Review of Batman: Assault on Arkham (2014) by Andrew R — 05 Aug 2014

A lot of flash without a lot of substance. A lot of the fight scenes are well done, but a few specific continuity errors drove me crazy. And while I can't in all honesty say I didn't appreciate seeing the female leads show some skin, the rational part of my mind recognizes that only having one female character keep her shirt on for the full length of the movie (the severely overweight Amanda Waller) wreaks of misogyny and male pandering.

The story was also a complete mess, with plot points that make no sense or go nowhere, and iconic Batman villains being wasted. I'm not saying they needed to have every villain in the movie, in fact I'm glad they didn't, but just having Bane show up for three minutes of screentime to beat up a few cops and nothing else is a waste. (Also, if I'm really going to nitpick, he shouldn't be locked up in Arkham in the first place. He was there during the events of Arkham Asylum, but that was a secret. They even say in Arkham Asylum that he's supposed to be locked up in Blackgate because Bane doesn't suffer from a mental disorder.).

Overall, the entire movie is nothing but standard male pandering with no real character depth or payoff. Basically what DC does best. Given the opportunity I would totally buy... from the bargain bin.