Batman Ninja is an amazingly cool concept. The art is amazing, and even though the plot gets muddled you’ll find some entertainment if not some double take moments as the creators spin their wild Batman adaptation.
Where to begin on this one. To get it out of the way, the plot to this film is not of the highest quality. It starts off with Batman duking it out with Gorilla Grodd inside Arkham Asylum. When this conflict reaches its climax Batman and the rest of the prison are sucked into Grodd’s time machine and sent back to feudal Japan. What follows is an odd entanglement of characters with in the world of Batman. If you know anything about Arkham then you know there are some real baddies there. When Batman first shows up in the past he is confronted by some soldiers who are serving The Joker. He escapes their attempts to kill him and through a meeting with Catwoman, who was also sucked back into the past, he finds out his allies and adversaries are in the time with them. What plays out is confusing in some spots, weird in others, and downright confusing. It culminates though in multiple plans maneuvering into a classic showdown between Batman and The Joker that was a thoroughly fresh and entertaining new take on their encounters…Oh and it also involves prophecy that Batman would free Japan from tyranny…
OK so with that out of the way it should be said that this was an extremely creative and ambitious piece. It draws on not only the DC comics, but also samurai films and Gundam. Yes, that was written correctly. Some of the films craziest moments come off at first as Ludacris, but the more it sinks in the more fun they become. There is something nice about watching filmmakers take some obvious risks and combine things that otherwise would go together.
Though, there is a negative to some of this creativity. The plot can become confusing as multiple wants are intertwined and Batman is forced to go up against more than one villain. The twists with the Joker can be forgiven because, well, he’s The Joker and that justifies even the craziest action’s he takes. But it can’t help but be wondered if they had simplified the plot if the film would have been better for it. A couple of the twists are insanely obvious, and Batman doesn’t see them coming. It is hard to believe that he wouldn’t. The character is at it’s core a detective. There is also an issue of convenience. There are encounters in the film that don’t really have the best of reasons and it comes off as if little thought was put into why they were happening. This has a weakening effect on the movie. The cast probably should have been cut down by a few members.
The artwork though is where this film shines. The characters are beautiful, and The Joker was one of the most unique looking, maybe even second only to the one that skinned his face and re-applied it in The New 52 arcs involving him. It really can take this movie to another level of excitement, just because you’re not use to seeing these characters portrayed in this manner.
Ultimately this was a fun watch, though not something to go crazy about. The artwork and the creativity involved really works due to it being a comic book movie. Plus…Gundams in feudal Japan…Who doesn’t want to see that play. Oh, and a giant monkey that was made up of a bunch of smaller monkeys…However a somewhat think and intertwining plot with some predictable twists do their part to hold the film back. It’s something that you’ll have fun watching and ultimately won’t be disappointed in though. A fresh interesting take on the Batman world is a welcome addition in to the DC animate world.
