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Batman: The Dark Knight Returns: Part One (2012) Movie Review

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part One – ABC Film Challenge – Comic Books – B – Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part One – Movie Review

Dark Knight Returns

Director: Jay Oliva

Writer: Bob Goodman (Screenplay)

Writer: Frank Miller, Klaus Janson (Comic Book)

Cast (Voice Talents)

  • Peter Weller (Robocop)
  • Ariel Winter (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang)
  • David Selby (The Social Network)
  • Wade Williams (The Dark Knight Rises)
  • Carlos Alazraqui (Planes)

Plot: Batman has not been seen for ten years. A new breed of criminal ravages Gotham City, forcing 55-year-old Bruce Wayne back into the cape and cowl. But, does he still have what it takes to fight crime in a new era?

Runtime: 1 Hour 16 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part One starts 10 years after Batman has vanished. An aging Bruce Wayne has continued his friendship with Commissioner Gordon, helping through crimes. When a mutant group has started taking over the city, causing pain and problems.

Bruce Wayne steps back into the Batman costume to face the mutants, as Harvey Dent has recently been released from prison. This sees Bruce get a new Robin, one that could help put aside the pain he suffered from losing the last one.

Verdict on Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part One

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part One is an animated action movie. It dives into one of Batman’s darker graphic novels as he faces a new enemy in a group known only as the Mutants. This sees Batman come out of hiding for the first time in a decade.

This does feel a lot darker than many of the other animated movies. However, lacking a villain that has any real motivation or iconises, holds everything back. On the other side of this though, we get to see an aging Bruce Wayne, which helps see the legacy of batman in Gotham. The movie offers up a discussion about Batman’s involvement in defending the city, leaving the discussion on whether he is right to or not.

Final Thoughts – Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part One is a darker start to a bigger story.

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Movie Review

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) Movie Review

The Super Mario Bros – Movie Review

Super Mario Bros

Director: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic

Writer: Matthew Fogel (Screenplay)

Cast (Voice Talents)

Plot: The story of The Super Mario Bros. on their journey through the Mushroom Kingdom.

Runtime: 1 Hour 32 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Super Mario Bros starts when down-on-their-luck plumbers Mario and Luigi look to save Brooklyn from a water leak. However, they end up getting sucked into a pipe, and Mario ends up in the Mushroom Kingdom. Meanwhile, Luigi ends up in Bowser’s Dark Lands.

As Bowser looks to take over all the remaining kingdoms. Mario must team up with Princess Peach in a battle to take down Bowser and save his brother.

Verdict on The Super Mario Bros

The Super Mario Bros is an animated comedy following the adventures of Mario and Luigi. It sees them learn about their new world as they become the unlikely heroes of land being controlled by an evil ruler.

This is a family-friendly vision behind the iconic video game characters. It gets to pay a lot of respect to the games with certain sequences that fill the movie with nostalgia. However, when it comes to the story, it does feel quite thin and predictable. One of the highlights is Luigi in the dark world, which seems to skip one of the most interesting ideas. The comedy comes hit or misses along the way too.

This ends up being an enjoyable movie with plenty of nods to the origins. However, it plays everything slightly too safe and doesn’t get as outlandish as it could have easily become.

Final Thoughts – The Super Mario Bros is an entertaining vision of the video games.

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Movie Review

The Sea Beast (2022) Movie Review

The Sea Beast – ABC Film Challenge – Oscar Nomination – U (Karl Urban) – The Sea Beast – Movie Review

Sea Beast Poster

Director: Chris Williams

Writer: Nell Benjamin, Chris Williams (Screenplay)

Cast (Voice Talents)

Plot: When a young girl stows away on the ship of a legendary sea monster hunter, they launch an epic journey into uncharted waters – and make history to boot.

Runtime: 1 Hour 55 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Sea Beast starts as we meet Captain Crow and his crew Jacob Holland and Sarah Sharpe. They travel the seas hunting down sea monsters. However, when they let the most dangerous Red Bluster escape, the monarchy wants to use their own vessel to hunt it down.

Captain Crow promises to catch it on his next adventure, or he will step away from hunting. Meanwhile, a young girl Maisie wants to join the crew and sneaks onboard. This forces the crew to accommodate her, but when the next encounter with Red Bluster leaves Maisie and Jacob on a desert island. The pair get a more up close and personal encounter with the monsters and learn what they really want.

Verdict on The Sea Beast

The Sea Beast is an animated adventure movie following a hunter and a young girl learning the true meaning of the monsters of the world. They start out hunting the giant monsters of the ocean, only to learn that the stories they have heard aren’t as true as they have been made to believe.

This is a great story about understanding human’s impact on the world. It shows how they have seen anything they can’t explain as evil and they must hunt it down to kill it. We get to watch how Jacob changes his views as the story unfolds and learns the errors of his way. By doing this, we get to see the stunningly created creatures in a beautifully animated world.

Where to Watch: The Sea Beast is on Netflix right now.

Final Thoughts – The Sea Beast is an amazing world creating animation.