To begin, I was extremely excited to get my hands on a copy of this much anticipated release. For everyone who has read the comic, you know what to expect. And for everyone who has not read the comic, then buckle up, you are in for a wild ride. The level of brutality and violence is upped in a huge way. For starters, a chunk of Part 2 deals with the Joker, and his return after being in a catatonic state for ten years. He's back, and he wants blood, or at the very least Batman's head on a pike. I think one of my favorite scenes is the showdown between Batman and the Joker in the Hall of Mirrors and the Tunnel of Love.
The level of violence and wholesale mayhem is unparalleled, the like of which no one will ever see in a animated feature. And then, there is the second half of the film, which deals with the eventual showdown between Superman and Batman. Or Batman vs. Superman in this case. For those who have read the comic before, we all know the development of Superman's reaction to receiving orders from the President to take Batman down. And then there is the fight itself, which is nothing short of epic. I won't go and spoil it for everyone who hasn't had the chance to read the comic or see Part 2, but you are in for a treat, not only content and story wise, but in terms of the bonus features as well.
Overall, this isn't a perfect adaptation. But there is no denying that this is pretty much what we as fans would want. If you're a fan of the story, you'll be pleased to know that the filmmakers don't hold back. There is plenty of action and violence. The tone of the story is captured and this truly is the Dark Knight in his final days. Now some of the choices for voice actors are questionable but everyone does a stellar job regardless. There aren't a whole of stories that jump to mind that we want to see get made into films. The Dark Knight Returns is one of them because it's an important part of the Batman mythos.
I had no issues with this movie, I absolutely loved it! In fact, parts of this movie I think are better than the actual book, like the Batman vs Joker fight. There's no denying that this film (both Parts 1 and 2) is an incredible adaption of it's comic book counterpart.
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