Batman: Assault On Arkham

The DC Animated Universe Team really did an exemplary job with this movie. Taking a brief break from recreating fan-favorite storylines; the DC Animated Universe Team proved to us that they can create an original story, and it be good! With a basic foundation in an already established universe [the Arkham-verse]; a colorful cast of characters with equally interesting voice actors; and a story that immortalizes the idea that it is "Cool." to be DC villains pulling off a heist, The DC Animated Universe Team have created the movie of all our dreams! And from start-to-finish, you will be completely immersed!

This movie is about six criminals; Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, Harley Quinn, King Shark, Killer Frost, and Black Spider (The Suicide Squad); who are conned by Amanda Waller, to break into Arkham Asylum to, supposedly, steal a USB drive from the Riddler that contains information on all members of Task Force X (Suicide Squad.) Meanwhile, Batman is searching for a dirty bomb planted by The Joker. But let's face it, The Suicide Squad are the heart and soul of this movie!

One of the problems with this movie was, the title. Batman is a secondary character, at best, but in reality, he's a minor character. So calling this movie "Batman: Assault on Arkham" is very misleading, even the trailer for this movie makes it out to be a adventure revolving around Batman instead of the Suicide Squad. So for those expecting Batman's next big animated movie, this isn't it. (If you were looking for an animated movie featuring Batman see, Son of Batman.) Plain and simple, this is a Suicide Squad movie. So let's talk about that! (But I will admit, the opening fight scene with Batman vs. the special ops unit was pretty freaking awesome.)

Like I said earlier, the DC Animated Universe Team created a very original [heist] story featuring the Suicide Squad. By the end of this movie, you'll wonder why DC hasn't created a live action Suicide Squad movie to go up against Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy! The characters that are on the Squad were amazing. Deadshot [voiced by Neal McDonough] is the leader and is the most likable out of all the Suicide Squad members. I've never liked Deadshot in the past, but the movie's story and Neal McDonough acting, really showed off characteristics (i.e. leadership) of Deadshot that I never really saw in the Suicide Squad comic book. The story relied on Deadshot to help carry it forward, and kept the viewers focused on the mission that the Squad had. However, the other members of the Suicide Squad really helped bring life to the team throughout each of their personalities.

For example, we have Harley Quinn and Captain Boomerang. Harley Quinn (voiced by Hynden Walch) added a comedic side to all the violence that was going throughout this entire movie. Trust me, this is the most violent DC Animated movie that has been released, with heads exploding, people getting eaten, etc. etc. So her characteristic of being a "Wild Card" and knowing the ins-and-outs of Arkham Asylum, proved to be useful and created some of the best parts of this movie, and gave us a laugh when things were really getting dark. Walch (whom is best known for her DC comics role as Starfire in Teen Titans, TTG!), was very talented and energetic in her role as Harley Quinn. I was surprised to find out that she hasn't been Harley Quinn before this, because she seemed like a natural!

Another example of the team's different personalities is with, Captain Boomerang. Captain Boomerang (voiced by Greg Ellis) was similar to Deadshot in a lot of ways, but also different at the same time. Both he and Deadshot were season veterans of Amanda Waller's Suicide Squad, so they've been on missions before. There back-and-forth talk about "Problems in the past." is alluded to a lot in this movie, but no history is ever given as to why they hate each other so much. (Which is a problem I had with this movie.) I liked how Boomerang was treated as a seasoned veteran and could easily get the job done, but was always portrayed as a c-lister villain (compared to a high profile assassin like Deadshot) in this movie. So always having that hanging over his head, and having to compete with Deadshot, was always exciting to see happen throughout this movie. Ellis' performance for Captain Boomerang really made you like the character; from his Australian accent to the witty remarks he makes, Boomerang definitely helped carry this movie with his winning personality.

The other members; Killer Frost (voiced by Jennifer Hale), Black Spider (voiced by Giancarlo Esposito), and King Shark (voiced by John DiMaggio); all lent their talents to the team, and giving it life. However, they were portrayed more as the secondary members of the team, as most people don't have any idea who Black Spider, King Shark, and Killer Frost is. Sure the characters are connected to amazing actors, but I'm sure that many people will recognize the voices first, and not even know the origins of these characters. I mean Black Spider is voiced by Gustavo Fring from Breaking Bad, no introduction is needed; if you've played any popular video game, more than likely you've heard Hale's voice before, because it is really distinctive and commanding; and finally you have John DiMaggio. This guy has probably been in every single animated cartoon since the early 2000s, and always shines when he plays a not-so-smart character like King Shark. These three actors brought life to the characters they played, and also had parts in this movie that really made their character standout.

The story played well with each character's strengths and weaknesses, and the heist was really hyped well and continued to impress as the story took different twists-and-turns. This story takes place in the Arkham-Verse, more than likely before Arkham Asylum, so there are many deaths of the characters on the Squad. It was kinda sad to see a possible Suicide Squad member killed off early on in the movie, but even with his death, the writers still managed to have a perfect team. The Suicide Squad's heist, actually made Batman and Joker's story look better than it actually was. (Joker hid a bomb, Batman's gotta find it, blah blah blah. You've seen it a thousand times before!) Yes, Kevin Conroy lent his chilling Batman voice to this movie to please many fanboys; and Troy Baker's Joker is, without a doubt, the best [and only] choice for a worthy replacement of the now retired Mark Hamil-Joker, but still their story wasn't all that great. The actors did an amazing job in their respected roles as Batman and Joker, but compared to the Suicide Squad's heist and how it had many "What's going to happen next?" moments, Batman and Joker's story could've easily been taken out and made into another movie. (Just being honest.) Their story didn't, in anyway, add or takeaway from the Suicide Squad's story. The only reason these two are in this movie is, because Batman's name is on the cover.

So when it all boils down, it was really interesting to see how well the writers of this movie could throw in a bunch of villains that have little in common, and make them feel like they were always meant to be a team. 4 out of 5. I'm on Twitter, @Lol_Clark. You're welcome.