In Review: Batman: The Long Halloween Part 1

Synopsis: The Long Halloween is based on the critically acclaimed graphic novel. Batman, Lieutenant Gordon and D.A. Harvey Dent race against the calendar as it advances toward the next ill-fated holiday.

The Story

When an informant, who is about to turn evidence against Carmine Falcone is Murdered on Halloween. Batman, Commissioner Gordon, and D.A. Harvey Dent find their case against the gangster shattered. Helped by Catwoman. The Batman and Dent find out where Carmine has been stashing his money and opt to burn the whole lot to get Falcone’s attention. Retaliation comes fairly swift when Falcone gets his people to plant a bomb in the D.A.s home.

So, instead of going after Falcone, they find themselves trying to figure out who it is that’s going after his people. However, as Thanks Giving approaches The Holiday Killer strikes again…

The Voice Acting

We get some fantastic performances in this first chapter of the double feature. Jensen Ackles pretty much owns it as Batman and does a pretty decent Bruce Wayne as well. Josh Duhamel makes for a pretty convincing Harvey Dent and we are already seeing hints of the character’s tragic future. And Troy Baker makes for a pretty compelling Joker.

That said though. Much of the criminal activity in this film is connected to the Falcone Family and the Mob. Titus Welliver comes through the goods as Carmine and portrays him with the right intensity. While Jack Quaid does some great work as Carmine’s weakling son Alberto.

Overall

Part One of ‘The Long Halloween’ is set relatively early in Batman’s crime fighting career. A big clue being that he doesn’t have bulletproof glass yet on his Batmobile. Another is the fact that Carmine Falcone is still the big crime boss of Gotham City. However, this is no bad thing because it makes for a more nuanced and fun story as we see Batman still undergoing a bit of a learning process. Especially when it comes to detective work.

Overall. This is a pretty strong opening chapter. We get a satisfying cliffhanger, which sees Holiday hits on Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Years’. With a little bit of a wait until the second part is released. We as yet still do not know the identity of the killer. But there is a pool of suspects and one who Batman is somewhat hesitant about.

Overall bring on part two because this is the best animated story have seen from DC in quite a while. It’s certainly an improvement over ‘Justice Society: World War II’, which we reviewed some time ago.