Review: Batman Ninja (2018)
★★★★
Bursting with imaginative visuals, exhausting the potential of its bizarre premise, and embodying a love for both the Batman mythos and the anime style, “Batman Ninja” rises to the ranks of the best of the DC Universe Original movies. This artistically bold take on the character has endless reserves of creative swagger, which makes for a refreshing departure from the often uninspired animation in these movies. And taking a totally surrealist attitude to the Batman mythos is a smart choice markedly distinct from most modern day takes on the character.
“Batman Ninja” leans too heavily on action in the second half, but it does so in ridiculously epic fashion. Hilariously demonstrative of this movie’s commitment to awing the audience at any cost is an extended battle sequence between a giant mecha made of all the villains’ respective lairs and a giant late-30s looking Batman made of the combined efforts of thousands of monkeys and bats. Seriously.
The voice acting is quite impressive too. Tony Hale as Joker is something I never knew I needed in my life. And Roger Craig Smith’s performance captures a kind of raw and determined heroism that perfectly fits Batman for this elseworlds tale. Reinterpreting Batman as a prophesied savior whose ancient legends spawned a group of bat ninjas is a playful and loving spin on the character that is very reminiscent of the Sons of Batman from “The Dark Knight Returns,” especially when the ninja army arrives to the battle on horseback.
This movie’s visual style cannot be praised enough. It looks nothing like any Batman story ever told. The ancient Japanese settings are sprawling and gorgeous. The character designs are meticulously detailed and novel, yet immediately recognizable. The animation is somehow gentle and gritty at the same time. Sometimes scenes are drawn to reflect the emotional feelings of the characters rather than abiding by any sort of stylistic consistency. A particularly strange scene involving a (somewhat tedious) subplot with Joker looks like a minimalist pastel painting. And despite their overabundance, the action scenes are always stunning and visually distinct, even the small-scale ones.
The creators of “Batman Ninja” were seemingly never thinking of a sequel, knowing full well this was a stand alone story in the long history of Batman that only needed to be told once. And for that, they deserve credit. Rather than trying to milk this premise for subsequent installments, the creators go all-out and include everything but the kitchen sink in this one, which makes for a unique and unpredictable experience. By approaching its source material with pure chutzpa and boldly reimagining an 80+ year-old character, “Batman Ninja” is forever endeared to me.
