Movie:
With
a title such as Son of Batman you’d be
expecting some more kiddy-friendly material, but this
latest made-for-DVD animated effort by Warner Home
Video is simply too violent and bloody for younger
viewers.
Instead, like most DC
Universe original movies, it seems to be aimed at
adult comic book fans. There are loads of sword and
handgun action with copious amounts of cartoon blood
as well as some “adult” innuendos which would go over
the head of most younger viewers, but which parents
probably wouldn’t want to explain to their offspring.
Like many previous DCU
flicks, Son of Batman is based on existing
comic book titles, in this case, the 2006 Batman
and Son comic book arc written by Grant Morrison.
In it, Batman discovers that he unwittingly has a
10-year-old son named Damian after a one-night stand
with Talia al Ghul, arch-villain Ra's al Ghul’s
daughter. (If you’re a bit rustic on Batman lore, Ra's
al Ghul is the master assassin villain played by Liam
Neeson in Batman Begins.)
“One-night stand” might
not be the right term here. It is insinuated that
Batman may have been the victim of date rape as Talia
slipped him some potion to make him, er, more amenable
to Talia’s charms. See what we mean by “adult
innuendos”? (What his problem with the amply bosomed
Talia might be is a bit beyond us. Each time the
character appeared with her low cleavage this reviewer
couldn’t help but exclaim “boobs!” aloud.)
Batman is left to look
after Damian whilst Talia is off to avenge her
father’s murder at the hands of a senior citizen
villain named Deathstroke. About halfway into the
story, Nightwing (who used to be Robin) shows up to
help out too.
I haven’t read Morrison’s
original comic book series and therefore can’t comment
on how closely this movie sticks to the source
material and whether it will piss off anal comic book
fans or not. However, the movie’s schizophrenic
approach presents several problems. On the one hand,
it is pretty violent and obviously aimed at grownups.
On the other hand, there is a lot of silliness such as
a secret James Bond-style undersea base in
shark-infested waters and a Gatling gun firing arrows
not to mention an annoying child sidekick, which might
put off more serious comic book fans.
WORTH IT?
Ultimately, Son of Batman is a mixed bag. The
animation is pretty decent and better than some
previous DCU efforts. The story however feels
fragmented and Jason O'Mara as the Irish brogue voice
of Batman feels, well, wrong.
RECOMMENDATION:
Grownup comic book fans have been spoiled throughout
the past few years by regular full-length animated
movies such as Son of Batman. However, one
can’t help but wonder whether some more kid-friendly
material might be in order to attract new future fans
instead of appealing to ageing existing fans. Just a
thought.
