Movie Review: Batman and Harley Quinn is Adult Nostalgia
Batman and Harley Quinn finds Poison Ivy and Jason Woodrue (a.k.a. The Floronic Man) embarking on an ecological quest to save the planet – and, unfortunately, eliminate most of humankind along the way. To save humanity, Batman and Nightwing are forced to enlist Harley Quinn to catch Poison Ivy, Harley’s BFF and frequent partner-in-crime. But Batman’s patience is put to the test by the unpredictable and untrustworthy Harley during the twists and turns the reluctant companions face during their bumpy road trip.
Batman and Harley Quinn, the latest addition to Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment’s original animated movies is a fascinating one in that it takes the style of Batman the Animated Series and New Batman Adventures but brings with it a much more adult tone to a point where one’s left scratching their head as to who the film is for.
There’s a scene where Harley may or may not rape Nightwing (I guess he consented?), winks and nods to vibrators, a few jokes about Batman and Nightwing being physically into each other, and a hell lot more and the humor and talk within left my jaw agape at times as to what was presented. A scene involving Harley hot boxing the Batmobile to force a bathroom stop is rather puerile humor. Now, I know BTAS wasn’t always for the kids but a lot of this movie is clearly not… like it feels about half. It’s weird in that sense like the creators were aiming for a grown up audience but at the same time didn’t totally commit and threw a little in for kids.
The story itself is decent though the ending feels a little rushed. There’s some good action, some good humor, and the pacing is ok, with some dragging in the middle.
The voice cast led by Kevin Conroy (Batman: The Animated Series) reprising his role as the Dark Knight, alongside Melissa Rauch (The Big Bang Theory) making her debut as the irrepressible Harley Quinn. Loren Lester, the voice of Robin in Batman: The Animated Series, returns as Nightwing. Paget Brewster (Criminal Minds) and Kevin Michael Richardson (The Cleveland Show) provide the voices of the villainous duo Poison Ivy & Jason Woodrue, respectively.
All are solid when it comes to voices though Rauch’s take on Harley is very different from the classic BTAS. With a classic animated look and the different voice, it takes some time getting used to it but it works with a blending of some of the various takes we’ve seen before.
This is a tough movie as there’s some to like, the animation is great, but the story itself lacks in many ways with a story that doesn’t know what it wants to be. Is it geared towards adults who grew up on the animated series? Is it geared towards kids? Scenes like farting in the Batmobile and Harley and Nightwing hooking up (and subsequent discussion about it) are in direct contradiction of each other and present an animated film that is a conundrum in enjoyment.
Overall Rating: 5.0
It’s the team-up we’ve been dreaming of as the cute psychopath Harley Quinn joins the brooding Dark Knight for a brand-new Digital First comic series, Harley Quinn and Batman. The series, from Batman: The Animated Series writer Ty Templeton and artist Rick Burchett, is an exciting new five-chapter prequel adventure to the Batman And Harley Quinn animated film coming out this August from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.
Celebrating a decade of DC Universe Original Movie world premieres in San Diego, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will once again give fans their first look at an all-new animated feature with the presentation of Batman and Harley Quinn on the Friday night (July 21, 2017) of Comic-Con International.
A looming global catastrophe forces Batman and Nightwing to partner with an unlikely hero in Batman and Harley Quinn, the next entry in the popular series of DC Universe Original Movies. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment, the all-new, feature-length animated film arrives August 15 on Digital and August 29 on Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray Deluxe Giftset, Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD.
