bat glider scene made me just plain uncomfortable, good soldier, good soldier

One day DC will need to explain how Supermans outfit is impervious to damage as well

The animated adaptation of Frank Miller's epic classic Batman tale concludes in "The Dark Knight Returns: Part 2". Whatever made part one great makes this one just as enjoyable. The producers continue their policy of adapting 100% the critically acclaimed graphic novel while expanding on story elements that could not have been expanded upon due to a lack of space in the original 4 issues worth of comics.

Spurred on by Batman's actions in the first part, The Joker uses a clever ruse to return to crime and senseless murder. As Batman attempts to bring the increasingly chaotic city under control, numerous forces are out to get him. The Joker wants to bait him into the ultimate showdown, the Cops under a new commissioner want to arrest him, the United States Government wants to end him. All the while, a war is brewing that would tear the country apart. Driven to the brink, Batman does the unthinkable and the government brings in a red and blue secret weapon who is faster than a speeding bullet.

Easily the most powerful conclusion and the finest animated production from Warner Premiere, the whole thing looks superb. Animation is of the highest quality, rivaling that of big budget anime movies. Fight scenes are in full motion, bristling with a kinetic sense of energy and without a single short cut. All of it set to a unique score by composer Christopher Drake which combines blockbuster orchestral tunes with a futuristic noir inspired synthesizer sounds. Again, the main complaint is more with the art than the animation. Frank Miller's art is faithfully replicated but in certain scenes, the quality of the art takes a nose dive. One such scene involves superman taking on a naval fleet; the way the ships are drawn look pathetically cheap compared to the rest of the movie.

And the final fight between Superman and Batman has some laughable dips in quality too.

Telling a story in a new medium would warrant some tweaks. For example, Fans would remember that the comic featured walls of text to give exposition and explanation. In animation, the story is expanded enough so that said exposition is not necessary. Events flow naturally into each other and scenes that were slightly confusing to the casual reader makes perfect sense: scenes like Joker's final moments, the war with the Russians, why Gotham is suddenly snowing when it was a heat wave in the first movie etc. Just one of the examples of how this movie expands and improves on the original. The only thing lacking is that Frank Miller littered his narrative with characters' inner monologues. These give us an insight into the thoughts and personality of the characters; these are also, sadly, missing. And with it goes that insight that audience could have been given.

The voice cast are just as top notch as the previous installment. Michael Emerson's Joker is oozing with a certain homoerotic creepiness, quipping in a psychotic slur. Just listen to his dialogue during his climatic hand to hand showdown with Batman, it is almost traumatising. On the downside, Peter Weller seems to gave grown a little bored of the role as Batman. His deep baritone becomes almost monotone and his inflection is.....all wrong. Just listen to that half hearted "I Am the Law" speech he gives to the ex-mutant gang. Yes the script is the same as the book, but the delivery is below expectations.

Yet with its strict adherence to the source material, this animated movie also carries over the flaws of the source material. A good number of going-ons require some suspension of disbelief. Like how does Joker get his hands on lip stick that can mind control people? How does someone make near sentient robot dolls that spew poison gas and flies and has the strength of Superman? Oh well.....

It can be said that Dark Knight Returns, when both parts are viewed as one whole movie, is a true animated epic worthy of some awards. Perhaps the slight dip in some animation quality was due to the fact that they were producing Part 2 concurrently with the "Superman Unbound" animated feature. Nevertheless, this is a solid animated feature with good production values. DC and Warner Premiere keeps topping themselves, and the next animated feature will be hard pressed to keep this level of quality. The Dark Knight Returns duology is a must watch for any comic book fan.

This combination of the first and second parts to "The Dark Knight Returns" is not only an excellent adaptation of the acclaimed graphic novel, but an excellent animated movie full of emotion and energy. Considering I am already a big fan of the graphic novel, I wasn't expecting much out of this movie. The novel was great on it's own and didn't require a animated counterpart. But with great voice acting and excellent storytelling this movie serves as one of DC's best animated movies.