Batman: Assault on Arkham

Batman: Assault on Arkham is a 2014 direct-to-video animated superhero film that is part of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies.[1] Jay Oliva and Ethan Spaulding direct, with a script by Heath Corson, and James Tucker producing.[2] The film was screened at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International on July 25, 2014, and it was released digitally on July 29 and on physical media on August 12.[3]

Batman: Assault on Arkham
Home video re-release cover art (2016)
Directed by
Produced byJames Tucker
Written byHeath Corson
Based onCharacters appearing in comic books published
by DC Entertainment
Starring
Music byRobert J. Kral
Edited byChristopher D. Lozinski
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Home Video
Release date
  • July 25, 2014 (2014-07-25) (San Diego)
  • July 29, 2014 (2014-07-29) (Digital)
  • August 12, 2014 (2014-08-12) (Physical)
Running time
76 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The film is set in the universe of the Batman: Arkham video game franchise, occurring after Arkham Origins;[4] Jay Oliva states it takes place about two years before Arkham Asylum.[5] The story focuses primarily on the Suicide Squad, particularly Batman villains Deadshot and Harley Quinn with Batman in a supporting role. In the film, a Suicide Squad of six criminals is dispatched by Amanda Waller to break into Arkham Asylum, where they must contend with the asylum's inmates and Batman as they attempt to complete their mission. The film stars Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne/Batman (reprising his role as Batman from the DC animated universe, among other numerous DC properties, including the Arkham series) Neal McDonough as Floyd Lawton/Deadshot, Hynden Walch as Dr. Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn (who reprises her role from The Batman) and Matthew Gray Gubler as Edward Nygma/Riddler. In addition, Troy Baker, CCH Pounder, Nolan North, and Martin Jarvis reprise their roles of Joker, Amanda Waller, Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin and Alfred Pennyworth from Arkham Origins (with Pounder previously appearing in the DCAU and Superman/Batman: Public Enemies and North and Jarvis appearing in Arkham City as well) while Jennifer Hale reprises her role of Louise Lincoln/Killer Frost from the DCAU and other properties.

Plot

Batman rescues Riddler from a black ops assassination ordered by A.R.G.U.S.' director Amanda Waller, returning him to Arkham Asylum. Invoking Priority Ultraviolet, Waller captures wanted criminals Black Spider, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, Harley Quinn, KGBeast, Killer Frost, and King Shark for the Suicide Squad. Their mission is to break into Arkham and recover a thumbdrive in the Riddler's cane containing sensitive knowledge about the squad. She forces compliance by threatening to detonate nano-bombs implanted in their necks, and KGBeast is killed when he attempts to walk out on Waller. The remaining six are sent to Gotham to get equipment from Penguin, and while staying the night Harley and Deadshot sleep together. The next day Harley trashes a doll store to lure Batman out, who demands to know where The Joker had hidden a dirty bomb in the city, but Harley doesn't know and she is taken back to Arkham.

At Arkham, Joker is incarcerated and taunts Harley over their broken partnership - which causes her to grab a gun and fire at him in a rage. While this is happening, the other members of the squad infiltrate the Asylum. Black Spider causes an explosion, putting the area on Yellow Alert, and they loop the previous day's footage to keep both Batman and Waller from noticing them. The team finds a storage room with Riddler's cane and Harley's mallet, but the cane contains nothing. Batman arrives, having noticed the security camera ruse, and fights the squad. He defeats them one by one before getting tackled by Black Spider, who seems to emerge with Batman's belt as a trophy. The group notices Killer Frost is missing and find her at Riddler's cell; Waller secretly ordered her to carry out the real mission of the squad, to kill Riddler. It is then Riddler reveals that Waller can't detonate his neck explosive because he knows how to disarm them, and the squad agrees to help him escape if he can disarm theirs. Meanwhile, in the chaos, Joker notices a weakness in his cell walls from Harley's attempt to shoot him and short-circuits the cell door to escape.

Riddler hooks the squad up to the electro shock machine, minus Black Spider as he wishes to stand guard. Riddler turns on the machine as Waller calls for an update; seeing the bombs' signals fading and learning of the squad's betrayal, she activates them. Harley, Deadshot, Boomerang and Frost survive, but King Shark's head explodes due to his thick skin blocking the electricity. The group questions how the Black Spider's bomb didn't detonate, and Riddler realizes that the "Black Spider" is actually Batman in disguise; Black Spider had just been killed by the bomb detonation on his neck by Waller moments ago. After revealing himself, Batman knocks out Riddler and demands the squad to explain why they're in Arkham. Joker then arrives and shoots at Batman, providing a distraction for the squad to escape. They encounter the Joker and Harley sweet-talks him into forgiving her. Joker then tries to shoot Deadshot, but he disarms him and Joker proceeds to flee with Harley. As the remaining squad try to flee on their own, Batman encounters them and deduces from Deadshot that Joker has hidden the dirty bomb in Harley's mallet, which he then activates. Joker suddenly broadcasts to Arkham, telling Batman and the squad that soon Gotham will be destroyed; he releases the inmates as a distraction to allow him to escape.

Frost is seemingly killed in the chaos by Bane, and Deadshot subdues Captain Boomerang to board a helicopter and escape. Batman notices three heartbeats coming from the helicopter and realizes Joker and Harley have stowed away in the helicopter Deadshot is in. He follows them in the Batwing and punches Joker before he could shoot Deadshot. Instead, Joker's gunshot causes the helicopter to collide into the side of a building; Batman knocks out Harley, but finds a note she left on how to disarm the bomb. At the same time, Joker and Deadshot engage in a fight that ends with Deadshot manages to trap Joker inside the helicopter - which then falls to the ground along with Joker and explodes.

In the aftermath, Batman confronts Waller over the incident and clarifies that her actions have allowed Riddler to escape once again. Waller vows that her units will catch him next time, but Batman states otherwise and warns her to discontinue the Task Force X program. Waller dismisses his warning and taunts that Joker's body was never found, thus meaning that Joker survived the helicopter crash. Once Batman leaves, Waller notices a gun's laser trained on her chest and then on her forehead. Deadshot is shown to be the source, reunited with his daughter, and the movie ends with him saying "bang" before he pulls the trigger - leaving Waller's fate uncertain.[N 1]

Voice cast

Some characters from the Arkham games appear in non-speaking cameos including Bane, Two-Face, and Poison Ivy.

Soundtrack
Batman: Assault on Arkham (Music from the DC Universe Movie)
Film score by
Robert J. Kral
ReleasedJuly 30, 2014
Length51:21
LabelWaterTower Music

The soundtrack to Batman: Assault on Arkham was released on July 30, 2014, with music composed by Robert J. Kral.[10]

Track list
Batman: Assault on Arkham (Music from the DC Universe Movie)
No.TitleLength
1."Nigma's Confrontation / It's Batman"3:10
2."Criminal Montage"3:06
3."Task Force Indoctrination"2:41
4."Dropping Down"2:00
5."Gearing Up / Beer Room Challenge"1:51
6."Harley Arrested to Arkham"3:01
7."Infiltrating Arkham & Joker Assault"5:33
8."Killer Frost's Kiss & Black Spider's Microwave"1:59
9."Harley Bait & King Shark's Work"1:27
10."Suicide Squad in the Big House"3:44
11."Batman's Gotham & Property Room Access"2:59
12."Batman Fights Suicide Squad"2:12
13."Joker's Out / Suicide Squad vs. SCU"3:34
14."Joker Attacks Batman"1:40
15."Prisoners Released"2:45
16."Chopper Fight / Poison Ivy / The Batplane"2:03
17."Chopper Crash"2:24
18."Final Confrontations"2:08
19."Batman - Assault On Arkham End Credits"3:04
Total length:51:21

Critical reception

Scott Mendelson of Forbes roundly praised Assault on Arkham for its action, art style, humor, voices, and characters, calling it one of the best films of DC's direct-to-video lineup. He described it as a "gleefully immoral" heist film which, having "no real [plot] arc to speak of", relies on its violent action and clever character dynamics within the Suicide Squad to carry it. Due to its villainous protagonists, dark comedy, and sexual content, Mendelson considers the production of Assault on Arkham an experimental decision by DC, and a successful experiment as it tells a style of comic book story that would never get approval as a live-action project.[11]

Seth Robison of Newsarama was far more critical, considering the animation, characterization, and storytelling in the film poor. He had particular dislike for the voice acting, which he believed squandered a talented cast by delivering a "disjointed" performance, and for Assault on Arkham's interpretation of Amanda Waller, which he believed simplified her into merely another villain. He further found Deadshot's sympathetic characterization opaque to non-comic readers and Harley Quinn's crazy act obnoxious. Overall, Robison deemed the experience of the film "superficial" and thought it compared unfavorably to those offered by the Arkham video games and the Justice League Unlimited episode "Task Force X".[12]

It earned $5,820,248 in domestic home video sales.[13]

Notes
  1. Batman: Arkham Underworld reveals that Deadshot never pulled the trigger as Batman stopped him before he could decide to carry out Waller's assassination.
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References
  1. Gallagher, Brian (July 20, 2013). "COMIC-CON 2013: 'Son of the Batman' and 'Batman: Assault on Arkham' Announced for 2014". MovieWeb. Archived from the original on July 22, 2013. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
  2. "Warner Bros. Brings "Batman: Assault On Arkham" To DVD/Blu-Ray August 14". Comic Book Resources. May 7, 2014. Archived from the original on May 7, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  3. Sneider, Jeff (July 8, 2014). "Comic-Con: Warner Bros. Bringing Peter Jackson's 'Hobbit' Finale, 'Mad Max'". The Wrap. Archived from the original on July 10, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  4. Reiner, Andrew (May 16, 2014). "Batman: Arkham Assault Movie Releasing On Blu-Ray, DVD This Summer". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on May 16, 2014. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
  5. Get a Sneak Peek at Batman: Assault on Arkham in a New Featurette - ComingSoon.net
  6. Vieira, Anthony (April 20, 2014). "'Batman: Assault on Arkham' Trailer – The Animated Movie Based on the 'Arkham' Games". ScreenRant. Archived from the original on April 19, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  7. Miereanu, Gary (June 4, 2014). "It's @HyndenIsHere voicing equal parts of crazy, vicious & hilarious as #HarleyQuinn in #BatmanAssaultonArkham pic.twitter.com/6AS74m3D3b". Twitter.
  8. Miereanu, Gary (June 13, 2014). "@UniversoDC1 @DallasLKinard @TheJohnDiMaggio IMDB is incorrect. Also rightfully credit @jhaletweets as Killer Frost. #BatmanAssaultonArkham". Twitter.
  9. Miereanu, Gary (July 17, 2014). ".@Android00154 Actually, @nolan_north does double duty in #BatmanAssaultonArkham as both KGBeast & Cobblepot in distinctly different accents". Twitter.
  10. "Batman: Assault on Arkham - Music From The DC Universe Animated Movie". WaterTower Music. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
  11. Mendelson, Scott (August 6, 2014). "Review: 'Batman: Assault On Arkham' Is Among The Best DCAU Films Yet". Forbes.com. Archived from the original on August 9, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  12. Robison, Seth (July 31, 2014). "Batman: Assault on Arkham Review: Bat-Fans, Look Elsewhere for Your Arkham Fix". newsarama. Archived from the original on September 4, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  13. "Batman: Assault on Arkham (2014) The Numbers listing". The Numbers. Accessed January 4, 2020.
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