Batman: Soul of the Dragon

Everything about this movie screams 70's! From the retro-style Warner Brothers animation logo I knew I was in for a treat. This movie is obviously very inspired by Enter the Dragon, 70's era James Bond, and Dennis O'Neil Batman comics.

Bruce Timm's animation style looks amazing as always.

The Kung fu sequences throughout are great, and the movie makes good use of flashbacks.

Also for a movie with Batman in the title, Batman is barely in this movie. This is very much a Bruce Wayne story which is also unique.

Glad the 2021 movie season started on a high note!

Watching this, ask yourself...if it was a different character than Bruce Wayne/Batman, would you even notice? I don't think so. It's like they just decided to make one of the protagonists Batman as an afterthought. The animation is up to par, the voice acting is good, the choreography of the fights scenes is excellent. The cast is, quite frankly, awesome! Especially Michael Jai White. He channels Black Dynamite, all over again. James Hong is, as always, a treasure. Mark Dacascos proves he is wonderful as a voice artist, and still sounds youthful. Kelly Hu ads a 70's self-sufficient women's lib vibe that is perhaps the most bad ass character in the ensemble. The only misstep is David Giuntoli (Grimm) as Batman/Bruce Wayne. Oh, he's good, but not a good fit for Batman. Or maybe it's that the Batman character is not a good fit for this story? Either way, something feels off about it. Don't get me wrong, it's a good animated movie, and a fun diversion in these trying times. But is it really a Batman movie? I don't really think so.

Just read the other positive reviews, they sum it up well. This was really a surprise homage to all the 70's kung fu and spy flicks. Not something you see in live cinema anymore thats for sure.

Sure it wasn't perfect. But for anyone thats watched enough films from the 70's early eighties.. will dig this enough that its a good once watch. Some DC animated films I've rewatched a few times. But the stories were much more complex than this and they were better films. I've seen them all.. so in comparison from the worst DC animated films to the best this one sits at a solid 6.5 But I'll give it an edge to push back a little against negative reviews. Tho i can understand why a younger generation wouldn't like this one or understand the context as much unless they were a kung fu film fan. Also, No idea why this was rated R.. I've seen so many PG-13 films with tons more blood and violence than this had.. And I think if they did add more to the violent aspect of sword fights and killing by beating to death, it would have shown this was a film meant for the older DC animated film viewers. So far none of the R rated DC animated films have really taken advantage of that yet.. The Killing joke being the best example and the worst example of animation.. This film had the classic 90's animation but spruced up for the quality of animation standards today, same style tho.

It really embraces the style and uses the animation narrative used in the DC animated movies and makes a unique film. But if someone is looking to get a definitive style without compromise they would be disappointed. Anyone who expects a Batman movie will also be disappointed. I love that DC greenlit something like this because this is not even in the same ground as their what-if projects. Funky is the word.

Whatever reviews you read I hope you'll give this movie a try. Sure, it may not be a perfect movie, and it may be a mostly Bruce Wayne movie, or even a Bruce Wayne and Friends movie, but to say this is a bad movie would be a lie. So many different nods to different genres and history brought together with good animation that is reminiscent of 70s plus add 70s kung fu music to the mix and you have a really unique story with a unique ending that promises some amazing things.