As one of DC’s most popular characters, Batman has no shortage of excellent story arcs. In recent years though, none have kept me on the edge of my seat quite like Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s run on Batman featuring the Court of Owls. It seemed like the glimmering diamond in the New 52, and when Batman vs Robin was first announced, it seemed like my dreams had true; Court of Owls and the Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason run of Batman & Robin would finally be melded into one animated feature. It’s DC Animation; their track record is solid. What could possibly go wrong?
Story
When the script was being written, I’m not sure if the source material was consulted. While certainly not a bad story by any means, it just doesn’t do either book justice. Once more most of the big reveals and plot twists were largely ignored. What’s worse, the meaning of each book was also lost in translation. What you are left with however is a pretty solid addition to the DC Animation movies; honestly it was one of the better stories, though it just felt like the diet version of each of my favorite books.
So, the basic synopsis without spoiling any of fun is essentially you have Damian Wayne integrating into the Wayne household. As shown before in Son of Batman, Damian and Bruce see things differently. Damian was trained by the League of Assassins, so safe to say, he might be a tad aggressive. That’s not to say that he’s not learning. Batman has taught him a lot, and you can see it in his actions. That being said, Damian’s feeling a little conflicted and trapped. With Batman not fully trusting him yet, he’s confined to Wayne Manor. Wanting to spread his wings a bit Damian has a run in with the Court of Owls, specifically a Talon. I’m not going to go into too much detail, but the Court has a “burn all the bad away” type of mentality. Damian must choose: Court of Owls or Batman.
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Visuals
Okay, if the budget was spent anywhere it was in the animation and overall look of the movie. The artwork was top notch, and what really stuck out was the attention to details during the fight scenes. Each fight was seriously epic and never felt stale in any way. Each fight appeared to have a lot of thought going into each character’s stance and how they would handle the situation.
Sound
With anything that Andrea Romano touches, there is voice-acting gold. Certainly Batman vs Robin continues this streak. While I wasn’t sold completely on Batman, at times I was surprised, especially when it came to talks with Damian. He seemed to understand the character and emoted very well. The highlight for me was with Damian. It’s an interesting take on the character. I often forget just how young Damian is supposed to be. In regards of the SFX, the fight scenes certainly had plenty to play with. Everything sounded great and it really added a touch of realism to those very epic fight scenes.
Overall
Now if you haven’t read the Batman Court of Owls stories, you will probably love this film. If you are a hardcore Bat reader, there is still a lot to enjoy, but you may pay attention to too many details. It’s not my favorite of the DC Animated movies, but it’s certainly one of the betters ones. It’s more than worth a watch.