'Batman Ninja' Review- The Ending Is A Bit Bloated
This movie debuted in 2018.
Warner Bros. brings us a new anime directed by Junpei Mizusaki, the all-new Batman Ninja. It was made by Kamikaze Douga and YamatoWorks with Afro Samurai creator Takashi Okazaki handling character designs.
Batman (Roger Craig Smith) enters Arkham Asylum to do battle with Gorilla Grodd (Fred Tatasciore) who is building a temporal Quake Engine. After the initial battle, the device activates and throws Batman into the past. He soon finds himself in Feudal Japan with Catwoman (Grey Griffin) and his faithful butler Alfred (Adam Croasdell).
The Dark Knight soon finds that his arch-nemesis The Joker (Tony Hale) and his sidekick Harley Quinn (Tara Strong) have arrived and taken over a particular clan. Other villains including Poison Ivy, Deathstroke, Penguin, and Two-Face have used the futuristic technology provided by Grodd to conquer Japan.
After being defeated by The Joker and his giant mech-suit, Batman, Robin (Yuri Lowenthal), Red Robin (Will Friedle), Red Hood (Yuri Lowenthal), and Nightwing (Adam Croasdell) ally with the Bat Clan ninja order to stop The Clown Prince of Crime from altering history to his chaotic world.
Essentially, it takes The World’s Greatest Detective out of Gotham City and into Feudal Japan where he encounters some old enemies and new allies in an epic Martial Arts battle. This review covers the English dubbed version.
When I saw the trailer, I honestly did not know what to expect. However, I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed this anime. They told the story in a very unique way and I thought the plot development was well-thought. The animation was impressive, though there was one bizarre sequence that imitated Japanese watercolors. It was a bit odd but still cool.
That being said, I did have a couple of problems with the film. For one thing, Gorilla Grodd is a Flash villain. They couldn’t have used Prometheus or The Key to fit in the time travel. Also, the ending was a bit overblown. It was very over-the-top even for an animated feature film. I won’t spoil it, but I was blown away, but not in a good way.
Last but not least, I was not impressed with Tony Hale as The Joker. He sounded more like an annoying kid than a master villain. If you can’t get Mark Hamill, get Troy Baker, John DiMaggio, or heck Jeff Bennett to do the character.
One final word, I will say that Roger Craig Smith has really gotten comfortable in the role of The Caped Crusader. A few of his early appearances were a bit shaky, but he has really stepped up his game.
Bottom line, Batman Ninja is all a matter of taste. The story is cool, a bit over the top, and the animation seems off at times, but it is a ton of fun.
FAVORITE QUOTE: Where am I?
PARENTAL CONCERNS: Action Violence, Foul Language
Watch the trailer below:
What did you think? Let me know in the comments below and tell me if there’s a movie, anime, or novel you’d like me to review.