With cinemas still closed and all the major films delayed indefinitely, 2020 is not an ideal year for cinephiles. However, it is especially bad for comic book-movie fans since Black Widow, Wonder Woman 1984, and Venom 2 have all been delayed to 2021. The only comic book movie released this year, Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey, performed worse at the box office than any other DCEU movie. However, people often overlook a whole other genre when it comes to comic book movies: the animated ones. In fact, DC released two critically praised animated movies this year itself.
Animated movies cost a fraction than a live-action blockbuster. This allows filmmakers to experiment and take risks. DC is known for taking this risk and adapting unique storylines like Superman overthrowing Joseph Stalin as the dictator of the Soviet or Batman hunting down Jack the Ripper in Victorian England. In my opinion, the DC Animated movies are far better than the DCEU movies. There are also tons of more characters and interesting storylines. Some of my favorites are Batman: Under the Red Hood and Justice League: Doom. However, today, I want to talk about Batman: Assault on Arkham.
This movie is highly underrated; it is usually placed in the middle of most rankings and it has most critics divided. It is often overshadowed by other DC animated movies and doesn’t get talked about as often as it should be. It is one of the only two movies that doesn’t have a Justice League member as the lead, the other one being Hell to Pay. Batman: Assault on Arkham is essentially a Suicide Squad movie as the plot is mainly driven by Deadshot, Harley Quinn, and other members of the Task Force X. It is a part of the Arkhamverse and borrows the design and themes of various character and locations. The most noticeable ones are the Arkham Asylum and the Penguin hideout.
Although this movie is only an hour and fifteen minutes long, it is packed with a lot of action and themes: a Batman vs. The Suicide Squad fight scene, Riddler’s Enigma, Joker, and Harley’s toxic relationship, and much more. It has everything that the 2016 Suicide Squad lacked. Even though this movie is packed with characters, it gives enough time for each character to have memorable moments. My favorite part about this movie is the clever humor and meta-humor, arguably a defining feature of DC. There are some valid criticisms that people have about this movie. The movie feels to diverge a lot from the main objective and the finale keeps shifting. However, I believe that is how a Suicide Squad should be. Things are destined to divert from the plan when you call in Taskforce X. We rarely get to see Harley Quinn work without Mr. J. or Deadshot lead a team. This movie does all of those things right while simultaneously having two different subplots.
Animated movies are generally regarded as “for the kids” movies. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth, especially when it comes to the DC animated movies. There are some pretty dark themes in the story and the filmmakers don’t hesitate to explore the serious elements in their movies. In my opinion, animated movies are able to build stronger characters than their live-action counterparts. And above all, there is something for everyone. Did you like Joker (2019)? Then, I’m sure you’ll like The Killing Joke. If you want to see Batman and Superman face-off one another, watch The Dark Knight Returns. While we wait for James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad (yes, I’m sure that title won’t cause any confusion), I suggest you give Batman: Assault on Arkham and other DC animated movies a try.
4/5 STARS