Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2
2013 · Directed by Jay Oliva
Original language: English
- science fiction
- action
- animation
- mystery
The story
Batman has stopped the reign of terror that The Mutants had cast upon his city. Now an old foe wants a reunion and the government wants The Man of Steel to put a stop to Batman.
What it’s like
Hard-edged, hand-inked animation with heavy black shadows, stark primary reds and blues against grey urban concrete, and rain-slick streets lit by sodium glare and TV-screen flicker. The camera favours dramatic low angles, sharp cuts and kinetic action framing, while quieter scenes sit in dim interiors and bare offices. The sound is a driving, percussive orchestral score with thudding brass and synth-heavy tension, broken by long stretches of gravelly, weary voice-over. Its vibe is grim, bruised and operatic, a dystopian comic-book noir that feels like a late-night binge in a dark room. Pacing is brisk and escalating, with the action set pieces arriving in bursts between talky confrontations. Tone is cynical and mournful, following an aging, damaged hero who wrestles with his own methods and with a public that has turned on him. Violence is frequent and cartoonishly brutal, with fistfights, gunfire and explosions, and some bloody moments; there is no sexual content, and the fear is more about menace than gore. For fans of gritty superhero stories, animated noir and older, angrier takes on a familiar myth.
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