Blu-Ray Review: Batman: Assault on Arkham

This movie’s title is a bit of a misnomer.

I may as well get this out of the way now, because this statement is going to be said often: Assault on Arkham was a different take on a DC animated feature. It was a lot darker, more violent, and sexier. However, the biggest change Assault on Arkham brought us was that there was very little focus on Batman until the final act of the movie.

In case you haven’t been reading for the last four months, Batman returns for another animated feature. Of course, the major players return, Kevin Conroy as Batman, and CCH Pounder as Amanda Waller. These two have been playing Batman and Waller for an eternity now, and no matter how art styles change, Batman is still Batman, and Waller is still a grimy government agent. If you have been living under a rock for the last 10 years, and want to know who CCH Pounder is, watch last season of Sons of Anarchy. I can’t say enough how much I respect Pounder, and she plays government officials really well. However, if you want a chilling performance, Troy Baker nails it as Joker. And by nail, I mean he is a worthwhile replacement for Mark Hamill.

But there’s a problem here. I feel that Batman is only in the title because this follows the Arkham line of video games. The stars of the movie are the six members of the Suicide Squad. With the exception of two cameos in the first 50 minutes, this movie is all about the misfit gang of convicts who are forced to save the world. Well, they have to save Waller’s ass. Six in one hand, or half dozen in an other, I suppose. Case and point,

Speaking of the Suicide Squad, there are new players, as well. Neil McDonough, best known as the casino owner who gets the shit kicked out of him in Walking Tall, is the star of the movie. Since so much of Assault on Arkhem follows the Suicide Squad and it’s defacto leader, they called in McDonough. This is so out of character, I didn’t even know it was him until I hit up IMDb. McDonough usually plays the scumbag, but he nails Deadshot.

Wait, did I say sexier? I sure did. Numerous times during the Assault on Arkham, Harley went topless and used her feminine wiles on a subject. Whether it was guards in Arkham, or Deadshot, she used her body to get where she needs. The same can be said for Killer Frost, as well. She gets up out of a bodybag nude (I know, to show that she’s dead), and takes advantage of a very stunned guard. She uses a more clothed version to win over King Shark, who tried to eat Frost when they first met.

When I say more violent, I mean for a DCU animated movie. The violence is more in line with the Arkham games than the line of animated movies. You see people get shot in the head, the hand to hand combat is visceral, and King Shark just eats people. Then, there’s the language. I am all for the liberal use of the word bitch, but Assault on Arkham takes a lot of liberties. Every second or third scene, there is at least one bitch. This movie definitely rides the line of PG-13 and R.

For as good as the movie is, there are a couple bad spots. Since we’re in the “Arkham-verse,” I was expecting the costumes of the characters in the game to be more like the game counterparts. On that point, Harley looked nothing like the “Arkham-verse” Harley, and that was a little lazy. I am a stickler for continuity, so that drives me a little nuts. There are also some points in the movie, that if you blink, you’ll miss some really muddy characters. For instance, there’s a scene about mid way through the movie where Harley’s face looks like it was painted by a four year old. That happened three times, with different characters. Luckily, it was only for a split second.

The special features aren’t important. There’s a commentary track that doesn’t really add much to the experience or lore of Arkham, and the Arkham Analyzed gives you everything you should know if you played through the previous Arkham games. The coolest feature here is the first look for Justice League: Throne of Atlantis. That’s the next in line for the DC Animated Universe, and we actually previewed it here. To be fair, that’s the going rate for DCAU movies. The only things worth watching are the movie, and the preview of the next movie coming up.

Now, the question is, Is Assault on Arkham worth the purchase? I got the movie for 17.99, and it came with a Harley figure. It’s nothing fantastic, but it’s a cute little kick-knack. The movie itself is worth the $18. The preview and the figure are just icing on the cake.