Thursday 21 September 2017

Batman and Harley Quinn (2017)

Batman the Animated Series may be my all time favorite representation of Batman, in any medium. So the idea of returning to that world in a new adventure after all these years, especially featuring one of the series original creations, fan fave Harley Quinn, seemed like a dream come true. I think I let me expectations get ahead of me as I read about series mastermind Bruce Timm's involvement. I was ready for a nostalgic return visit to one of my favorite places.

Perhaps you can't go home again, but you can come close.
While I enjoyed much of Batman and Harley Quinn, the film never quite reaches the heights of that series best moments. Still it truly captures the feel of that show and brings the energy back to life. The stylings and much of the plot feels straight out of the original series.

Pitting Harley against her old buddy Poison Ivy is a delight, especially when Harley (spoiler? not really) saves the day in the opposite way Batman would do it.

But there is a lot new I enjoyed too. The film skews more adult than BTAS and I loved the way Harley owned her own sexuality. Melissa Rauch nails the voice and mannerisms of the character to the point where I (almost) don't miss the great Miss Sorkin.

But the film feels just a little too silly much of the time. I get a film about Harley has to have a certain level of absurdity and BTAS had its share of ludicrousness but this script never quite sells its plot completely. Perhaps the missing element is Quinn's creator Paul Dini, who wasn't a part of this film.

Still, watching Batman and Harley Quinn felt like what it felt like when I watched BTAS in it's original run. Sure it's not the classic Harley and Ivy episode, but it sure approximated it.

Batman and Harley Quinn
Starring: Kevin Conroy, Melissa Rauch
Director: Sam Liu
Writers: Bruce Timm, Jim Krieg

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