Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Deluxe Edition) [Blu-ray]

This animated movie is a incredible and faithful adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel.

A classic movie. Batman once again takes on the Joker and stands off against Superman.

Having never seen the original graphic novel, I have to say I was highly impressed by this adaptation. It's three hours long of pure, compressed awesome as Batman makes a comeback in Gotham City with a vengeance. And while he is older, Batman has lost none of his skills and determination, settling old scores one by one.Aside from strong action sequences, the movie also has some powerful themes running through it, particularly how it satirizes our media and way of life. Batman's activities and those of his enemies are commented on by a 24/7 news circus, led by a variety of talking heads that are all too often very opinionated but completely clueless. Far from dated, that commentary seems more relevant than ever. Today we live in a 24/7 news cycle, bombarded with information, but most of it's useless at best, misleading at worst.Another theme is authority figures abdicating said authority by failing to act when it's needed. Only Batman is willing to make the hard choices that will keep other people safe and restore order, but unfortunately this, more than anything else, makes him public enemy #1. Is it appropriate to resort to vigilantism when our leaders fail us, or is it better to stand by them for the sake of public order? Batman seems to prefer the former, and it's hard to argue with the results.The characters in the movie are all very interesting, with striking visual designs. The Mutants are a bunch of savages that babble slang from behind the multitudinous neon red glow of their visors, and led by a monstrous leader that probably is, in fact, a mutant. The Joker, in contrast to his usual lanky, disheveled appearance, looks nearly unphased by age and seems stronger than ever. There's Carrie, the girl Robin, who adds a desperately needed splash of bright color to Gotham's grim world, and her enthusiasm is infectious. And of course, there's the Batman, whose strong jaw and muscular bulk mark him as a force to be reckoned with. The voice-overs are all top-notch, too. The Joker's lines are delivered with an unnerving, almost feminine tone as he gleefully rampages about. Peter Weller's Batman is great, too. I know some people would want Kevin Conroy but Weller is just fine, here. This Batman needed to be someone who could come off as both a thinker and a leader, and Weller's strong voice pulled that off, though I have to admit that, when he said, "I am the law!" I couldn't help but get Robocop flashbacks.It's not entirely perfect, though. While the animation is good, some of the special effects, especially fog or smoke, look cheap and out of place beside the animated characters. I also felt the movie was way too hard on "President," who's obviously supposed to be Reagan--and the irony is that, while it was cool to poke fun at Reagan back then, these days, well after the publication of the original graphic novel, politicians from both parties are quick to try and compare themselves to him. So much for that bit of satire. And you may find this movie portrays some classic characters in ways you might be unused to, to say the least. Some scenes, especially with Superman and the Joker, are very disturbing, and I would even go so far as to say Heath Ledger's Joker was restrained compared to the one we have here.The movie caps off with a few hours of documentaries, but while some of them are fairly interesting, they can be safely skipped, because otherwise you're looking at a five hour movie--geeze!Hey, DC! How about a sequel, huh? Because The Dark Knight Strikes Again was... uh... well... hm. You know what, let's leave this saga at this satisfying conclusion. Frank Miller probably should have.

I do not own, or had seen either of the two parts on their own so you can take my review from that perspective.At first, I was hesitant to pick up this movie because the trailers did not really impress me, especially in terms of the art. The movie simply looked ugly, but I am happy to say that I was very pleasantly surprised to find I was wrong. What ultimately pulled me towards this movie was that I was looking for a DC movie where the world was not ideal, and our superheroes were more than just a face. And this movie delivered, and brought dessert with it too.The art fits the mood and story extremely well. The details are in the right places, and everything has a grim look to it, and it carries some weight. The only "cheesy" looking parts of the film are the cars which are straight-up CGI inserts, but those are kept to a minimum throughout. Otherwise, this a terrifically animated movie and it was very enjoyable to look at. The art style is different, but it works in favor of the story.However, the movie does not end at just its animation. The voice acting is outstanding to say the very least. I especially enjoyed Peter Weller's performance of Batman, and it just synced perfectly to the character and mood. Of course, the rest of the cast was very good as well with the exception of the Joker. I might be stuck thinking he should sound like the Joker from The Animated Series, but I do feel something was missing in this film when the Joker took the stage.In terms of the story, you get closure on several of Batman's arch-villains in one form or another. It was quite the ride, and spanned quite a bit of development, and it did not look like they downplayed any of the violence (though I do not know the comic source). However, at the same time, none of it felt really rushed, and in a way it all fell into place over the course of the 2+ hour movie. The ending itself could have gone a different direction, but I'm fine with the direction they took. In addition you also get several references to the 80s (some direct and some indirect) along with the Soviet Union and nuclear holocaust looming in the distance. And of course, you even get some Superman in there for good measure without even mentioning how you get to see the side of Bruce Wayne that you don't get to very often.In terms of what you get with the Blu-ray edition, there is the main Blu-ray disc, a special features disc, and the DVD disc. In addition, there is the Ultraviolet code and 4 art drawings based on the movie. The special features disc contains a few episodes from Batman: The Animated Series and one episode from Batman: The Brave and the Bold. I honestly did not buy this movie for the special features so I have not looked at the rest.Ultimately, if you are looking for a Batman movie that focuses on the more darker side of society, then Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is the Batman movie for you. I was more than impressed.