BATMAN: ASSAULT ON ARKHAM [2014]

Batsy plays second fiddle to the Suicide Squad in director Jay Olivia & Ethan Spaulding's animated film Assault on Arkham.
Ol' Amanda Waller sends the Squad out on a mission to hunt down The Riddler, imprisoned in Arkham Asylum, who is holding onto a flash drive that contains some very important secret information.
I normally like me a heist film but somehow this one comes off as predictable, boring and easily forgettable.  It misses the opportunity to explore some interesting character conflicts and instead it blindly rushes into the action and mayhem without any reason to give a shit.  Is it better than the recent live-action Squad film?  No.  Not really.  It's about the same with even less flare.

2 bullet-proof prison cells out of 5

Justice League: War (2014)

The first JL animation based on the New 52 reboot is also a reboot. It wastes no time with set-up for most of the heroes. Instead, it starts in the middle of a story and goes downhill from there.
Being called WAR there’ll be no surprise to find that there’s a lot of combat; so very, very much combat. My brain almost atrophied.
It earned my respect for addressing certain criticisms of failings that are almost inherent in superhero stories and turning them into strengths, but the characters are mostly awful. Batman is analytical; he’s okay. Superman is a two dimensional prick. They've ruined Capt. Marvel and changed his name. And what have they done to Wonder Woman? She’s a moron.

2½ boom tubes out of 5

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013)

An alternative universe tale of sorts that may have lasting repercussions for future releases should DC decide to go down that route.
It’s a gritty and violent adventure packed with DCU heroes and villains; some of them have very little impact on the story but it’s fun to see them included. It may even change your view of the often mocked Aquaman.
The Flash seeks help from the one man who really understands his plight and has just as much to gain as he has to lose from the outcome.
It starts strong and keeps getting better and better with a pace befitting its main character. The ending doesn't take the easy way out.

4 trigger points out of 5

Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (2011)

The Lanterns we all want to see, Hal, Kilowog, Abin Sur and Sinestro, are here but the story-within-a-story structure keeps it from fully developing any of its themes. There are six stories in all (one bridge and five flashbacks). Two were based on stories written by Alan Moore, but you won’t find his name in the credits. They don’t get too complex; even a flash forward to a future time while in a flashback from the present time was handled concisely. The animation is top-notch; there was some tricky perspectives well-realised. The voices are great, too. It’s a shame then that it was so uneven. There was lots of action punctuated by some minor emotional depth at irregular intervals that, if it had been elevated to be on equal footing with the green explosions, would've earned a higher score.

2½ instruments of will out of 5

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns - Part 2 (2013)

The second half of the story was the one that I thought would be the hardest to get right because it has some complex social commentary and cold war politics that weigh heavy on the action, but for the most part it was actually more enjoyable than Part One. There was more tension and a hell of a lot more to lose should Batman fail in his mission. But when it came to giving what should have been a rousing speech and meaningful exchanges with [spoiler], Weller's delivery once more failed to do it justice.
If memory serves, the story stayed very close to the source material, which was a good and bad thing. The character designs were respectful, too, although they lacked the grittiness.

2½ cover stories out of 5

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns - Part 1 (2012)

TDKR is adapted from the book of the same name by Frank Miller. I'm a fan of Miller's comics work but I think his dialogue is unsuitable for film. That meant I wasn't overly concerned that Batman's inner monologue was removed. I thought it would be compensated for, but it wasn't.
What remained was Miller's slow pacing and his deconstruction of the typical superhero genre through news broadcasts that offer up conflicting views of the action and motivations of the very different kinds of sociopaths.
Peter Weller was piss-poor as Bruce/Batman. His delivery was lifeless and flat. It sounded like he'd just wakened and was reading his lines from the back of a cereal packet. Andrea Romano wasn't on casting duties for this one and it shows. Everyone was ill-suited to their character.

2½ heat waves out of 5