Batman : The Dark Knight Returns - Partie 2 - Combo Blu-Ray + DVD - Steelbook format Blu-Ray - Collection DC COMICS [Blu-ray]

When I first heard that DC Animation was going to be doing what is, in essence, a feature-length animated film out of Frank Miller's historic DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, I was a skeptic. After seeing what Warner Premiere and DC Animation did with Miller's arguably better work BATMAN: YEAR ONE (while being good, it is far from being where it needed to be, quality-wise), I was scared that they would excise too many of the great moments of social satire or cartoon down the violence so that it might be more palatable for a bigger audience.Thankfully, under the perhaps more watchful eyes of director Jay Oliva and DC Animated's mastermind Bruce Timm, both Part 1 and Part 2 of THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS are very successful at bringing the comic to animated life. However, Part 2 proved to be even more successful and dynamic of an adaptation than Part 1.The film (as far as both parts are concerned) does benefit making a pretty clear delineation of chapter breaks in connection to its source material. The comic, in its original form, had four issues. Part 1 of TDKR has the first two; entitled "The Dark Knight Returns", showing the aged Bruce Wayne (voiced by Peter Weller) assuming the identity of Batman after a ten-year absence amongst the menace of a gang of sociopathic punks called The Mutants, and "The Dark Knight Triumphant", which shows Batman gaining a new Robin in young Carrie Kelley (voiced by Ariel Winter) and the defeat of the Mutant's leader.No matter how great those stories may be, it's all still a warm-up for Part 2, which has the real meat of the story as Batman must eventually confront The Joker (voiced by Michael Emerson), who has himself emerged from a 10-year catatonia simply as a response to Batman's return, and also, branded a public menace, he is facing arrest from Gotham City's new police commissioner Ellen Yindel (voiced by Maria Canals, best known to DC Animated fans as the voice of Hawkgirl in the JUSTICE LEAGUE cartoons) since Jim Gordon (voiced by David Selby) reached his mandatory retirement. And then, amidst an ever-changing and volatile political climate, Batman is put directly into the crosshairs of the President, who unleashes Batman's longtime frenemy Superman (voiced by Mark Valley) which will seal Batman's fate and the fate of Gotham City.As with Part 1, the animation is done wonderfully, and has enough of Miller's giant physiques and Lynn Varley's darker coloring to give moments that seem to be lifted right off the page. But the voice of Peter Weller is still a bit of a problem. I felt that he would be perfect to cast as the older Batman/Bruce Wayne, but unfortunately, while not being monotone, there isn't enough emotion behind his voice during really any moment that gives any kind of indication that he feels one way or the other about the events at hand other than through dialogue. Although, it's the presence of Michael Emerson (best known as Benjamin Linus on LOST, or Harold Finch on PERSON OF INTEREST) as the voice of The Joker that ends up more than making up for any lack of passion. His Joker is so incredibly smarmy, viciously cruel, and more than a little love-struck. His personification of The Joker is that of less of a maniacal clown and more of a devilish seducer, waiting for the only person he's ever loved. It's here where one of the major points of Miller's work is seized brilliantly. Conceived not only as a story of Batman's older years, THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS is also a deconstruction of the characters portrayed within. The Joker exists because of Batman, and vice versa. They have a symbiotic relationship that far surpasses that of a superhero/supervillain conflict. They are almost interdependent upon each other, which is why The Joker is unable to kill Batman and why Batman, despite the sentiment he feels that he's murdered all of The Joker's victims himself, is also unable to end the omnipresent threat of The Joker with any real finality. Their final confrontation is brutal, extremely violent, and extremely unsettling.The finale of the piece comes from a number of angles. A small Latin American country called Corto Maltese is being invaded by Soviet forces (bear in mind, this film takes place at the time that the comic was written in 1986), and while Superman helps to turn the tide of that conflict, the Soviets retaliate with an experimental nuclear weapon that has catastrophic effects for the United States. Gotham City needs a savior, and despite his injuries and being hunted by the law, Batman steps up to lead the city in saving itself. This leads in turn to the climactic confrontation between Batman and Superman. While the fight in the comic does hit the right moments, it's rather brief, and that is certainly not the case in this film. The epic battle between these two titans is extended to give a greater strength, a more visceral thrill, and perhaps even a more emotional punch than what was in the comic. It's by far the highlight of the film from every standpoint. The voice acting from Weller coalesces, and the animation of the fight in all of its superpowered glory is breathtaking. What really makes this scene work, though, is the incredible score provided by Christopher Drake, who has provided the score for just about all of the DC Animated films, and this is by far his most memorable and best work for this company.As I stated in my review for the first of these two animated films, to adapt a work of such depth, nuance, and bravura was something I felt was an impossible task. And while THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS may not give the audience maybe everything it wants from the comic, it gives more than we would have expected, and in some cases, even enhances moments from the original material. This is a bold and mostly excellent adaptation of Miller's seminal work, and deserves to be counted amongst DC Animated's best work, particularly for Part 2. I couldn't really recommend this more highly.As far as extras for the Blu-Ray release of this, it contains two segments regarding the characters; one about the history and rivalry between Batman and Superman and another more about the beginnings and the pathology of The Joker. These segments prove to be extremely well done with a cast of great talking heads such as Denny O'Neil, Grant Morrison, Jerry Robinson (who co-created The Joker), and Michael Uslan, who has been an executive producer of virtually every Batman film or television project since Tim Burton's 1989 film. It also includes a lengthy "From Storyboard to Screen" segment with commentary by Oliva, three episodes of Batman cartoons (two from the original 1990's animated series and one from the more recent BRAVE AND THE BOLD series) and a brief glimpse at a digital comic version of Miller's source material.All in all, THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS PART 2 is a great release and extremely worthy of any Batman fan's film collection.4.5 out of 5 Stars.

A perfect sequel to Dark Knight Returns part 1, and a sad ending for Batman. Batman had his inner turmoil, but this movie seemed to solidify his choices, which is respectable from my Part 1 review; However, most of what I'd have to say would be a spoiler so I'll keep it simple this time. Batman Became Batman, and Bruce Wayne, which was a symbol for his old life, was tragic. Batman found what he had to do, and his real purpose, and he did it with a bang.He became what Gotham Needed him to be, but it is bittersweet.

This happens to be a fairly faithful adaptation of the acclaimed graphic novel. There are some differences but nothing that would ruin the experience as a whole. The fact that it has a PG-13 rating isn't much of an issue or handicap, there are only a few things that have been toned down from the graphic novel. I'm not totally convinced that without the toned down moments that the movie would have received an R rating, but it would probably have been too close for producers, etc.The biggest issue I have is that the graphic novel was broken up into two films, bleh. This one covers the graphic novel from the conclusion of the mutant gang storyline to the final conclusion. It does have some other issues though that should be mentioned with the voice casting and direction.Peter Weller does an adequate job as Bruce Wayne/Batman but for some reason the almost monotone gravitas of his voice doesn't seem to matchup with the animation style on screen. I don't blame Weller for this, that fault lies squarely at the directors doorstep. Beyond that, and in all truthfulness, the remaining supporting voice cast is irrelevant. I wonder if the studio could have sprung a for a few extra bucks to hire some other celebrities (at least enough for the B or C list level of celebrity). I can't imagine that Mark Hamil is so busy these days that he couldn't have been persuaded to do the voice of the Joker. Seriously, he's not that busy. Sigh . . . . . wasted opportunity of a colossal order. (In case you were unaware, he's been doing the voice of the Joker in the animated series' for years). For that matter, the David Endocrine voice actor could have at least sounded like David Letterman but whatever.Regardless, an opportunity that was lost by the director when some of the internal narration of the characters thoughts was completely omitted from the film. I personally think it would have added considerable depth to the film to have heard both Batman's and Superman's thoughts in the lead up to the conclusion.As a side note: after watching the film and then rethinking the graphic novel or a min or two, I've come to the conclusion that Superman was a bit of an ((*&^%& in both the graphic novel and the film. He's Superman for crying out loud, did he really have to sink the Soviet air craft carrier etc.? I would imagine this caused a serious loss of life on the Soviet side which, when you consider Superman's powers and abilities, is basically needless. Considering the extreme disparity of power between the Soviets & the American forces + Superman, this really ends up being on the side of mass murder. But I digress.

This DVD reminds me what an evil, twisted mass-murdering psychopath the Joker really is. Completely without a conscience and utterly unredeemable. Since  Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 (Region 2) , we kept being shown glimpse of the Joker in a lunatic asylum. Finally the Joker hatches a plan for one last showdown between him and the Batman. This is dark, twisted and BRUTAL!!!! This one thing I do not understand is the fact that after all this time Batman has obviously gotten older and lost a step of two; whereas the Joker seems to have gained a step like he has just come into his prime. He is physically a match for Batman. The closet version of this Joker is in  Batman: Under The Red Hood [DVD ].The other villain of the movie is Superman. Yes Superman. I think in the era when the comic was written Superman stood for "Truth, Justice and the American way". This is taken to the nth level as Superman has become an attack dog for the President. Who sums it up perfectly "We have God on our side; or the next best thing ;-)". Not being a Superman fan I always love when he is put back in his place and nobody does it better then Batman. Basically the president feels Batman working outside the system his upsetting the establishment so he tells Superman to "fix it".Great movie just wish it was not so extortionally expansive. I am tempted to take a star away for the crazy price tag. Also my DVD came with the synopsis on the back in German. Not really a huge problem. I would recommend any to buy this DVD, but when the price drops a bit. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 (Region 2)Batman: Under The Red Hood [DVD

This is a must buy for any Batman fan, and if you are a fan chances are you already have the comic. This is a faithful adaptation and doesn't hold any punches. My only slight gripe is that Michael Emerson's Joker sounds a bit like Roger the alien from American Dad at times, which is somewhat distracting.

Fantastic storyline and animation, one of the best Batman films around. A must watch for any Batman fan! I brought the steelbook edition and although the case is written in French, the movie can obviously be played in English... Mine automatically played in English.

Yes, it is. In every single way. The comics on which this and Part 1 are based are two of my favourites and these films deliver on them. Worth the price of admission just for the final battle.

excellent