Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Batman: Assault on Arkham (2014) Suicide Squad movie - Review

Harley Quinn Deadshot Suicide Squad movie poster wallpaper image screensaver picture

With more and more details being revealed about the upcoming DC Comics superhero picture Suicide Squad, I thought this will be a good time to review the DC Universe Animated Original Movie - Batman: Assault on Arkham.

Directed by Jay Oliva and Ethan Spaulding, the movie features the voices of Kevin Conroy as Batman, Troy Baker as The Joker, Hynden Walch as Harley Quinn/Harleen Quinzel, Neal McDonough as Deadshot/Floyd Lawton, Jennifer Hale as Killer Frost, Greg Ellis as Captain Boomerang, Giancarlo Esposito as  Black Spider and John DiMaggio as King Shark.

The plot goes like this: Suicide Squad is a group of killers/mercenaries who are (forcefully) recruited by Amanda Waller (C.C.H. Pounder) to complete covert missions. In this movie, Waller wants the Riddler (Matthew Gray Gubler) killed due to some information he holds about the squad members.

Batman saves his life from one of Waller's attempts and has him sent to Arkham Aslyum. Hence, the need to assemble the Suicide Squad and have them assassinate Riddler.


The Joker Suicide Squad movie Batman Assault on Arkham DC Universe Animated Original Movie


Complicating things is the fact that The Joker (currently in Arkham Asylum) has a ticking time bomb hidden somewhere that will bring destruction to Gotham city.

Batman's efforts to locate and defuse the bomb brings him into conflict with the Suicide Squad.

Without revealing any further information, I will direct the readers to check out this movie.

Before watching the movie, all I knew about it was that it focused on a team of assassins who also happened to be Batman villains. That this was a movie based on The Dark Knight, but with limited screen-time for Batman himself. I was a bit skeptical if the movie would be any good...


Kevin Conroy Batman Assault on Arkham Suicide Squad movie DC Animated Original DCAU Movie

Yes, I was in for a big surprise. This is hands downs one of the best DC Animated Original (DCAU) Movies in a long time.

While the concept of a movie that focuses too much of relatively lesser known characters (and villains to boot) in the DC Universe might sound foolhardy, Batman: Assault on Arkham comes out firing on all cylinders.

It has all the trademarks of a well-done DC Animated movie - great voice-work, amazing action sequences and superb animation. The plot has enough twists and turns to further add value to the movie watching experience.

The movie has a more mature tone and content. I love the way DCAU has differentiated itself from the more kid-friendly fare regularly dished out by Marvel Studios.

There are a number of other DC characters who make cameo appearances, but I will leave it unspoiled for the readers to experience it first hand.

Click on the link below to buy your copy of the movie:



Check out the trailer below:



If the upcoming live action movie Suicide Squad can capture even half of the fun quotient of this animated movie, we are in for a real treat.

Superman: The Movie (1978) launched the Superhero movie genre in Hollywood and Tim Burton's Batman (1989) continued to wow audiences all over the world.

Though Joel Schumacher almost killed off the Batman movie franchise in 1997, Chris Nolan brought back fun to the DC Movies with Batman Begins (2005). Chris Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy, is widely considered to be one of the best Superhero movie series ever put on screen.

Warner Bros./DC Comics hit a rough patch with the disappointing Man of Steel

The recently released teaser trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice looks promising so far with Ben Affleck's bulked up Batman alone being worth a look in the theatres. In addition, we have Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman and Ray Fisher's Cyborg.

We then saw the image of Jared Leto as The Joker and a couple of days back David Ayer provided us our first look at the entire squad.


Suicide Squad 2016 live action team group photo comparison animated movie Batman Assault on Arkham 2014

Click here to read my thoughts on the recently released Comic Con Trailer for the movie.

The standout is obviously Margot Robbit as Harley Quinn. She seems to be very much in character. Will Smith looks sad as Deadshot. Perhaps, he will be the most humane character of the group with a heavy emphasis on his background and his daughter (who is seen in this movie too).

In addition, Ben Affleck and Jared Leto will be appearing as Bruce Wayne/Batman and The Joker respectively.

DC Comics has been enjoying enormous success on the Television with The Flash, Gotham and Arrow. Hopefully they will retain their successful streak on the big screen as well, with these upcoming movies.

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Image Sources: DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Premiere, Atlas Entertainment, Dune Entertainment, Lin Pictures

Friday, May 1, 2015

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) - Review

Avengers Age of Ultron movie review recap poster image wallpaper picture robert downey jr marvel cinematic universe

This post contains spoilers. Readers who wish to avoid plot points/details are recommended to skip the review.

Joss Whedon is back to direct this sequel to the global blockbuster The Avengers (2012).

The movie opens with our team of heroes taking down a Hydra stronghold somewhere in Europe. We meet two new super-powered individuals, the twins: Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson).

Scarlet Witch can play tricks with people's minds and Quicksilver can run really fast. They seem to have been granted their powers through experimentation by Hydra agents led by Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann).

The siblings have a grudge against Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.). Wanda puts a spell on Tony who gets to work right away and with the help of fellow scientist Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), creates Ultron (voiced by James Spader).


Click on the link below to buy the blockbuster movie:




Tony intends Ultron to be the saviour of Earth. Ultron has plans of his own and overcomes Jarvis (Paul Bettany) and takes the physical form of a muscular robot. With the help of the Maximoff twins, Ultron unleashes havoc on the Avengers.

Fights ensue, alliances are forged and the Avengers save the day.

The most noticeable aspect of the movie is the sheer number of characters present it features. In addition to the titular heroes and the twins, we have a new android The Vision (again played by Paul Bettany). Then there are the supporting players: Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), James Rhodes / War Machine (Don Cheadle) and Sam Wilson / The Falcon (Anthony Mackie)

To top it off, we have cameos by Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), Heimdall (Idris Elba) and Erik Selvig (Stellan SkarsgÃ¥rd) and of course Stan Lee.

On the side of the bad guys, in addition to the main baddie Ultron, we have Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis). Granted that Ulysses is on-screen for a few minutes and will probably be seen again in the upcoming Black Panther movie. Which brings us to the next point....


Ulysses Klaw Klaue Andy Serkis Avengers Age of Ultron

This movie serves the same purposes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as Iron Man 2 - as a setup for the next slate of movies. And it suffers from the same drawbacks as the second Iron Man movie did. The plot takes a backseat to a number of characters and events that do not add any value to this movie, but will make sense in Phase 3 of MCU movies.

A good example being Andy Serkis' character, Ulysses Klaw (pronounced Ulysses Klaue in the movie). As comic book fans know, Klaw is an antagonist of Black Panther, the superhero who is debuting in Captain America: Civil War (2016) and also has a solo movie due in 2018. Similar to the comics, Klaue loses his hand but due to the yet-to-debut Black Panther, but at the hands of Ultron.

On the acting front, Chris Hemsworth has a lot of fun as Thor. He gets to add some humor to the proceedings. The sequence involving his hallucinations however leave a lot to be desired. Perhaps, the director's cut will have the necessary scenes for it to make sense.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Godzilla) continues to turn in yet another bland performance. His Quicksilver is nowhere as charismatic as the one superbly portrayed by Evan Peters in X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. can play these roles in their sleep and they fit the parts as expected.


The Vision Avengers Age of Ultron Paul Bettany JARVIS

After voicing Tony Stark's AI J.A.R.V.I.S. for the past several years, Paul Bettany finally gets some screentime as the android, Vision. His physical appearance though looks quite absurd with the yellow cape. I can understand the underlying intention to stay true to the comics, but a little bit of rework would have done wonders.

The interesting character developments are reserved for Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and  Bruce Banner/The Hulk. The budding romance between Black Widow and The Hulk looks forced and ends as abruptly as it begins. Hawkeye gets a family, but these scenes come off as corny.

Joss Whedon repeats many of the plot elements from the first movie:
1. McGuffin – Tesseract and now Loki’s scepter
2. Mind control - Loki and now Scarlet Witch
3. Resulting infighting among team members - Last time, it was Iron Man vs Thor. This time, Iron Man faces off against The Hulk
4. Enemy of alien nature – Loki and Chitauri army then; Ultron and his army of robots now
5. Similar climax - Avengers fighting a vast army of faceless enemies in a city environment.
6. Mid-credits scene - Like the first movie, this time too Thanos appears and reminds us that he is the main villain in the MCU.

I guess Marvel's motto is: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

This is Whedon's swan song in the MCU. The Russo brothers (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) will be directing the next Captain America movie and the two Avengers sequels (Avengers: Infinity War - Part I, Avengers: Infinity War - Part II).


Iron Man Hulkbuster armor Hulk fight in Avengers Age of Ultron

Joss scores points for the Iron Man-Hulk face off. Personally speaking, this is undoubtedly the highlight of the movie. This is an instant classic and will be remembered for quite some time.

If only he had put more efforts into the plot. But then, the Disney-Marvel movie factory probably proved too much even for a director of the caliber of Joss Whedon.

Marvel/Avengers fans will lap this one up. Casual movie goers will probably enjoy this as well, depending on their ability to leave their brains at the door.


Ultron Scarlet Witch Quicksilver Avengers Age of Ultron

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Image Source: Marvel Studios