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 judgment 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.
For in-depth thoughts on Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two, please see my colleague Mike Vaughn’s review of the film here.
Video Quality
Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two comes to Blu-Ray with a luscious but imperfect 1080p transfer. The textures in the character designs to the environments are extremely impressive and give the film a real sense of depth. One of the areas where the film really shines is the fluid nature of the character designs. The subtle touches that are added to each individual is quite striking and shows a real attention to detail. This extends to the thoughtfulness that these animators put into each environment which shines through really well here. This may be a darker tale, but the colors present in this transfer are practically leaping off the screen with the wide range of hues permeating the frame. Black levels are incredibly strong, but this transfer does give way to some compression artifacts and other digital anomalies. The most prevalent flaw with this disc is the banding that plagues much of the film, showcasing a striping appearance that is in incongruous with the animation style. There is much to love about this Blu-Ray presentation, but there are some technical issues that should be alleviated once the full story is given a 4K UHD Blu-Ray release.
Audio Quality
This release boasts a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that really shines in this film which brings a great deal more force after the relatively reserved initial installment. The track engages all of the channels with panning effects and the sounds of a brutal car crash which really packs a punch. One of the more effective moments is when Scarecrow gets to play around with his fear-inducing toxins which creates a hellish and active sonic environment. One cannot find fault in some of the chaos Grundy brings about, as well. There is a pleasing amount of activity in the low-end during the most active moments of the narrative. Dialogue is often accompanied by a score from Michael Gatt or all manner of sound effects, but all of the information comes through clearly without getting muddied. Warner Bros. almost always knocks it out of the park with their audio track, so those with a good surround sound setup will be more than pleased.
Special Features
- DC Showcase Animated Short – Blue Beetle: A new 16-minute goofy throwback short that features the characters from the classic comic series that is quite unlike what we usually get out of this line. Matt Lanter voices Blue Beetle with appearances from other characters such as Captain Atom, Nightshade, The Question and Dr. Spectro. This is lighthearted and campy in a way that brings you back from the darkness of The Long Halloween. I would not mind seeing more of this in the future.
- Sneak Peek of Injustice: An eight-minute tease of an upcoming Elseworlds animated movie with finished clips, rough animatics and interviews with screenwriter Ernie Altbacker, producer Rick Morales, director Matt Peters, actors Anson Mount (Batman), Brandon Michael Hall (Cyborg), Anika Noni Rose (Catwoman), Justin Hartley (Superman) and more.
- Preview of Batman – The Dark Knight Returns, Part Two: A nearly seven-minute featurette which explores the feature that was released in 2013. Nothing substantial to add if you have already seen what it is promoting.
- Preview of Batman – Hush: A nine-minute featurette that does the same for the 2019 feature.
- From The Vault: Two classic episodes from Batman: The Animated Series are provided in full here. These are in HD and provide a nice sample of what you will get if you spring for the Complete Series set on Blu-Ray that no Batman fan should be without.
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- Two-Face Part 1
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- Two-Face Part 2
Final Thoughts
Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two perfectly completes the thrilling story that the initial installment set up so delicately. By going at a relatively reserved pace in the beginning, you become more connected with the characters and feel more of an impact when things hit the fan in the conclusion. The screenplay from Tim Sheridan has done this seminal story justice, and the direction from Chris Palmer has executed the vision beautifully along with a talented vocal ensemble. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has once again offered up a Blu-Ray with a decent A/V presentation that will hopefully grow in stature once the 4K UHD release comes around. The special features included here are pretty entertaining. If you are not 4K-capable, you should not hesitate to add both parts of this story to your collection. Recommended
Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray on August 10, 2021. This film is currently available on Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
