This wasn't good. This wasn't great. This was goddamn AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!
I could not have loved it more. It is by far my favorite of the DC Universe DTV movies.
I... I.. I am still shaking from it's sheer awesomeness.
There were countless times during the movie where I thought I was going to have a stroke because of how much I was enjoying it. This was especially true during the part with the helicopter falling and then when Batman and Nightwing were chasing Red Hood.
I'm a HUGE Judd Winick fan, and I think he did a fantastic job of adapting his comic story (which happens to be one of my favorite Batman/comic stories). I loved that certain lines were kept from the comic (like most if not all of Jason's lines when talking about how Bruce should have killed the Joker for him, and Bruce's stuff about not taking the Robin costume down because nothing had changed). What appears to be Winick's favorite saying, "brain donors" also made it into the movie. That saying seems to make it into a lot of his stories.
The cast was phenomenal. While I, like I'm sure most fans, would prefer it if Kevin Conroy voiced Batman and Mark Hamill voiced Joker in everything, I thought that Bruce Greenwood did a great job as Batman, and John DiMaggio did a FANTASTIC job as the Joker. Oh my god, he was so good. There were parts where if I didn't know better I would have sworn it was Mark Hamill. John DiMaggio now officially goes up there with Heath Ledger and Mark Hamill in the group of fantastic Jokers.
Jensen Ackles was amazing as Red Hood. I loved his speech to Bruce about killing the Joker.
Neil Patrick Harris was awesome as Nightwing. He's really making his way through voicing superheroes. He's voiced Spider-Man, The Flash, and now Nightwing. He did great with them all. And I have to say, I want a solo Nightwing movie staring Neil Patrick Harris RIGHT NOW!!!
Jason Isaacs was great as Ra's al Ghul. I still associate David Warner with the role so much that it was a little weird hearing someone else do him. It's different than with Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill. Sure, I MAJORLY associate them with the roles of Batman and Joker, but there have been quite a few other people to voice Batman and Joker in recent years, and so I'm more used to hearing different voices for them. I may not always like it, but I am used to it. With Ra's, he hasn't been in animation much after Batman: TAS, only Batman: The Brave in the Bold.
The animation was wonderful. I couldn't have loved it more. Everyone looked great. I especially loved the designs of Joker, Red Hood, and Nightwing. Batman was great though too.
I am just so pleased with this movie. It's now up there with The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, and Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker for my favorite Batman movie.
I had huge expectations for this movie and I was still blown away. It exceeded my expectations in every way. Bravo to everyone involved with this movie, bravo.
------------------------------
I skipped the Jonah Hex short for now. I just don't care about the character. I may watch it one day, I may not. I don't know. I still haven't watched the Spectre short from Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths.