The Dissection returns to the animated world of Batman, Robin, and the screwed up world of Gotham City. Namely, after the events of SON OF BATMAN, involving Bruce’s Big Show-like son Damien, and making the gang of Ra’s Al Ghul look like punks. Well, there’s a new foe arriving, a new shadowy organization returning, and it involves Batman having to fight undead zombies and maintaining a big mecha suit. Wait, this feels familiar…..
The Story
Damian Wayne has a hard time accepting his father’s no-killing rule, and soon starts to believe his destiny lies within a secret society.
The Cast
Jason O’Mara as Batman. Aside from playing Bats in DC films like JUSTICE LEAGE WAR, SON OF BATMAN, & JL: THRONE OF ATLANTIS, he was the original actor for Wesker in the RESIDENT EVIL films.
Stuart Allen as Robin. Played Robin in the last movie, as well as Russell in TRANSFORMERS:ROBOTS IN DISGUISE.
Jeremy Sisto as Talon. Has appeared on LAW & ORDER, WRONG TURN, and CLUELESS.
Grey Delisle as Samantha. Aside from voicing nearly every promenant animated Redhead in the new millennium, she also played Catwoman in the ARKHAM games.
The Dissection
BATMAN VS ROBIN continues a bit on what SON OF BATMAN built up, namely the relationship of Bruce Wayne and his newly revealed son, Damien. Raised as an assassin and with a big ol’ taste for vengeance, you have the son of the man known as Batman. Now, in this story that is based on the recent big COURT OF OWL storyline from the BATMAN comic series, we see Bruce and Damian’s relationship move forward
While the last film was more a disappointment that was just slept through, this entry in this film is actually better, although it does feel a bit lazy in parts as well. A lot of the parts from the first film return much better polished than the second. Alfred, for one, is no longer acting as the sarcasm generator he was in the first, going more toward his role as the father figure for Bruce and trying to help him deal with his own family issues. Nightwing’s appearance has more weight as well, and how his reaction to Damien cools and changes as the movie goes on. Damien himself has gone from a big brat to the big brat with actual development and inner conflict. Even the villains do have a lot of good build up, although the movie kind of just sidesteps that by the third act to change the main villain. More on that later.
Batman & Robin
To be honest, that sums up the issue with the film, in that apart from the story, it’s very much inconsistent in the atmosphere. The opening scene builds this suspenseful meeting with the Dollmaker, played surprisingly by “Weird” Al Yankovic, and this dark atmosphere of mind destroyed children and how utterly twisted he is for interacting with them, but it also involve crazy mask wearing children doing acrobatic flips and kung fu kicks on Robin. You have Batman getting stabbed, gutted and left for dead in one scene, and the other scene right after has his getting the DDP-style rib tape applied to him to heal. The same thing even happens with the main antagonist, where the Court of Owls is built up as this shadowy organization who are pulling the strings in this city, and then they end up getting written out of the movie for the equivalent of a samurai Punisher.
The tone in the movie is similar to both SON OF BATMAN and the ASSAULT ON ARKHAM films, with a good amount of blood and violence in the film akin to, plus a post-sex scene for that “sexual content” part of the rating as a bonus. With the main henchmen being undead, it gives this film the change for Batman to go crazy in his fights and do more to end fights, because undead don’t count as kills. Even with that, though, it never feels mature like it did in the opening, that features more disturbing matter without having as much blood and violence.
On to the DVD, one aspect this film does not do anything to improve over SON OF BATMAN is the extras. Bare menus and dull visuals for the menus as well, and featuring only other film trailers as well as a video for the upcoming feature featuring a villainous Justice League in JUSTICE LEAGUE: GODS & MONSTERS. Bruce Timm was even there to hype up the series as a better version of a New 52 reboot, and mention how taboo superheros killing is. It seems like an attempt to reference the backlash from the MAN OF STEEL film, although considering moments of heroes killing, especially on Bruce Timm-led shows, have had better reaction than that.
The Verdict
BATMAN VS ROBIN does a good bit to improve on the previous film’s failures to develop itself as a solid entry.