Batman and Harley Quinn (2017)

Sadly Over-hyped

Nice effects though.

An Exercise In Nonsense

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

I know we are used to see Batman animations and movies to see in a dark way past a few years. This is just a different approach. It does not give you an outstanding fiction but it makes you smile. Just give it a try and try to see it separated from all other Batman/DC universe fiction. You won't regret.

This movie was a very light-hearted and comedic film in contrast to darker animated renditions of Batman, such as The Killing Joke. As a result, viewers expecting a bad ass action movie might have been let down by the old-school style of animation and the tendency towards comedy rather than seriousness (why so serious?). I feel that this movie is somewhat comparable to Suicide Squad in that it balances action scenes with punch lines in order to achieve the silly/goofy humor that suits Harley's character so well. My one complaint is the resolution of the story which was anticlimactic and seemed a bit rushed. Overall, I really enjoyed this film as I could tell from the Intro credits that it was not going to be a sinister and serious take on Batman, but more of a silly depiction of Ms. Quinn. For people who did not enjoy the comedy, I might recommend The Killing Joke. What sets this film apart from typical Batman movies is the inclusion of Harley Quinn as an antagonist, which I feel justifies the use of goofy humor to accompany her personality. Can you imagine a dead-serious Harley Quinn?... DC keep doing what you're doing!

Love anything to do with Batman and any superhero or supervillain, animated or live-action. Also like to love a lot of the animated superhero/comic book films, so part of me was expecting a great deal from 'Batman and Harley Quinn'.Sadly, 'Batman and Harley Quinn' turned out to be a big disappointment in ways that have been summed up very well in previous reviews, not much to add. It isn't as bad as 'Batman and Robin', it takes a lot for any superhero film to be as bad as that (there's a reason as to why whenever there is a film part of a franchise that disgraces the franchise it is likened as "the 'Batman and Robin' of..."). That however doesn't stop it from failing drastically to live up to its potential.There are plus points. Kevin Conroy and Loren Lester do a great job as Batman (as one would expect, Conroy is without equal as the character) and Nightwing. Some of the animation is meticulous in detail, faithfully drawn and brooding, other parts though could have done with a lot more care and refinement (there are lapses in continuity here and there). The music is atmospheric and pulsating.However, most of the voice actors don't fit the characters. Melissa Rauch is a very awkward fit for Harley and Paget Brewster has done much better work than her fairly anaemic Poison Ivy. The characters are poorly written, either being flimsy in development or personality or out of character.Much of the dialogue doesn't work, the darker dramatic elements ring hollow and the comedic approach to other parts jars. The jokes are not funny and are incredibly juvenile and forced, while the more serious nature of the story is hampered by over-reliance on over-convenient plot devices, dull pacing, lack of coherence and some scenes being irrelevant. The much panned sex scene particularly is completely out of place. Tonally the film is all over the place and incredibly disjointed, and the ending is highly suggestive of the writers running out of ideas because it is the complete anti-thesis of going out with a bang.Overall, disappointing and fails to pack a punch. 3/10 Bethany Cox

Batman reluctantly recruits Harley Quinn to help him and Nightwing track down Poison Ivy, who is helping the Floronic Man create a plague to turn people into plants.This animated film is a follow-on to Batman: The Animated Series. The style is familiar and Kevin Conroy voices Batman. Harley Quinn is voiced quite well by Melissa Rauch, Arleen Sorkin having retired. And the plot is OK.But oh dear me. Nearly everything else is wrong, mainly due to the tone which is, paradoxically, both more adult and more juvenile than BTAS.Let's start with the language. While there are no F-words, there is frequent language which is inappropriate: Harley says "You're sh!tting me!" There are 1966-style fight captions, one of which is "OH! MY BALLS!" Let's continue with Harley farting loudly and smellily in the Batmobile. Possibly amusing, but narratively irrelevant and therefore you can add unnecessary to inappropriate.There are two complete songs - why? And finally, there is Harley's non-graphic but undoubted sexual episode with Nightwing (and the subsequent masturbation gag).Nightwing hangs his head in shame, and so should the filmmakers. What happened, Bruce Timm?