The latest addition to the fabled DC animation projects is a Sam Liu directed film that blends the kung-fu influence prevalent in the 70s with the animated Batman and friends. Batman: Soul Of The Dragon starring David Giuntoli, Mark Dacascos, Kelly Hu, Michael Jai White, James Hong, and Josh Keaton in prominent roles, delivers a very enjoyable experience with the inclination towards action sequences. It makes up for a fun ride for the Batman fans, early in the year.
A year has passed and Bruce Wayne is traveling the world in order to learn more skills that will come in handy while cleaning up the crime-ridden Gotham. Richard Dragon, Wayne’s friend from martial arts training, tells Bruce about a mission that involves finding Lady Shiva and the Bronze Tiger which is required to fight against the evil looming over them.
The characterization is extremely subtle with Batman getting an ample amount of screen time but the beauty of it lies in providing Bruce Wayne more depth than just making him transform into his alter-ego. Bruce Wayne learns and tries to differentiate between the blissful martial arts experience or the darker and more cloudy way of fighting crime. The time spent on Bruce’s enlightenment plays an important role in making it more of a Bruce Wayne film. The audience might feel that the 70s take is a bit cheesy but with the introspection of Bruce’s character, we understand how the angst of the past affected the present Batman. While Batman is trying to get away from everyone, just to focus on his mission, David Giuntoli’s acting comes as a complement to Bruce’s internal struggle.
The biggest strength of the whole project is the animation which pays an immense amount of time crafting it. The details in the setting up the 70s vibe is great with its detailed hairstyles and clothes. The fight sequences are extremely fluid and well-choreographed, as soon as you might wonder that it is something that you have already seen, the film comes up with something new for you, making the experience even more entertaining. The fans of martial arts as well as Batman, won’t feel let down by the pacing and fluidity of everything in Soul Of The Dragon. The music and sounds also give a major throwback to the 70s which authenticates the film even more.
Batman Soul Of The Dragon is fun to watch a film that is highly influenced by the 70s and kung-fu, it has an amazing cast and character development as the time given to the lesser-known DC characters opens up new areas for the studio to traverse through.
Batman: Soul Of The Dragon is available for Video on Demand.
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