Batman: Assault on Arkham Review

The new animated DC comics release Batman: Assault on Arkham is latest release which is set in the Videogame universe of Arkham Asylum after the game Arkham Origins. However the film focuses not on Batman himself but on the "Suicide Squad". A small governmental task force of supervillains including: Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, whose skills are utilised to the dirty work of the government. After  recent disappointments of Son of Batman and Justice Leage: War, this is a triumphan return to form. Some spoilers to follow.

The whole film parallels a heist set up, where a rag tag group of eccentric criminals are summoned together by Amanda Waller in order to break in to Arkham Asylum to retrieve classified information. The team is forced to complete the mission otherwise they will lose their lives. This forces the members to work together (with varying degrees of success) to complete the mission, even if they personally they do not get on at all. Stylised introductions to each team member showcasing their individual personalities and give some idea of their abilities. Whilst Harley Quinn and Deadshot may be more well known to general audiences, other members of the team; Killer Frost, King Shark, Captain Boomerang and Black Spider, are less likely to have been heard of before. It is good to see these more peripheral DC universe comics get exposure.

Eat your heart out Avengers!

As with all heist premise films there are tense moments when it looks like the mission will be a failure, this is further amplified due to the tension between the team members. It is also the part of the film where the different storylines begin to come together between Task-Force X and the peripheral characters, forcing the team members to decide whether they want to work together or try back stab each other.
                                                  
All the voice acting here is superb, Kevin Conroy and Troy Baker reprise their excellent roles as Batman and the Joker respectively. Although this film includes Batman and the Joker, they are not the stars of the film. They act out as a back drop for the story to progress at certain points. The real stars are the "bad-guys" in Task-Force X. All of the voice actors have done a great job and convey the characters perfectly. Each of the members of Task-Force has at least two or three moments to shine.

Take your daughter to work day offers unique experiences

A criticism levelled at Son of Batman was that the characters displayed did not represent their comic counterparts, however in Assault on Arkham this is simply not the case. The whole movie works because the characters act similar to what you would expect them too. For example: Amanda Waller is calculating, Deadshot will do anything to save his own skin. Killer Frost puts herself before her team mates. Furthermore the interactions between the characters are great, in particular those involving Deadshot/Captain Boomerang and Harley Quinn which provide some of the films best moments. The film is successful in evoking similar style and tone to the excellent Secret Six series run by Gail Simone.

Will they? Won't They? Masculine Tension!

                                                    
This is the best DC movie since Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox. This is a film that is enjoyable, has good scripted action scenes and is genuinely funny. The trailer stated that you would root to the bad guys, and by the end of the film I certainly was! A wonderful return to form  for DC Animations.