The Long Halloween Part 1 - Review

Commended by Christopher Nolan, and one of the most important inspirations for his critically acclaimed film,The Dark Knight, fans of the comic book have been waiting a long time to see The Long Halloween on screen. DC conform to their tried and tested dual-format release (The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 & 2 and Death of Superman/Reign of the Superman) and split the film into two parts–allowing the suspense and mystery that propels the central story a good time to breathe. One of the biggest failings of the DCAMU was how it’s film suffered from poor pacing (Throne of Atlantis felt like the worst instance of this) but, as the DC animated movie franchise steps into a new continuity, The Long Halloween marks the 3rd film in what has been dubbed, The Tomorrowverse.

On Halloween, Johnny Viti, the nephew of the Gotham City mob boss Carmine Falcone (Titus Welliver) is murdered by a mysterious figure, who leaves nothing but a jack-o'-lantern at the crime scene. Batman, (Jensen Ackles) District Attorney Harvey Dent (Josh Duhamel) and Commissioner Gordon (Billy Burke) investigate the killing, as Viti’s demise majorly disrupts the trio's plans to detain the Falcone family and stem the delinquent bleed of organised crime in Gotham.

Viti’s death sparks a chain reaction of events, first by instilling paranoia between Gotham’s prominent mob families, The Falcones and The Maronis, and after Selina Kyle (Naya Rivera) leads Batman to a skulking mound of Falcone’s cash, Dent makes the decision to burn the money rather than take it in for evidence and processing. For this, an attempt to assassinate Dent ensues and by Thanksgiving, the hitman who was hired by Falcone is killed by Viti’s murderer–a mysterious figure who’s been named “Holiday”. Together, Batman, Dent, and Gordon must race against the clock to find the mysterious character who is single handedly destabilising the delicate equilibrium of Gotham’s criminal underworld.

The Long Halloweeen takes place at an early point in Bruce Wayne’s tenure of Batman. He’s inexperienced enough to not be the master detective that we’ve come to rely on (the one who could, you know, kill Superman with enough prep time) but he’s got enough notches under his belt to still instill fear into the criminals he took the mantle up to punish.

Flows

Atmosphere

There is such a dense story to tell in The Long Halloween–one that takes place over the course of such a long period of time–that you’d think the sedate pacing was a bad thing. But the film's slowness isn’t a shortcoming, but rather an act of caretaking. Scenes are given room to breathe. This isn’t doesn’t have the fast paced, playful humour of Barry Allen’s Flash, or the vexating, quick quips of Hal Jordan’s Green Lantern. This is brooding, urgent and thoughtful.

Calendar Man

Admittedly, Calendar Man is only recognised from the recent animated series of Harley Quinn, as he’s used hilariously to recall the amount of days that Joker leaves Harley in Arkham without saving her. This is not that Calendar Man. Voiced by David Dastmalchian (who’s been having a particularly good year–as he also played Polka Dot Man in the most recent Suicide Squad) (But also, who you might remember as the paranoide schizophrenic Thomas Schiff in The Dark Knight) who, in this story, assumes a Hannibalesque advisory role to Batman and Gordon–and gives a disquieting performance as a man who seems to know what’s going on but revels in toying with the people responsible for his imprisonment.

Script

With DC’s most popular animated movie releases typically being Batman oriented (Mask of the Phantasm, The Dark Knight Returns, Under the Red Hood, Assault on Asylum, and even the Thomas Wayne-helmed Flashpoint Paradox), there’s been a lot of time (and opportunities) to deliver a great Batman script. But The Long Halloween’s script is a standout. As you watch, it feels like nearly every line could mean 3 things, even though only one was said. And it’s ability to build suspense across the film is masterful.

Ebbs

Art style

Although I’m not particularly fond of the film's blend of Chinatown-esque noir and Edward Hopper-like aesthetics, I appreciate the cohesiveness of the film's visual palette. For those looking for a booster shot of nostalgia and craving for a more suspenseful and inspecting Batman–this is your wheelhouse. I got, in tone, notes of Mask of the Phantasm at a fair few moments in the film. However, I’m still not sold on the animation style, which utilises the exact same style from both prior releases Superman: Man of Tomorrow and Justice Society: World War II. With the same thick lines and bold contours that are reminiscent of earlier comic styles, and the chronological mid-century settings of these 3 films, this Tomorrowverse feels like a journey back to “the good ol’ days”. This, however, is a personal preference.

Continuity

Justice League Dark: The Apokolips War marked the ending of the DCAMU, but the film had a fairly ambiguous ending (with Barry Allen going back in time to reset the timeline so the events of the film never happened). Maybe one of the films further in this Tomorrorverse will explain whether we are now existing in a new timeline, but a finite wrapping-up of the DCAMU would be nice.

The many renditions of Batman

Batman has received reboot, after reboot, after reboot–especially within the confines of animation. This is less a criticism of the film and more a criticism of the environment he exists in: give another hero a chance!

What did you think of The Long Halloween pt. 1? Comment your thoughts below!