‘Batman: The Long Halloween Part Two‘ is an animated DC Comics film based on the graphic novel by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale. It is directed by Chris Palmer and set in the “Rebirth” of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies.

Following Part 1, Bruce Wayne (Jensen Ackles) finds himself under the control of Poison Ivy (Katee Sackhoff) where he begins to sign over his assets to Carmine Falcone (Titus Welliver). This, of course, means that Batman is absent and the Holiday killings continue, with Captain Gordon (Billy Burke) and DA Harvey Dent (Josh Duhamel) wondering what to do. Catwoman (Naya Rivera) rescues Wayne, just in time for Batman to investigate an escaped Scarecrow (Robin Atkin Downes) and Mad Hatter (John DiMaggio). With the bodies continuing to pile up, Dent grows further from Gilda (Julie Nathanson) as Falcone’s daughter Sofia (Laila Berzins) and rival Maroni (Jim Pirri) make plans of their own.

As I stated in my review of Part 1, Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s The Long Halloween is my all-time favorite Batman story. Christopher Nolan famously used for inspiration when crafting The Dark Knight, so I was cautiously optimistic when DC Entertainment announced that there would be an animated adaption. Part 1 had its good and bad, but where does it stand now that the conclusion has been reached?

Now, I’m repeating myself, but I was hoping Kevin Conroy would return as Batman since he is my favorite. It would have been nice to have him return to voice the character in my favorite comic book. However, I honestly feel that Jensen Ackles was actually pretty good. He definitely took the role seriously and did the Caped Crusader well in both parts.

The rest of the cast was impressive as well. Duhamel, Burke, DiMaggio, Sackhoff, Troy Baker as the Joker, and Alastair Duncan returning to voice Alfred Pennyworth were all well done. That goes double for Naya Rivera as Catwoman. It is a shame that this will be her final film role because I truly thought she was excellent as Selina Kyle.

As an aside, I also like how Scarecrow was portrayed. I feel like a lot of animated features want to downplay how terrifying he is and this movie definitely showed him at peak scary. Downes definitely hit the right tone for the voice as well.

Now to the plot, I am honestly conflicted. For the negative side, I do think the plot took some unnecessary cinematic liberties. For instance, leaving out the Riddler’s cameo for April Fool’s Day. Why was that left out? It would have been a good addition to the story and they could have had a surprise guest star voicing Nigma. There were a few minor details, like Calendar Man slowly becoming less important than he was in the comic book. Lastly, I also was hoping for the famous “trick or treat” a climax from the comic, but it turned into a shootout scene.

On the positive side, I do feel like they did a good job representing the story and showing it for what it was, a tale of power transferring from the old crime families of Gotham to the inmates of Arkham Asylum. I also enjoyed how they portrayed Dent’s descent into the very madness he is trying to fight. Where does that leave us? Overall, I do think it is a good film that, while it takes liberties I prefer not to, I will say had a pretty cool story.

Bottom line, Batman: The Long Halloween Part Two is a cool conclusion to a cool set of movies. It is imperfect, but nonetheless does a good job of honoring its source material.

PARENTAL CONCERNS: Bloody Violence, Strong foul language, Suggestive themes, Disturbing images

FAVORITE QUOTE: He’s my friend and he needs help.

Check out the trailer below:

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. Tell me if there is a comic book, movie, or novel you would like me to review. While you are at it, check out my movie reviews of Wish Dragon and The Mitchells Vs. The Machines. Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more posts like this one.

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