Fanboys Anonymous

The latest in the line of animated DC direct-to-video films is Batman: Hush, based on the comic by the same name. Is it worth the watch, or should it be skipped?

Welcome to the latest edition of Making the Grade—a review format segment here on Fanboys Anonymous where we break down the major components of a movie and give it a score based on the standard report card lineup: A, B, C, D, and F for a total failure.

Batman: Hush
Directed by Justin Copeland
Written by Ernie Altbacker, Jim Lee (comic), Jeph Loeb (comic)

STARRING: Jason O'Mara (Bruce Wayne / Batman), Jennifer Morrison (Selina Kyle / Catwoman), Jerry O'Connell (Clark Kent / Superman), Maury Sterling (Thomas Elliot / Hush), Rainn Wilson (Lex Luthor), Rebecca Romijn (Lois Lane), Geoffrey Arend (Edward Nygma / The Riddler), Sean Maher (Dick Grayson / Nightwing), Peyton List (Barbara Gordon / Batgirl), Vanessa Williams (Amanda Waller), Jason Spisak (The Joker), Hynden Walch (Harleen Quinzel / Harley Quinn), Bruce Thomas (Commissioner Gordon), Stuart Allan (Damian Wayne / Robin), James Garrett (Alfred Pennyworth), Sachie Alessio (Lady Shiva), Adam Gifford (Bane, Clayface), Tara Strong (Reporter)

STORY: A

Hush is an amazing story. Admittedly, they trimmed this down by cutting some plotlines, like Jason Todd, Two-Face, and making it so Tommy Elliot isn't actually Hush. But you know what? Those things happen in adaptations, and if I wasn't aware of the original story, I would think that this was almost entirely a fully realized story, with the only oddball part of it being The Riddler's nearly random introduction with the Lazarus Pit having virtually no setup ahead of time, rather than Lady Shiva's quick aside. However, I'd argue that in some ways, that's better, because we as a viewing audience shouldn't be aware of all the omniscient aspects of a mystery if we're on the same journey as the protagonist, since that spoils it. There's no way Bruce would know every little thing (even though he's The God Damn Batman), so it's nice to see a mystery that can't be guessed ahead of time because we're lacking information, like every other character would be missing.

It's a great story of Bruce and Selina's relationship and how that works, more than anything else.

CHARACTERS: A+

Look, I've said it a million times before, Batman (Bruce Wayne) is my favorite character of all time in any form of fiction.

Catwoman was sexy and the right balance of villainous and heroic, and the standout of the story.

Even the side characters were translated perfectly, like how Bane wasn't just a mindless brute and they wrote that off as a side effect of the venom. Fantastic characterization for Damian. I loved Barbara having a serious vibe of intelligent sass to her and Dick being cocky and humorous.

Luthor being helpful, but in the most pain in the ass way. Joker being obsessed with Batman and finding humor in a situation where he's getting his ass kicked and he's innocent from killing Elliot, and mentioning that he wants Batman to break his code, but for something he did. Poison Ivy being flirtatious and nasty. All great stuff.

TONE / ATMOSPHERE: A+

This had the right balance of action, comedy and romance for what these movies should have. It was adult enough for a wide target audience wherein kids can take it at face value without looking deeper, while adults can take more out of things like the struggles of relationships and even knowing that friend of yours that would act the way Dick does with Bruce. This was really done well, and it makes me want the team behind this to do more of these.


ACTING: B

Voice acting on these are all pretty much top-notch for the main characters. I'm always going to say that Kevin Conroy would be better, but Jason O'Mara is probably my #2 favorite Batman voice actor by this point.

Vanessa Williams immediately lands as Amanda Waller, for instance, as she commands respect and authority with every syllable.

I'm not fond of Rainn Wilson as Lex Luthor, though, and I think they always downgrade when it comes to The Joker if they don't have Mark Hamill or Troy Baker doing the voice.

VISUALS (FX, MAKEUP, COSTUMES, SETS): A+

This may be the absolute best animation out of any of these films. Perfect. The costumes for all the characters were realistic, the cityscape was fitting. Awesome job.

AUDIO (MUSIC / SOUND): A–

It's hard to give this a really strict grade, as it's just pretty much good enough to be in the background without being distracting. The music wasn't memorable in the slightest bit, nor was any of it distracting. The sound design was rock solid.

• The little kid kicking Bane and calling him an asshole.
• "Okay you crazy plant bitch, it's on." - Catwoman
• Selina's cat is named Eartha. Amazing.
• Vesti La Giubba! Great touch!
• "Who's Robin these days?" - Joker. LOVE IT. Very subtle Jason Todd thing (although where's Tim Drake in all this? It kind of proves to me my theory that Drake is a one-trick pony only useful for getting Batman to stop being upset about Todd's death, and that Damian is almost a better method to do that)
• I absolutely LOVE that Selina asks Batman "Wait, are you sure?" when he's going to reveal his identity. That right there is all you need to know about Catwoman as a character in terms of her alignment.
• "Who's Damian?" / "Robin. His.......son....." - LOL
• Points deducted for the design of Mr. Freeze.
• Wait, so are they implying that Gordon knows Bruce is Batman? I dig it. I always like my Jim Gordon to be a good enough detective in his own right to have figured it out but never wants to officially confirm it because he wants plausible deniability.

GRADE: A+ (Pass)

Amazing. I can't recommend this enough. Definitely see it, don't skip it. This may be my favorite of these animated films yet.