Batman: Assault on Arkham (2014)

Movie Info

Here comes the Suicide Squad!

Batman has captured the Riddler…but Amanda Waller isn’t having it!  The Riddler had been on assignment for her, and Waller must cover her tracks.  Assembling a team of villains including Black Spider, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, KGBeast, Killer Frost, King Shark, and Harley Quinn, Waller is forcing the Suicide Squad to work for her by giving them an assignment that no one wants—breaking into Arkham Asylum!  While most criminals are trying to escape Arkham, the Suicide Squad is going in to find the Riddler’s information…and Batman may be waiting for them.

Directed by Jay Oliva and Ethan Spaulding, Batman:  Assault on Arkham is part of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line and follows Son of Batman (also released in 2014).  The movie is loosely based on the Batman:  Arkham Asylum video games and the universe created in them.  It was released to mixed to positive reviews.

Finding Nemo is my favorite movie!

The Suicide Squad has been done so many times.  They were in the Justice League TV series, Smallville, and Arrow and are scheduled for a big screen appearance as well in 2016.  Batman:  Assault on Arkham feels a bit redundant in that sense, but it is still kind of fun.

The concept of villains as somewhat rogue “heroes” is always interesting to me.  While Suicide Squad wasn’t always my favorite title, I loved Marvel’s Thunderbolts which took a similar approach.  Since Thunderbolts’ success, it seems that there has been a renewed interest in Suicide Squad.  They don’t always get the blend right, but this movie does a decent job.

Hey Batman…stick to your own movies!

The Suicide Squad is made up of some interesting characters.  I feel that Deadshot is a bit overused as a DC player (he feels like he’s always the go-to assassin/Punisher fill-in), but I like some of the other members of the group.  I always enjoyed Flash’s rogues much more than the Suicide Squad, but I like unlikable characters so this does work for me…but it could have been better.

I like that Batman is a side player in the movie, but I could have done with him being in the movie even less.  I wish the movie had just focused on Suicide Squad with the threat of Batman as someone lurking in the shadows.  I think the movie would have been more powerful with a set-up like that versus Batman taking an active role in the story.

“I totally dig Jared Leto, Joker”

The animation (as with most DC Animated features) is quite good and better than a lot of other animated features.  The animation is slick and the fact DC often recruits voice actors for long term situations adds to the feeling that the stories are part of a bigger universe.

DC animated features and TV shows are miles ahead of Marvel which trounces DC at the movie theaters.  I still wonder if this can swing, but I feel there is a good-natured hardiness to DC that somehow just cannot be overcome by live action…DC Comic book characters feel like comic book characters and less rounded than many of Marvel’s big names.  This could be why DC works so well as an animated producer and Marvel works as a live action producer…I wish DC would prove me wrong.  The DC Universe Animated Original Movies continued with Justice League:  Throne of Atlantis in 2015.