There really isn’t any reason at this stage in The Game for
a major studio to put out so awful a movie, especially on one of its leading
brands. Despite how well established BATMAN is, and how well DC has done with
previous animated features (see Under The Red Hood and Flashpoint), Son of
Batman manages to screw up nearly everything. The lead-up seemed good! I
watched the behind-the-scenes trailer. Every single person on there was
passionate and knowledgeable. So… did none of them have anything to do with
this film? I noticed the credits didn’t make any mention of Bruce Timm. Is
there really no second in all of Warner Bros. to handle this?
I’m all for reinterpretations of characters. But
Deathstroke, master assassin / strategist can’t be transformed into an overly
talkative, supremely incompetent, whiny, loser. The rest of the cast doesn’t
suffer as bad but they each have scenes of acting contrary to their core
ideals. It’s not a case of this character doing things “differently”, it’s that
they act so blindingly stupid it defies any characterization.
Worse than my favorite people getting mishandled is the
wooden everything. It kicks off with a big battle between ninjas with guns and
ninjas with swords. Where, for the most part, they stare at each other. Yes,
the swordsman square off and then cry out in surprise and pain when they’re
shot. The ninjas with guns forget how to use them as soon as they touch ground.
They have automatic weapons yet only fire (once) when some moron lunges for
them. Not even a ninja lunge. The guy just leaps, sword up, knowing he’ll never
bring it down. It’s that level of action throughout. Batman and Robin
surrounded by ninja Man-Bats? Everyone pause to think through the situation. Pull
out grapple gun. Aim. Shoot. Zip away. Man-Bats track. Take off in pursuit at
their leisure. Thrilling.
Deathstroke deserves special mention for being one of the
worst voice actors out there. He is the keystone of Wooden in this stale, “would
swear it was made decades ago”, mess. Everyone else has forgettable dialogue. A
blessing for Damien. Honorary Mention to Talia for the worst seduction scene in
any medium. “I missed you… beloved (lifts leg like Captain Morgan)”.
I need to vent. It doesn’t make any fucking sense for Ras’
to be able to deflect bullets with a sword but lose a sword fight because he’s
not fast enough. It doesn’t make any fucking sense for an eight year old boy to
match strikes with a grown man, WHO IS ALSO ENCHANCED. It doesn’t make any
fucking sense for Deathstroke to dodge under
Damien’s sword slash. The kid is maybe five feet. Doing that limbo garbage was
easier than hopping? No.
The behind-the-scenes trailer discussed, in-depth, the
complex interpersonal relationships each of the main characters has to each
other. On screen they opted to explore none of it. There’s a quick “this is
weird” exchange between Damien, son of Bruce Wayne that he didn’t know about,
and father. I’m sure more can be said. I’m sure more was said in the fucking
graphic novel this was based on. How hard would it be to lift dialogue directly
and plant it into one of the many
scenes of awkward no talking? NOT HARD AT ALL.
I felt, after watching this, the only Justice to come from
it would be if the Director and all the Producers were fired from story-telling
forever.
Thank you for posting my exact thoughts
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure.
ReplyDelete