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 (013021)
During the 1970s cinema blew up with the Kung Fu genre, showcasing the talent of
stars like Bruce Lee on the big screen in numerous action adventure films. DC
Comics followed suit with quite a few characters created by Denny O’Neil
extremely skilled in martial arts and even focused more on Batman’s training and
skill as a martial artist. Director Sam Liu, producer Bruce Timm and
screenwriter Jeremy Adams deliver a throwback to that era with DC’s latest
animated feature Batman: Soul of the Dragon, a fun and entertaining film steeped
in the martial arts genre with great focus on the characters, particularly the
somewhat lesser-known characters Batman teams up with.
Batman: Soul of the Dragon begins years after Bruce Wayne traveled the world to
learn skills needed for fighting crime. When Richard Dragon, one his fellow
students from studying martial arts, comes to Bruce with a mission related to
their training days, they must find Lady Shiva and Bronze Tiger, their other
fellow students, to combat this new and growing evil.
The character work in the film is very well done as Adams provides interesting
insight into the minds of the characters. Batman gets a fair amount of focus,
but what is intriguing is how Soul of the Dragon is more of a Bruce Wayne film
as he is featured much more than his costumed alter-ego. Much time is spent
during the training sequences on the spiritual enlightenment martial arts can
bring and the strength in coming to know yourself, but Bruce follows a divergent
and darker path on his quest to battle crime. The writing probes the darker
elements that brew under Bruce’s surface and how, even years later as Batman,
he’s still burning with that intense anger. For what some fans might think would
be a cheesy throwback to the 70s, the story actually has a nice take and insight
on Bruce’s character. Grimm‘s David Giuntoli does a great job portraying the
battle within Bruce as he tries cutting off nearly everyone he knows to focus on
his mission as Batman while still attempting to have something of a life.
Guintoli’s vocal range differentiating Bruce Wayne and Batman is also good,
showing a subtle difference between the two that still questions which one is
the real persona.
However, for a movie titled Batman it is much more of an ensemble film as the
Dark Knight takes almost a backseat to his teammates. This is used to great
effect, allowing some of DC’s lesser-known heroes and anti-heroes to take center
stage. Richard Dragon, played by
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum star and
accomplished martial artist Mark Dacascos, arguably gets the most time out of
any of the core cast. What is interesting about Dragon is he has been somewhat
re-imagined in the last few years through DC’s comics and the Arrow TV series as
a villain with a new character taking his name and mantle, but Soul of the
Dragon allows Richard to reclaim his heroic status. Dacascos imbues a lot of
charm, wit and pathos to Richard Dragon, making him a very likeable and fun
character who is a blend of superhero and super spy. He has an interesting
parallel journey to Batman where he recognizes the power of evil, but tries not
to let it bring him down by doing the best he can to limit its spread rather
than let it control him the way it does Bruce. Their pairing is among the best
in the film and it is fun to see how Batman and Richard are so similar yet also
different in their quests.
Rounding out their team are Lady Shiva and Bronze Tiger, two characters who have
been villains or anti-heroes throughout their publication history. Soul of the
Dragon places Bronze Tiger more on the heroic side while Lady Shiva is very much
in the grey area. She was the best student among them, to the point even Batman
is wary of going against her, but has since turned to a life of crime
controlling many of the criminal elements in Gotham City. Kelly Hu delivers
Shiva’s stoic and deadly nature quite nicely, making it clear through her vocal
performance this is someone who should not be trifled with. A bit more time
could have been used to show how Shiva went from a prized pupil to crime boss,
but her other material more than makes up for that as she rediscovers her
purpose. Michael Jai White is no stranger to the role of Bronze Tiger after
portraying him in Arrow, but here he plays up more of Tiger’s heroic side as he
tries to pass on what he has learnt to others. Tiger is a likeable character and
often the film’s source of comic relief as White adds a lot of youthful energy
to Tiger’s presence. There really is not a weak link among the core cast as
Guintoli, Dacascos, Hu and White make a great ensemble that captures much of the
essence of their characters and even the supporting roles of James Hong’ s
O-Sensei, the group’s wise and humorous teacher, and Josh Keaton’s King Cobra, a
cult leader in search of a powerful artifact, provide plenty of depth to the
film’s themes, especially with regards to Hong’s performance as he switches from
a mysterious sage to snarky wisecracker with ease.
One of the biggest strengths of Soul of the Dragon, though, is the animation.
There is a huge level of detail in the film’s animation, from the hairstyles,
clothes and settings of the 70s to, significantly, the fight scenes. The martial
arts featured are so fluid, fast-paced and well-choreographed that they are
endlessly entertaining. Just when you think you might have had enough and will
see the same type of fights over and over again, the film still finds ways to
switch it up and add in a brand new element to make things both more difficult
for the characters and entertaining for the audience. Shiva steals many of the
moments in the fight sequences, showing why she is considered one of the most
skilled and deadliest fighters in the DC Universe. There is a lot to enjoy from
the fights, especially for those who are fans of the martial arts genre and
films from the 1970s. Liu, Timm and Adams touch on so many of the tropes found
in those films ranging from the spy genre, martial arts adventure and even
blaxploitation. Even the music feels right out of that era, helping to create
the atmosphere from those genres.
Batman: Soul of the Dragon is a very entertaining film with great animation,
characters and a strong cast. The choice to focus more on DC’s other martial
artists and give them time to shine rather than solely on Batman was a wise
choice as it opened up so many more avenues for the story. Richard Dragon and
Lady Shiva steal the show on several occasions and the animation of the fighting
sequences with the characters different styles is well done. Sam Liu, Bruce Timm
and Jeremy Adams delivered a fine film to start Warner Bros. Animation’s year
off as any fan of Batman, DC and the martial arts genre will get have a good
time with this film.
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