I'm struggling to find a reason to really like Assault on Arkham; Kevin Conroy back as Batman would be a positive if it wasn't for the fact Batman is a secondary character in his own movie. Yes instead of a Batman film like the title suggests; we get a film about the suicide squad! "Who are the suicide squad?" Well as the movie quickly tells you its a team of super-villains blackmailed into working for the government via bombs planted in the back of their necks. their mission is to infiltrate Arkham Asylum and retrieve a data stick containing hidden information on government secrets by the Riddler. If your thinking "Man that sounds interesting" you'd be half right. The film struggles to make us really care about the suicide squad, Deadshot is the only character given tiny glimpses of back story, so when poo hits the fan, you're not entirely invested in what happens. The action and Animation are the real stars of the film, however both Harley Quinn and Killer Frost enjoyed taking their clothes off a little too much, not that its such a bad thing but they were animated and designed was in such a way that you begin to wonder if the director was enjoying their "womanly curves" a little too much. The real disappointment was how often batman was in the film, which was hardly at all, it was almost as if the writer forgot what the movie was called and had to re-write dialogue between Batman and other characters, all of it was largely forgettable. So, is the film worth any of your monies, short answer; no. Long answer, this is the most forgettable of all the DC animated movies, strong animation and Kevin Conroy aren't enough to make this worth a viable purchase.

Once again, DC/Warner's has outdone itself with a quality product and yet another installment in the Batman legend. I'll start by saying that I've never played the games. I'm strictly into the videos, so I can't talk about series arcs or what have you. This particular video, pushes the envelope in a lot of ways. The basic story has a band of misfits led by Deadshot (and includes Harley "Yahtzee!" Quinn, Black Spider, Captain Boomerang, Killer Frost and others) break into Arkham in order to retrieve the Riddler's cane. Along the way, the Joker gets into the act, spreading his own version of mayhem and threatening to spread the lives of Gotham City's citizens all over the map due to a dirty bomb he's hidden somewhere. The Suicide Squad spends as much time fighting amongst its own as it does Batman. Still, Batman triumphs, and things work out in the end. There are a number of things to like and find fault with. First, the good. The voices are excellent for the most part. Kevin Conroy IS Batman. There have been other voice actors who've done the role, but Mr. Conroy is the man. CCH Pounder reprises her role as Amanda Waller and she's terrific. Hynden Walch also shines as Harley and almost gets the voice (originally done by Arleen Sorkin) down perfect. The actor who plays Joker--Troy Baker--captures the villain's gleeful mania quite well although I still think of Mark Hamill as THE Joker--and Jennifer Hale as Killer Frost is always welcome. The only drawback is Neal McDonough as Floyd Lawton/Deadshot. He sounds too generic. Michael Rosenbaum's version had more of a Kevin Spacey/smarmy quality to it and that's what's lacking. The animation is also excellent. To me, it was like a cross between the old Justice League episodes and the 'Deadshot' episode in Batman: Gotham Knight. Fluid and smooth, the action never stops and the director keeps his camera on the principal characters to show them in their best light. The bad...the music is jarring at times. Techno-pop is so not right for this kind of movie. As above, the character of Deadshot should have been a lot smarmier, but I'm carping now. The violence is a little above what I expected, and the film pushes the envelope with almost nudity and one sex scene--"Yahtzee!"--that is sure to give some parents fits. I was also a little surprised to hear them swear. I'd heard it in Justice League: War, and thought it a little odd. I'm no prude and I swear as much as the next guy, but it seemed out of place on this video. That's why older kids/teenagers and adults would be the best audience for this movie. Overall, I give this a ten and recommend it to serious DC/Batman fans.

It's really not that big of a surprise to find out that "Batman: Assault on Arkham" is a much better Suicide Squad movie than the one with Jai Courtney (Captain Boomerang), Jerod Leto ("The Joker), Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn) and Will Smith. I mean, duh?! We should've seen this coming, but I guess not. But yeah, everything that was literally wrong with the live-action "Suicide Squad" movie, this movie actually made up for as DC and Warner Bros.' way of saying, "We're sorry" to the fans. Bottom-line, if you want to see a really good Suicide Squad movie, don't watch the live-action version. Go watch this movie instead. It deserves a lot more attention. 10 out of 10 stars.

Alright I'll start off with this, this movie is a prequel to Batman Arkham Asylum, and it was one hell of a good movie! The most of the original voice actors are back, except for Mark Hamill and a few others, but Troy Baker pulls it off again as The Joker. If you're a big fan of the game series then you'll love this movie, and even if you have't played any of the games, this movie would be a great start! As for the movie itself, its very action packed, the animation is great and it's violent as hell, just like the games. The only problem I had with this is that the movie was too short roughly at about 75 minutes, I know its not less but for something of this scale, a longer movie would have been more enjoyable and fun to watch.

Based on a video game I haven't played, this animated movie is about the Suicide Squad, not Batman. Despite the title, Bats is a supporting character here. Still, it's nice to have Kevin Conroy back as Batman and Mark Hamill as Joker. Hamill gets the only good lines in this thing. The animation is unimpressive and flat. The characters' costume designs are uncreative and drab. More of the great New 52 supposed realism, I guess. Bats has pupils on his mask. It's distracting and stupid. Penguin has turned into Bob Hoskins for some reason. Most of the characters dress in the bland style of the times: casual meets military meets emo. It's very colorless and uninteresting. In keeping with the direction the DCAU has been headed recently, the content here is "adult." Harley Quinn and Killer Frost wear next-to-nothing throughout the film and even wear NOTHING in some scenes. Harley bites off a woman's ear and we see the bloody ear in her mouth. We also get exploding heads and more gunfights than a Schwarzenegger movie. New 52, y'all! This is not for kids, in case you're one of those unsuspecting parents out there who still thinks cartoons with comic book characters are for all ages. Here's my beef with this stuff: I'm fine with creating these things for an adult audience. But these stories aren't written for adults; they're dumb, predictable, and full of clichés (playing security footage on a loop, infiltrating the group by pretending to be the only one of them wearing a mask, etc.). There's cursing, partial nudity, blood, and violence galore but the script is tired. The characters posture and spout tough guy lines constantly. The only thing "adult" about it is the crass sex and violence thrown in for titillation. This is pretty much just for masturbatory thirteen year-old boys or those who think like them. Hardcore fanboys will likely enjoy it. Judging by the current IMDb score, they do. But this is just one more example that DC Comics, in animation or print, doesn't care about appealing to anyone but the lowest common denominator.

It's weird that you'll ever find yourself rooting for the bad guys to win and "Assault on Arkham" makes you do this exactly. The film introduces you to an ensemble of villains, given an objective that depends on their lives. You find yourself quite absorbed in the plot and the characters as they interact with each other (not always harmoniously), almost wanting to see them succeed when going to the lengths that they do. If you're turning this film on expecting it to be a "Batman" film then you may be disappointed to know that he only appears for a few minutes at a time and that the central focus actually lies on the Suicide Squad, but, knowing this in advance allows you to enjoy and appreciate the film a lot more. Thankfully, I was informed of this beforehand and equally loved seeing either Batman or his adversaries on-screen, therefore making it all the more exciting to see them all appear at once at the same time. The animation and art style is great and superb voice acting by Kevin Conroy (Batman), Troy Baker (The Joker), Neal McDonough (Deadshot) and pretty much everyone else; they really bring the characters to life, especially Conroy who has been voicing the caped crusader for decades and practically knows the character inside out. My only issue with "Batman: Assault on Arkham" is that it is too short, especially when the film gets going in the final act and has a lot to potentially offer but doesn't really have the time or room to explore. This is a good animated film and definitely worth the watch if you're a Batman fan, especially if you're familiar with the "Batman: Arkham" video game series.

Villains get the spotlight in BATMAN: ASSAULT ON ARKHAM, a loose prequel set before the critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham Asylum video game. A black ops mission to assassinate the Riddler is foiled by Batman, prompting CIA operative Amanda Waller to assemble "Task Force X", aka The Suicide Squad. Morally ambiguous Vigilante Black Spider, seductive ice queen Killer Frost, savage brute King Shark, Australian scoundrel Captain Boomerang, crazy Harley Quinn and the cynical assassin Deadshot. These sociopathic misfits have to put aside their differences to work together, lest they "lose their heads". Playing out like a good ol fashioned heist film in the vein of THE Italian JOB or OCEAN'S ELEVEN, we see six villains assembled by Amanda Waller and sent on a mission impossible deep into the heart of the dreaded Arkham Asylum to retrieve a thumb drive containing sensitive information, that was in the Riddler's possession. From the electronic heavy rock soundtrack to the Taratino-esque roll call opening credits sequence, you know you are in for a completely different animated movie. The fun begins when we get to see how well these bad guys play off one another in a script that is chock full of dark humour and depth. Although each villain does not get much development, we do get a "keynotes" look into their personalities, their motivations and their minds as the brisk pace of the movie sprints from action scene to action scene. Their roles in the team are familiar archetypes for classic villain teams: the alpha male leader (Deadshot), the butt monkey backstabber (Captain Boomerang), the dumb muscle (King Shark), the seductress (Killer Frost), the mysterious odd one out (Black Spider), and the psycho (Harley Quinn). Yet in this familiarity comes the opportunity for the characters to truly shine thanks to some magnificent chemistry and voice acting. Alas, for a title named "Batman: Assault on Arkham" the titular Batman plays a supporting, almost cameo, role. But when he does appear, he exhibits a powerful on screen presence. Those barely visible eyes staring intensely from within the cowl, the new look of the costume which blends the dark blue streamlined design of Justice League Unlimited with the armoured detailing of New 52, not to mention the return of the classic Batman voice Kevin Conroy. But I digress. Batman is not the focus here, the Suicide Squad is. And they get one hell of a 75 minute showcase. Throughout the movie, you get a sense that some of the team members have their own agenda and secrets. What looks like a crazy outburst turns out to be a well calculated distraction for example. This movie keeps you guessing and keeps the tension up from start to finish. Like previous DC Animated movies, ASSAULT ON ARKHAM does not shy away from bloody violence or semi-sexual depictions. The near nudity, the blood letting, it is insane, threading close to an "R" rating. Action is smooth, fluid, with a very high budget quality which combines detailed artwork with dynamic animation. Visually, Moi Animation studios have outdone themselves once again delivering top notch animation that surpasses many of their Japanese anime counterparts. For quick comparison, take a look at the animation on SON OF BATMAN done by Japanese anime studio "TheAnswerStudio" and then compare it to the visuals in BATMAN ASSAULT ON ARKHAM. No contest. BATMAN ASSAULT ON ARKHAM was a risky experiment, but an experiment that pays off. Edgy but fun, dark but not brooding, intense but not shallow. There seem to be things you can do on screen and a dark sense of fun you get with villains instead of heroes. Here I am hoping that DC would consider releasing a villain centric animated movie for every two hero centric movies per year. The DC rogues gallery needs to be tapped and tapped well. This is a good star

Batman is a real badass, the Joker is a total wacko, Harley Quinn is hot. What else do you need? No but seriously, Aussault on Arkham did many things right, the characters are fun (especially Boomerang who is the major comic relief in this movie, the Joker and of course Quinn), the action is pretty awesome and there were some very fine One-Liners also. What I liked the most was the very mature style of the movie, there is blood spilled, heads are blown of and teeth get punched in but nothing is never totally over the top (as many already said it's very surprising Assault on Arkham was rated PG-13 and not R). Altogether I liked: -gritty style -mature humor -well animated action/fight scenes -actuall plot surprises -real fight consequences (villains DIE, and don't flee with a black eye) -GREAT voice acting Now for the things I did not like: -not enough Joker (yes his role was pretty major but it was not quite enough screen time for my taste) -overall to short (71 mins? really?)

Bat 2

pp