When
word got out Scott Adkins was in the running to be the new Batman, we briefly
thought we might see a Dark Knight with legit martial arts chops. Alas, our
hopes were soon dashed with the announcement Ben Affleck had been cast. How did
that work out for you, DC? We can maybe get a hint of the martial arts Batman
that could have been when the Caped Crusader and just about all of Gotham
super-villains are sent back in time to Sengoku Era Japan in Jumpei Mizusaki’s Batman Ninja (trailer here), which releases
today on DVD and BluRay.
Blame
the gorilla. Gorilla Grodd’s time machine was supposed to whisk away Batman and
all the costumed villains he has assembled for a phony summit meeting, leaving
Gotham ripe for his picking. Instead, everyone was swept off to feudal Japan,
including himself, Cat Woman, Robin, Nightwing, Red Robin, Red Hood, and even
Alfred Pennyworth, who happened to be in the Bat Mobile at the time, even
though that really doesn’t make any sense. Frankly, only Commissioner Gordon is
left out, but at least he should have some peace and quiet for a change.
The
time warp works differently for everyone, so by the time Batman arrives, the
villains have already set themselves up as Daimyos jockeying for power. Of
course, the Joker is the one most likely to successful unify his hold over the
entire nation. Batman will lose a lot of his gadgetry trying to stop him, but
he will find a surprising ally in the Bat Ninja Clan, whose prophecies have
foretold his arrival.
Frankly,
Batman Ninja would have been better
if it were more grounded and martial arts focused. Instead, the film misleadingly
promises to go back to basics, but doubles down on the mecha. This film should
have been all about Batman kicking butt with the Bat Clan, but instead, it
spends a great deal of time watching the super-villains bash each other’s
mechanized fortresses.
Still,
there is no denying Mizusaki’s impressive eye for visuals. In fact, the striking
high point of the film (a provocative scene in which Red Hood menaces a couple
of serfs who may or may not be Joker and Harley Quinn in disguise) is rendered
in a style that deliberately evokes Japanese landscape watercolors. Plus, the
character design work of Afro-Samurai’s
Takashi Okazaki is pretty cool, except for maybe Sumo Bane.
In
the English dub, it is also easy to hear why Roger Craig Smith’s commanding
voice has become a fan favorite for both Batman and Captain America. As the
Joker, Tony Hale is nearly as manic as Robin Williams in Aladdin, which is good for the energy level but bad for the film’s
long-term wear-and-tear.
Of
course, the Social Justice Warrior Thought Police will object to Batman Ninja on principle, because they
have decided racially segregating books and film is the progressive thing to do.
If we consider Batman a “white savior,” it should also be noted all the
villains are white too (seriously, who’s whiter than the Joker?). Yet, the fact
remains this is almost entirely a Japanese production. In fact, there is a long
tradition of placing Batman in different historical settings (in Paul Pope’s
story “Berlin Batman,” the Weimar Dark Knight saves the library of Ludwig von
Mises from the National Socialists), so to place Warring States era Japan off
limits would be discriminatory, by definition.
