Director: Chris Palmer
Cast: Jensen Ackles, Josh Duhamel, Naya Rivera, Billy Burke
Have I Seen it Before: So, it’s an odd thing. Where to begin? I’ve seen <Batman: The Long Halloween - Part I (2021)>, but never watched the second part. Cut to a year later, and I picked up the deluxe edition—containing both parts 1 and 2–so it’s an unusual situation to answer the question which starts all of these reviews with a resounding “sort of.” Oddly enough, ever since <The Flash (2023)>, I’ve been on a semi-unintentional sabbatical from all Bat-media. Couldn’t even quantify why this is the thing that broke the logjam, but here we are.
Did I Like It: I’ve been resoundingly on the record largely not caring for the recent spate of DC animated movies trying to adapt some of the longer runs from the comic books. Ultimately, the experience is left wanting and in the interest of not belaboring the point, these films have often led me to think that the adventures of the Caped Crusader were inherently more suited to the funny books than any other format. I remember liking both part of the Batman - The Dark Knight Returns (2013) because that gave the story at hand more time to breathe.
And such is the case here, spreading The Long Halloween—arguably my favorite Bat-story—over two parts allows it to not cut anything crucial out of the story. It tells the long-form story of Batman against the madness of his city, with the typical Rogue’s Gallery only playing supporting roles. The problem there is my first reaction to reading the graphic novel years ago: This would make a great movie. And it has. A couple of times. <The Dark Knight (2008)> gives a gritty realism to the downfall of Harvey Dent. Any leftover material with the Falcones and a legitimate serial killer story was taken up by <The Batman (2022)>. Do we really need another adaptation of the story? I wonder…
And that’s largely where I landed in my review of just the first half of the story, so I’m sad to say the second half doesn’t elevate the material like one might have hoped.