Stuart Allan

Batman: Hush (2019) - 2/5

This movie boasts a better story than it can deliver. Most of the Batman villain A-list villains are in the movie, but only two or three have any impact on the plot. The plot is more like a soap opera than a super hero movie, and it attempts to tantalize without following through with any substance. The final reveal is lackluster and less interesting than no reveal at all.

Closest comparison: It’s like Suicide Squad (2016) by way of Batman: Bad Blood.

Setting: Neo Noir
Plot: Detective
Tone: Super Hero

Batman: Bad Blood - 3/5

This movie is treading water with no direction in sight. It has passable action and halfway decent plot, but the whole affair seems to just drone on and on until it’s finished, and it’s not even that long of a movie. The visual style is very bland, relying on dark hard-to-read images for the bulk of the narrative. The whole bat-family is in this one, as well as a collection of villains, and this seems to be the main draw of the film. It creates a new villain, but instead of being a grounded, empathetic character like in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, instead it comes off as formulaic and canned.

Closest comparison: Just watch Batman: Mask of the Phantasm again instead.

Setting: Noir
Plot: Mystery
Tone: Superhero