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| Cool cover art. |
Alright, so here we are. Batman:
Assault on Arkham, which is something of a weird name, since Batman is a
support character. I get that it is supposed to fit into the Batman: Arkham
video game franchise, but seriously if the guy isn’t even in twenty minutes of
the movie, it seems weird that he gets top billing. Also, I find the name
Suicide Squad a little odd. Sure, they go on Suicide Missions but surely there
is name that fits better. Like the Kill Corps or the Murder Men (Women) or the
X-Force. Wait, that last one is taken… Well, whatever, onto the main event.
Brief summary. The Riddler has
apparently made the wrong people super angry, because they sent a hit squad
after him. He’s nearly taken out, but is saved at the last minute by the
brooding billionaire in a bat costume. Batman beats the heck out of the hit squad
and brings Mr. E. Nigma (head shake) back to Arkham Asylum. Naturally, the
person who ordered the hit was pretty upset by this turn of events, and if
there is on person you don’t want to upset in the Government, it’s Amanda
Waller. Waller orders the Suicide Squad to be formed. The squad is comprised
with Villains and Anti-heroes that the Government “acquire.” Mostly from less
than legal means.
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| She doesn't often dirty her own hands, but she'll mess you up through other means. |
What follows is a montage of
Villains doing Villainy things before being picked up by MIB type guys. The
Squad is comprised of seven criminals. Black Spider: a villain/anti-hero that
is basically what would happen if Spider-girl (Spider-man’s daughter from an
alternate timeline) and Punisher had a baby. Captain Boomerang: a weird villain
that mainly harasses the Flash, he uses trick boomerangs and rarely misses.
Harley Quinn: the Joker’s sidekick and abused girlfriend, she’s about as off
kilter as you’d expect. Killer Frost: a frozen corpse of a woman with ice
powers. King Shark: a horrid looking mutant that is believed to be the child of
a Shark God. If you know Batman villains, he’s basically Killer Kroc if he
could breathe underwater, and if you don’t he’s you typical big dumb brute.
KGBeast: Basically think if Captain America was created by the USSR. And
Deadshot: an assassin who claims to never miss and the film's main “protagonist.”
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| The Dysfunctional Duo. |
Waller kidnaps them, implants them
with explosives, and tells them they can work for her in exchange for reduced
sentences or die. Talk about an offer you can’t refuse. KGBeast tries, despite
Deadshot’s assurance that Waller is NOT joking.
It doesn’t end well for him. The now six man team (Four men and two women if
you want to be technical) is charged with getting the Riddler’s cane. According
to Waller it has a flash drive in it with Data on the Suicide Squad. All
past, present, and possible future members are on it, so that serves as added incentive
to get the cane.
I really can’t say anything more
without spoiling the movie so that’s the setup. The team is an interesting mash
up of B and C list villains, the most prominent of them being Deadshot, Harley
Quinn, and Killer Frost. Despite guys like King Shark not being so well know, they get stuff done quickly. The only one I really had a problem with was Captain
Boomerang. I mean, why would you need two marksmen when one of them goes by the
name Deadshot? It’s like getting Hulk and Red Hulk to break something. Or
getting Black Panther and Black Cat to do something stealthy. Overkill right? And
also, Capt. Boomerang is such a lazy bad guy design, he’s just a dude in an
overcoat with a bunch of Boomerangs up his sleeves. It’s just boring.
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| Not sure it's a fair fight. Take Bat's utility belt... And tie one hand behind his back. |
It is interesting that Batman is
mostly a support character in this movie, and yet we still get a pretty good
look into his rather warped psyche. At one point early on in the film King Shark,
in your classic moron has brilliant idea that smart people couldn’t figure out,
suggests that they play yesterday’s security footage to trick anyone watching
into thinking everything is all clear. This
plan works, until Batman finds out. Alfred shows him the footage on the
Bat-computer. In less than a minute Batman notices that these workers are all
on Thursday nights crew and races over to Arkham to find out what’s going on. Who
does that? Crazy Batman that’s who! Why? Cause he’s Batman! That is really the
only reason I can think of.
Assault on Arkham is an excellent
DC animated film. The voice cast is great, they even got Kevin Conroy out of
his “Batman retirement” to be the Dark Knight once again. Deadshot is an
interesting choice for protagonist, since nearly all version of the character I
have seen before is a straight up sociopath with no redeeming qualities. In
this one he’s reworked into an assassin that is using his unique skill set to
provide for his young daughter. For me he’s still really just a jerk but I can
understand why others like him. Joker and Harley’s dysfunctional relationship
is also explored a bit. It’s as weird as you’d think. And Joker, who is in it
for about as long as Batman, of course causes as much mayhem as possible that
fifteen minutes of screen time will allow. Which is quite a lot. I’d recommend it
to any fan of Batman or the Suicide Squad. I'd say it isn't as good as Under the Red Hood but it is a decent enough movie.
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| Captain Boomerang really ruins the shot. Don't know who he is? Here's a hit, he's the guy who looks like he's out for a walk in the fall. |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman:_Assault_on_Arkham
http://moviepilot.com/posts/2014/03/12/suicide-squad-ideas-for-characters-and-story-1269727?lt_source=external,manual#bIeKBL
http://www.comicvine.com/forums/harley-quinn-709/assault-on-arkham-trailer-1555154/
http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2014/06/joker-batman-king-shark-new-batman-assault-arkham-images.html
http://www.theouthousers.com/index.php/reviews/128693-bring-on-the-bad-guys-batman-assault-on-arkham.html
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