Overview: The Dark Knight must combat a unified front of classic DC Super-Villains, diffuse an escalating mob war and solve the mystery of the Holiday Killer in Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two, the thrilling conclusion to the two-part entry in the popular series of DC Universe Movies.

Blu-ray Verdict: Setting the scene a little, Batman: The Long Halloween, Parts One & Two is the sixth comic-book role for David Dastmalchian after Thomas Schiff in The Dark Knight (2008), Kurt in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Dwight Pollard in Gotham (2014), Abra Kadabra in The Flash (2014) and Abner Krill/Polka-Dot Man in The Suicide Squad (2021).

And this time with Jensen Ackles lending his voice to a Batman story for the second time - he voiced Jason Todd, also known as Red Hood, in Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010), and with Naya Rivera having recorded her dialogue as Catwoman before her untimely death in 2020 - I can confirm that having now watched it twice, Batman: The Long Halloween Parts One & Two is a quite brilliant addition to the animated Batman world.

The centerpiece of Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One revolved around the triumvirate of crimefighters - Batman/Bruce Wayne, Police Captain James Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent - as they tried to solve the mystery of the Holiday Killer.

Inspired by the iconic mid-1990s DC story from Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One began as a brutal murder on Halloween prompts Gotham’s young vigilante, the Batman, to form a pact with the city’s only two uncorrupt lawmen - Police Captain James Gordan and District Attorney Harvey Dent - in order to take down The Roman, head of the notorious and powerful Falcone Crime Family.

But when more deaths occur on Thanksgiving and Christmas, it becomes clear that instead of ordinary gang violence, they are also dealing with a serial killer - the identity of whom, with each conflicting clue, grows harder to discern.

Few cases have ever tested the wits of the Worlds Greatest Detective like the mystery behind the Holiday Killer.

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.

As we all know by now, the Dark Knight finds an unlikely partner in Catwoman (voiced by the late Naya Rivera in her final acting performance), and there are plenty of Catwoman/Selina Kyle assists here, that’s for sure.

And so, in my humble opinion, Part One and Part Two are two of the best of the straight-to-home entertainment (animated) Batman films from Warner Bros./DC to date and writer Tim Sheridan does a fantastic job of evoking the spirit of the graphic novel while delivering something new.

What further solidifies that opinion is that the film itself looks oh-so lusciously beautiful, so major props to all the graphic artists that were involved.

The backgrounds are especially well done and give off a dark, damp, and yes, of course, suitably noir vibe and there is also something a little different, but rather cool, about the actual characters themselves.

The black outline around each gives it a bit of a comic book/motion comic feel, which I thought made the characters jump out a bit more than usual in these sort of animated movies. Anyway, buy this for yourselves and you decide if I am right or wrong!

Extras & Special Features:
DC Showcase – Blue Beetle (New Animated Short) – Sufferin’ Scarabs! Silver Age Blue Beetle is back! And, had he ever starred in a 1960s Saturday-morning limited-animation cartoon with its own jazzy earworm of a theme song, it would have been just like this!

Welcome to the adventures of Ted Kord, alias the Blue Beetle, as he teams up with fellow Super Heroes Captain Atom, The Question and Nightshade to battle that nefarious finagler of feelings, Doctor Spectro.

A Sneak Peek at the next DC Animated Movie – An advanced look at Injustice
DC Universe Movies Flashback - Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 & Batman: Hush
From the DC Vault - Batman: The Animated Series – Two-Face, Part 1 & Batman: The Animated Series – Two-Face, Part 2

Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, DC and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, the feature-length animated film – which will be accompanied by the latest DC Showcase animated short, Blue Beetle –arrives July 27, 2021 on Digital and August 10, 2021 on Blu-ray. Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two is rated R for some violence and bloody images.

Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two will be available on Blu-ray (USA $34.98 SRP; Canada $39.99 SRP) as well as on Digital. The Blu-ray features a Blu-ray disc with the film in hi-definition and a digital version of the movie. In 2022, Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two will be available on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack as a combined film presentation with Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One.

Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two | Official Trailer | Warner Bros. Entertainment

Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two | Sofia | Warner Bros. Entertainment

Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two | Two-Face & Grundy | Warner Bros. Entertainment

Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two | Exclusive Clip | Warner Bros. Entertainment

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