BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN, PART TWO Review

SYNOPSIS: Inspired by the iconic mid-1990s DC story from Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two continues as the Holiday Killer is still at large and, with Bruce Wayne under the spell of the venomous Poison Ivy, Batman is nowhere to be found. Liberated by an unlikely ally, Bruce quickly uncovers the real culprit: Poison Ivy’s employer Carmine Falcone. The Roman, his ranks decimated by Holiday and his business spinning out of control, has been forced to bring on less desirable partners – Gotham City’s rogues’ gallery. In the meantime, Harvey Dent is confronting battles on two fronts: attempting to end the mob war while also dealing with a strained marriage. And, after an attack that leaves Harvey hideously disfigured, the District Attorney unleashes the duality of his psyche that he’s strived his entire life to suppress. Now, as Two-Face, Dent decides to take the law into his own hands and deliver justice to those who’ve wronged him, his family, and all of Gotham. Ultimately, The Dark Knight must put together the tragic pieces that converged to create Two-Face, the Holiday Killer, Batman, and Gotham City itself.

Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, DC, and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, the all-new feature-length BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN, PART TWO arrives on Digital & Blu-ray on July 27 and August 10, 2021, respectively.  CLICK HERE for all of BOF’s BTLH coverage.  CLICK HERE or on the Blu-ray art below to order.

ALSO READ | BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN, PART ONE Review by Bill “Jett” Ramey

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If you read my review of BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN, PART ONE (And if you haven’t why not? I don’t do spoilers, y’all know that!) you know that I LOVED this film.  In fact, I put it up there with the best of not just the animated Batman movies — MASK OF THE PHANTASM, UNDER THE RED HOOD, BATMAN BEYOND: RETURN OF THE JOKER, etc. — but amongst the best Batman movies; albeit with a caveat…

PART TWO had to stick the landing.

Did it?  I’ll tell you at the end of this review.

The second half of this film is pretty much Harvey Dent’s story.  Yes, while Batman is front and center, the heart of the story rests with Dent and his transformation into Two-Face.  While we all knew Harvey’s ultimate fate — and was foreshadowed in PART ONE — it was still a bit of an emotional gut-punch when it actually happened.  Credit goes to writer Tim Sheridan and director Chris Palmer for actually making the audience care about Harvey Dent in PART ONE of the film.  As a Batman fan, yes, I know Two-Face coming to be was unavoidable — we even see hints of Harvey’s alter-ego emerging in PART ONE — but I still found myself “hoping” that it wouldn’t happen.

As far as the story itself, PART TWO picks up with Bruce Wayne dealing with the ramifications of his encounter with Poison Ivy during the PART ONE post-credits scene which leaves The Batman nowhere to be found.  All the while, Carmine “The Roman” Falcone has enlisted the help of Gotham’s new breed of criminals — the “Freaks” — much to the chagrin of his daughter, Sofia (and obviously, Bruce once free from Ivy’s spell).

The Batman/Catwoman dynamic/partnership is further focused upon in PART TWO.  While the relationship between Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne didn’t work, could things fare better for Batman and Catwoman?  Also, will Selina get confirmation — one way or the other — about her connection to the Falcone family?

And of course, the Holiday Murders in Gotham continue as Batman and Jim Gordon continue their hunt for the killer.  However, both fear that the third member of their triumvirate — District Attorney Harvey Dent — might be the killer.  In fact, all the signs point to Harvey.  Could the identity of Holiday be THAT obvious?

In the end, Batman figures it all out and Holiday Killer’s true identity is revealed — as is the reason behind the killings.  Honestly, it threw me for a loop and includes a twist that I certainly did not see coming.

I’m not going to rehash my thoughts on the voice cast and animation in PART TWO because both are the same as PART ONE: Great.  Overall, this is one well-acted film with very cool animation.

I will say that PART TWO is better viewed when watching it consecutively with PART ONE.  I got my reviewing copy and immediately watched it without having seen PART ONE in about a month.  The following day, I watched both back to back as essentially one movie and liked experiencing it that way better.  For all of you folks who told me you were waiting for both parts to be released as to view it in its entirety, the wait is over; well, come July 27th and August 10th, 2021 when PART TWO is released on Digital and Blu-ray, respectively.

If you enjoyed PART ONE — as I and most others did —  PART TWO will not disappoint.  It’s the most “detective story” Batman movie — animated or live-action — to date.  And haven’t fans been clamoring for a detective Batman to do detective things in a Batman movie for a long time?  Now on the big question…

Did BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN, PART TWO stick the landing?

It did.

Now that I’ve seen the entire BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN movie, I can say that it indeed is one of the best Batman films to date without that “if it sticks the landing” caveat.  And don’t worry, all those plot questions are indeed answered in the movie, so nothing is really left open-ended…sorta.

So, how about an “inspired by” DARK VICTORY sequel? – Bill “Jett” Ramey

GRADE: A