'Batman And Harley Quinn' Review- LAME
This movie was released in 2017.
Batman And Harley Quinn is the next in a long line of animated films collectively known as the DC Universe Animated Original Movies. It is directed by Sam Liu and Bruce Timm co-wrote the script.
Poison Ivy (Paget Brewster) and the Floronic Man (Kevin Michael Richardson) team up to steal a chemical compound developed by Alec Holland aka The Swamp Thing (John DiMaggio). They want to use it to create a weapon that will turn everyone on the planet into plant/human hybrids similar to Floronic Man.
Batman (Kevin Conroy) and Nightwing (Loren Lester) take the case, but to find Poison Ivy, they track down her best friend. None other than the (now) former girlfriend of The Joker, better known as Harley Quinn (Melissa Rauch). After a rendezvous with Nightwing, she agrees to help the Dark Knight in exchange for not going back to prison. The unlikely threesome encounters all kinds of trouble along the way as they search for Ivy and Floronic Man.
While the animation techniques are similar to the fourth season of Batman: The Animated Series, the movie is not connected to the show. Thank goodness. If this had been a sequel, it was one of the lamest sequels that I have ever seen.
This film is nostalgic, I will give it that. In the dance club scene, every dancer (with one exception) was a familiar background character in Batman: TAS. Loren Lester is the best Nightwing (sorry my fellow Young Justice fans). His chemistry was perfect with Conroy’s Batman. It was nice to see the dynamic duo I grew up with back together.
The artwork also was a nice touch. While the voice cast and the animation style did not make it canon to the iconic animated show, it was still cool to see Batman, Nightwing, and Harley Quinn in their traditional forms. Harley Quinn was born from animation, not comic books, so that was a nice touch for the film.
That being said, outside of the nostalgia, this was a disaster of a film, even for Warner Bros. Animation. It felt rushed together with crude jokes more likely found in a Kevin Smith movie than a Batman flick. While Melissa Rauch might be a hilarious comedienne, she was an epic fail as Harley Quinn. Arleen Sorkin, Mia Sara, or even Hynden Walch would’ve been more appropriate for this particular role.
Not to mention, I don’t understand Bruce Timm’s weird fetish with odd superhero couples like Batman/Batgirl, Batman/Wonder Woman, and now Nightwing/Harley Quinn. They all seemed forced and weird.
Bottom line, Batman: Harley Quinn was more annoying than feisty and fun. Without Arleen Sorkin, it just falls flat.
FAVORITE QUOTE: It smells like… discipline.
PARENTAL CONCERNS: Violence, Crude Humor, Foul Language
Check out the trailer below:
What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. Tell me if there is a comic book, movie, or anime you would like me to review.