Batman: The Long Halloween-Part Two

• Directed by Chris Palmer
• July 27, 2021
• Based on Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale

Voice Cast

• Bruce Wayne/Batman-Jensen Ackles
• Young Bruce Wayne-Zach Callison
• Harvey Dent/Two-Face-Josh Duhamel
• Commissioner Gordon-Billy Burke
• Selina Kyle/Catwoman-Naya Rivera
• Alfred Pennyworth-Alastair Duncan
• Joker, Antoni-Troy Baker
• Julian Day/Calendar Man, Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin-David Dastmalchian
• Barbara Gordon, Carla Viti-Amy Landecker
• Gilda Dent-Julie Nathanson
• Officer Pearce-Gary LeRoi Gray
• Solomon Grundy, Large Triad, Vincent Falcone-Fred Tatasciore
• Sal Maroni, Arkham Guard-Jim Pirri
• Carmine Falcone, Luigi Maroni-Titus Welliver
• Nurse Tamara-Frances Callier
• Mickey Chen-Greg Chun
• Alberto Falcone-Jack Quaid
• Sofia Falcone-Laila Berzins
• Renee Montoya-Alyssa Diaz
• Jervis Tetch/Mad Hatter-John DiMaggio
• Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow, Thomas Wayne-Robin Atkin Downes
• Dr. Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy-Katee Sackhoff
• Bodyguard-Rick D. Wasserman

Freed from the control of Poison Ivy, Batman continues to seek the identity of the killer Holiday who strikes only on holidays throughout the year.

The story of Batman: The Long Halloween-Part Two begins with Bruce firmly in the control of Poison Ivy whom he briefly encountered at the end of Part One. It is all part of a plot by Carmine Falcone to steal the Wayne Family wealth and mostly unconnected to the quest for Holiday. It does put Batman several steps behind as he was clearly closing in as well as moving forward his relationship with Selina as she saves him from Ivy and gives some of her general interest in what is going on.

We get some creepy stuff with Scarecrow. When done right the character always ups the creep factor. Going off on a tangent I feel that Batman could probably do a full-on horror movie with the Scarecrow either in animation or live action. Let’s get weird! Anyway with the inclusion of characters like Mad Hatter and Scarecrow The Long Halloween-Part Two takes on a significantly darker tone than the predecessor and that wasn’t exactly silly either. It’s more than a bit unnerving.

As before this is a genuine mystery. They have you thinking Harvey Dent is Holiday but there’s plenty to point in other directions. You as a viewer are peeling back the mystery along with Batman. This story puts forward the ‘detective’ aspect of the character before the ‘Batman’ aspect. I have never been upset by focusing on the superhero aspect, but detective and hero CAN exist in the same film with the weird elements of the genre as demonstrated here.

And the characters in the story have a surprising depth for a comic book film. I was certainly impressed by the complexity of the characters and of the story. Batman (with Bruce being the mask) gets a certain level of vulnerability as does Selena Kyle. It’s a rare moment of pain and loss for either character. Not that Batman is a jolly old fellow but the depths by which they explore it with him and with Catwoman is not usual. It’s handled sensitively and delicately in moments of fine drama.

There are points in this I swear, intentionally or not, the story hints that Bruce Wayne is the facade while Batman is the true identity. That is something firmly rooted in presentation in the comics. Batman is the true identity. And not in a nice way like it is with Clark Kent/Superman. Bruce died that night in the alley. This puts telling a good Batman story first with the substance second. The two then work hand-in-hand to create something very special.

The story of The Long Halloween-Part Two is a story about broken people coming to terms with their trauma. Some do it better than others as is often the case in life making things in the story strangely nuanced. A superhero movie that is more than superhero antics? Why is that so hard to do as beautifully as they did it here?

Selena has to deal with trying to find her parent is and dealing with not knowing her mother is. Bruce is dealing with as always the death of his parents. Harvey is dealing with his own psychological issues. And his wife Gilda is dealing with the consequences of being the former wife of a mafia Don’s son. Yet the movie never devolves into labored scenes of characters going on and on about feelings to the point the narrative flow is snapped.

There is quite a large number of characters involved with numerous elements in play. Did you check out the number of members of the voice cast? But at no point does it feel bloated. Each one serves a purpose and that purpose is to tell the story.

While there is action here, The Long Halloween-Part Two is not an action focused movie. While there is weird superhero stuff it is not a weird superhero focused movie. It’s focused on the characters in the story. The whole weird nature of superheroes and the world in which Batman functions serves as the setting but not the most important thing. That combined with a focus to tell a good story makes this something more than just another comic book film. 

The character and environment designs are dark and brooding. Gotham is a very dirty place much like Philadelphia on a good day. It’s a decaying city whose best days are behind it because of the rot that has been allowed to grow in it. Like Philadelphia! It is character as much as any other in the story.

This is a slow-paced movie but not one that moves at a crawl. It proceeds methodically and intelligently weighing out each element so that when the ending comes it’s not there because the credits are approaching but because is a culmination of everything that not only came before in this movie but in its predecessor as well.

Batman: The Long Halloween-Part Two is not only a fantastic conclusion to the story begun in the first film but a brilliant Batman film as well. Character driven and dark. It is everything you want in a Batman movie. I highly recommend it!