Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 (2013)

Touches You

That was an excellent one.

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

'Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part II (2013)' acts more as a sequel to the first film, rather than a straight continuation, but still recreates Frank Miller's acclaimed graphic novel with a striking accuracy, in terms of tone, story and style. The piece follows a similar formula as its predecessor, presenting its bleak world with a brutal and brooding Batman operating on the fringes of the law. It focuses even more on the morality of vigilantism and the consequences it has on society, especially in a city as vulnerable as Gotham, while also exploring the idea that the Dark Knight creates the very evils he seeks to destroy. There are some interesting ideas explored here. The underlying themes are mature and nuanced, woven into the world at every opportunity. These also manifest themselves in the unexpected, often counter-intuitive but ultimately fascinating ways in which certain comic-book characters appear. Again, the handling of the source-material, including the wider Batman universe, is deft and demonstrative of a deeper understanding of the lore. All of this plays into the darker narrative presented, which very much plays into fears of the past that might soon become fears of the present. This isn't due to some prophetic ability, though, it is simply due to Miller's own widely known sensibilities, which seep into the piece in some less subtle ways such as a couple of 'on-the-nose' nipple-tassels. This time, the presented 'universe' isn't quite as cohesive, either. There are some elements that stand-out as being somewhat outlandish compared to the world established in the prior film and, indeed, at the start of this one (possible superpowers notwithstanding). It's in these moments, which aren't ever explained, that the otherwise incredible immersion is broken. Not that this is a major issue, but it is distracting and the plot leans fairly heavily on these elements. As does it on a structure that means it peaks about half-way through. This leads to a feeling that it's fairly unfocused, too, because the story doesn't head in its natural direction - not immediately or for its natural reason, at least - after this peak. Still, the events are always entertaining and there is a consistent, even somewhat surprising, level of emotional attachment to the characters, even those to the side. There is a constant level of excitement in the action sequences and some satisfaction in the blunt brutality of their conclusions, too. The movie picks the pace up again with a great, action-packed finale and ends on a down-played but fitting final beat. On the whole, I wouldn't say it's necessarily better than the first part, though it is difficult to rank them as they feel quite different. It certainly stands alongside it and is a fitting film for such an iconic character, one that serves him better than many of the live-action attempts. 7/10

Second part of the animated adaptation of Frank Miller's classic comic book miniseries, The Dark Knight Returns. This part deals with the return of the Joker, Batman continuing his war on crime with a new Robin by his side, and Superman being sent by the President to stop Bats. As with the first part, it's pretty faithful to the comics. It does draw out some scenes longer. I can't help but feel like that wouldn't have been necessary had they just combined parts 1 and 2 into a single film. Also, as with the first part, I have problems with the animation not being stylized enough and the voices of Batman and others not being handled by Kevin Conroy and company. I said with my review on the first part that it's hard to really capture what made the comic work so well with a cartoon made nearly 30 years later after countless imitations and knockoffs. I do think some of the reviews giving this 10's are mainly fans of the comic rating it super high because they love the books. This is a good cartoon but it's nowhere near the boundary-pushing work of art fans are making it out to be. Again, that was the comic but this is the cartoon and the two are just not the same. It's still a fun movie, particularly for fans. I enjoyed it even more than part one and it's especially interesting to watch now after having seen this year's Batman v Superman, which borrowed heavily from this story. Whatever problems I have with this animated film, I do think it's far better than that disjointed glum mess. Best viewed with part one as a whole.

If you've already seen Batman v Superman you know how much of a disappointment it is. While it has its moments it remains an overstuffed mess of a film, more like a trailer for upcoming films than a film on its own merits. This is the perfect example of how that movie should have been made. Taken almost word for word and shot for shot from Frank Millers timeless graphic novel, The Dark Knight Returns is one of the best comic book movies ever made. The animation is great and the fight scene with superman itself is easily the high point and batman uses far more tricks and tactics than in BvS where they pretty much just punched each other. Aside from that the rest of the story is great as well, focusing around the batman and the jokers final confrontation. The only wrong with this is the voice acting. While Batman wasn't too bad this has what i think is the worst version of the joker I've seen. The voice doesn't capture the jokers personality and makes him sound like a stereotypical gay (not that theirs anything wrong with that but it doesn't suit the joker). I just cant help but fell that the film would have benefited from Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamils Talents. Nevertheless this is a must see for all Batman fans.

I was speechless after watching this. The movie was literally perfect. It really pushed the boundaries of how epic an animated movie can be.This is definitely the best Batman movie I've ever seen, and paired with part 1, one of the best movies I've ever seen. This movie understands that Batman is not for kids, and keeps a Dark tone throughout. Even with it being animated it treats the image like a professional movie's cinematography. It's just amazing.As far as the voice cast, I would have preferred Kevin Conroy for Batman, but Peter Weller (aka RoboCop) actually does a really good job. Michael Emerson as the Joker was interesting, out of the norm, but i liked it (Even Mark Hamill liked it) I cannot express in words however, how amazing David Selby was as Commissioner Gordon.The soundtrack still gives me chill bumps when I listen to it, kudos to Christopher Drake.The plot, was epic, nothing cliché, nothing too weird. It did however have some weird, awkward moments, that set it apart from part 1. The appearance of the Joker and Superman in this make it very noteworthy. Not going to spoil anything but let's just say, this was Batman v Superman as it should have been.This movie is just perfect. Watch both parts. It is a must see for anyone.