by Erin Hatch, Editor-at-Large
How far would you go for revenge? If someone truly hurt you, where would you draw the line between what is acceptable retribution and what is too extreme Batman: The Long Halloween Part 2 explores these questions as it completes the murder mystery established in the first part of the Batman: The Long Halloween duology, but somehow fails to achieve a satisfying resolution to the story. In this case, it feels like breaking up the two films left the second part weaker than the first, with the arc of this half of the plot feeling much flimsier than the first film. While The Long Halloween Part 2 features some compelling moments, the movie as a whole lacks impact, feeling less exciting than the individual components deserve.
It is not all bad. Part 2 shares many of the same excellent features as part one: the animation and scenery once again look fantastic, and DC Animation has once again assembled a great cast of actors to provide the voices for the Dark Knight and his allies and enemies. There are a few solid action scenes and good character moments as the people we are watching evolve based on the events around them. Part 2 even seemed to resolve a few of the concerns voice in ComicsOnline’s review of Part 1, especially ironing out the moments of awkward action continuity editing that stood out amidst the otherwise great production values of the first film. But despite these positives, Part 2 failed to impress. Not because it was bad, but because it was a little boring, which is almost worse.
The voice cast remains largely the same, with Jensen Ackles (Supernatural) playing Batman and Bruce Wayne (and this time he gets to shine more while in Bruce-mode), Josh Duhamel (Jupiter’s Legacy, Transformers) playing Harvey Dent and Two Face, and Naya Rivera (Glee) playing Selena Catwoman. I mean Selena Kyle. No, I meant Selena Catwoman, that should be her name. Part 2 adds Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) as Poison Ivy, John DiMaggio (Futurama) as The Mad Hatter, and Robin Atkin Downes (Batman: Soul of the Dragon) as Scarecrow, and they are all fine actors that aren’t really given much chance to shine with the roles those villains play in the story.
Like Part 1 and most DC Animated films, the special features are strong. The Blu-ray includes the DC Showcase Short Blue Beetle, as well as Batman: The Animated Series‘ two-part episode about the origins of Two Face, and three previews for other DC Animated Movies: A sneak peek at the upcoming movie Injustice, and then previews for the already available The Dark Knight Returns Part 2 and Batman: Hush. Once again, the Batman: The Animated Series episodes are the best of the bunch, and watching that take on the Two Face origin story again helped me reevaluate how the character has been treated in recent years. The Blue Beetle short is entertaining as well, but slightly thin: it is a parody of older superhero cartoons, specifically making fun of certain cheesy dialogue, animation errors, and the tactic of reusing animation to reduce the budget. The joke isn’t good for long, but the short doesn’t overstay its welcome and has some funny moments while it lasts. The previews are just previews but could be a good resource for Batman fans who want to see what other options are available to them.
I was left underwhelmed by my first viewing of Batman: The Long Halloween Part 2, and before writing a review like this I committed to going back to watch it again just to make sure that I could stand by what I would say. When I reached the climactic battle of the film, I was struck by the realization that this sequence should have been awesome. All of the ingredients were there for an awesome climax, it just didn’t come together and deliver the payoff for the story that it was trying to tell. I didn’t feel excited, I didn’t feel anything about it. I think that applies to the movie as a whole. There are some fantastic elements mixed into this movie- especially if you enjoyed Part One– but something about the pacing and the disjointed structure and the uneven character development kept those great elements from congealing into the epic conclusion that this film was intending to be. Again, there is a lot of good present in the package, but I did not find it to be a very compelling story. Not as a conclusion to the first part, and definitely not on its own.
Rating:
ComicsOnline gives Batman: The Long Halloween Part 2 2.5 out of five wishes they’d involved Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale
