| Batman: The Long Halloween | |
|---|---|
 Part One Blu-ray | |
| Directed by | Chris Palmer |
| Written by | Tim Sheridan |
| Based on | Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Edited by | John Soares |
| Music by | Michael Gatt |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Home Entertainment |
Release dates | Part 1,
|
Running time | Part 1, 85 minutes; Part 2, 87 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Batman: The Long Halloween is a 2021 American two-part animated direct-to-video superhero film produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment, based on the DC Comics storyline of the same name. It is the 42nd film in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line. The film is directed by Chris Palmer and stars the voices of Jensen Ackles, Naya Rivera, Josh Duhamel, Billy Burke, Titus Welliver, David Dastmalchian, Troy Baker, Amy Landecker, Julie Nathanson, Jack Quaid, Fred Tatasciore and Alastair Duncan.
The film is dedicated to Rivera, as it was her final film role before her death in 2020. The studio plans to release a combined version of the film in 2022.[1]
Plot[]
Part One[]
In Gotham City on Halloween, Carmine "The Roman" Falcone's nephew, Johnny Viti, is murdered by a mysterious figure who leaves a jack-o-lantern at the crime scene. Gotham City Police Department Captain James Gordon summons District Attorney Harvey Dent and Gotham's vigilante Batman to investigate the murder.
Batman follows Catwoman to Falcone's cash stockpile. Based on a coin flip, Dent decides to burn the money rather than move it legally. In retaliation, Falcone hires Mickey Chen to bomb Dent's house. Both Dent and his wife Gilda survive, but Dent is hospitalized. Batman chases Chen down to the sewers, where Chen runs into Solomon Grundy. Batman convinces Grundy to spare Chen and takes Chen to the GCPD. Lacking evidence of his involvement in the bombing, Batman and Gordon are forced to release him. Gordon advises Batman to learn more about being a detective.
On Thanksgiving, Falcone reminds his son, Alberto, that he will never inherit the family business. Dent escapes from the hospital and meets Gordon, who gives him a gun for protection. After Chen and his associates are killed by Viti's murderer, Gordon and Batman question Calendar Man in Arkham Asylum on the identity of the murderer, who is now coined "Holiday." Calendar Man names Falcone, Sal Maroni, and Dent as suspects and calls Batman's war on crime a "joke"; Batman then realizes that the Joker has escaped from Arkham.
Not wanting Holiday to replace him as Gotham's most notorious criminal, Joker confronts Dent in his home and threatens to kill Gilda if Dent is proven to be Holiday. Maroni advises Batman that if Joker is Holiday, he will inevitably target Falcone himself. On Christmas Eve, Joker harasses Falcone, warning him to divulge any new information about Holiday to him. Falcone’s bodyguard, Milos Grappa, chases Joker out of the building but is killed by Holiday. In the Batcave, Batman identifies Maroni, Falcone's sister, Carla Viti, Joker, Falcone, and an unnamed figure, implied to be Dent, as suspects.
Bruce Wayne attends a New Year’s Eve yacht party celebrating Gotham's children's clinic, hosted by Falcone, who calls out Bruce during his speech as the son he never had. Bruce meets with Selina Kyle, who calls off their relationship due to their conflicting secret identities.
Joker attempts to gas Times Square from a stolen plane, hoping that Holiday is among the crowd. After Batman foils Joker, he returns to the yacht and accuses Alberto of being Holiday, targeting his father’s associates to gain power within the family. Alberto argues he only ever wanted to live his own life, rather than being controlled by his father. The latter had previously rejected Alberto's fiancée from Oxford.
As the New Year hits, Alberto is shot by Holiday and falls into the bay, where he is cut to pieces by the propellers. Batman pursues Holiday, but Holiday escapes the yacht. As the yacht is evacuated, Gordon and Dent meet with Batman. Batman tells his allies to assign a protective detail to Falcone and vows to be a better detective.
In a post-credits scene, Falcone requests Bruce's help laundering his money, but Bruce refuses. Falcone then introduces the woman accompanying him, who shakes Bruce's hand. Vines emerge from under her sleeve to grip Bruce's arm. His eyes turn green, indicating that Poison Ivy has taken control of him.
Part Two[]
With Bruce Wayne under her control, Poison Ivy forces him to sign over his assets to Carmine Falcone, unintentionally preventing him from acting as Batman. Catwoman later rescues Bruce, informing him that he has been inactive for three months and the Holiday killings have continued through Valentine's Day, Saint Patrick's Day, and April Fools' Day, targeting both the Falcones and the Maronis. On Mother's Day, Holiday kills the gunmaker supplying his weapons. That same night, Scarecrow escapes from Arkham Asylum and ends up in a fight with Batman. Scarecrow manages to inject fear toxin into Batman's abdomen. In a fear-induced hallucination, Batman staggers around Gotham, ending up in Crime Alley, where Catwoman finds him and takes him home.
Carmine's daughter, Sofia Falcone, meets with her father after arranging Scarecrow's escape and asks for a seat at his table, which he declines. Dent and Gordon visit Bruce Wayne to get his testimony regarding the night Alberto was killed, with Dent insinuating that there might be a connection between him and the murders due to the Waynes funding the Falcone Crime Family in the past. Bruce recalls an incident from his childhood where he met Carmine after his father saved his life following a shooting from the Maronis, claiming that this incident might've led to the death of his parents a year later, insisting that any loyalty between the Waynes died with them.
On Father's Day, Maroni meets with his father, Luigi, who is then murdered by Holiday. Following his last advice, Maroni approaches Dent, agreeing to testify against Falcone in exchange for prosecutorial immunity. On the Fourth of July, Harvey and Gilda watch the evening fireworks display on a boardwalk alongside Gordon's family. Batman is captured while trying to stop Scarecrow and the Mad Hatter from robbing a bank for the Falcones, but easily escapes his restraints and defeats the two villains. At Carmine's signal, a mob hitman attacks the Dents. Catwoman intervenes but is, in turn, knocked unconscious by the hitman, who also knocks out Dent when he gives chase under the boardwalk. When Dent awakens, he finds the hitman dead, shot by one of Holiday's guns, and hears a voice telling him to run before the police arrive.
Before Maroni's trial, Batman sneaks into Dent's house, finding Holiday's guns in the basement, along with an Oxford pennant, presenting this evidence to Gordon privately on the courthouse roof. During the trial, Dent is tormented by more messages from the voice, and Maroni, going back on his deal, claims that Carmine is an upstanding citizen before throwing a vial of acid in Dent's face to avenge his father's death, believing him to be Holiday. Dent survives with horrible scarring, waking up bandaged in the hospital, finding that the public also believes him to be Holiday. The voice confronts Dent again and then takes over his body, escaping from the hospital after getting a phone call from Carmine, which turns out to be a trap to lure him out to be assassinated for the Holiday killings. Dent kills Carmine's hitmen and is sucked underwater.
At Carmine's birthday party, he celebrates the supposed death of Holiday, only to find his sister, Carla Viti, shot by one of Holiday's guns. Batman interrogates Gilda to learn more about Dent, still wanting to help him because of their friendship. Dent meets Solomon Grundy in the sewers and enlists the latter's help to get revenge, attacking the police convoy escorting Sal Maroni to prison. Batman, disguised as an officer, defeats Grundy and confronts Dent with Gordon, who has removed his bandages to reveal his scarred face and his new personality. Gordon accuses Dent of being Holiday, revealing the guns found in his basement shortly before Maroni is shot by Holiday. Dent, seemingly having deduced who Holiday is, attacks both Batman and Gordon to keep them from giving chase to the killer and then escapes with Grundy. Batman returns to Wayne Manor, which Alfred prepares for another Halloween, and begins to wonder what the point of his mission is if his parents helped create the criminals he fights; however, Alfred assures him that they would be proud. Dent and Grundy then attack Arkham Asylum, freeing numerous inmates, except Calendar Man. Batman begins to doubt that Dent was connected to the killings and visits Carmine, who attempts to kill him. Catwoman prevents this and soon after is asked about her obsession with the Falcone family. She reveals that Carmine is her father, and she wants to find out her mother's name, sharing a kiss with Batman afterward.
The Arkham inmates make their move, with Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, and Mad Hatter attacking the streets, distracting the police to allow Dent, Joker, Grundy, and Penguin to attack Carmine's building. The villains seemingly kill Sofia and capture Carmine, with Dent performing a coin flip to determine whether he will live or die. Batman and Catwoman arrive, subduing most of the rogues, but cannot prevent Dent from shooting Falcone. Sofia wakes up and tries to kill Dent but trips out of the window, allowing herself to fall when Catwoman tries to save her. Catwoman unmasks herself to a bleeding Carmine, who says the name "Louisa," dying shortly afterward in Batman's arms. Later, Batman and Gordon meet Dent, now calling himself "Two-Face," on the GCPD roof. Two-Face declares the Long Halloween to be over, confesses to all of the Holiday murders, and surrenders to Gordon. Batman asks Gordon and Two-Face if their promise to end the Falcone Crime Family was worth it, with Gordon replying that they won't know for a long time.
Two-Face is quickly placed in Arkham Asylum, where he mutters Gilda's name. At the Dents' house, Gilda begins burning Holiday's outfit and equipment, with Batman watching. Gilda reveals that she was Holiday and had been in a relationship with Alberto Falcone when they studied at Oxford, marrying with an expecting soon. However, Carmine forced the two to get an annulment and Gilda to have an abortion, ruining her life and driving her to seek revenge—with Batman already having deduced this as Dent never went to Oxford and acted to save Holiday after learning about the guns. Gilda expresses no remorse for her actions except for what they did to her husband and wonders if Batman will arrest her. Batman only wants to know if Holiday is finished and leaves without telling her his plans. At Wayne Manor, Bruce wonders why Alfred still bothers to leave candy for trick-or-treaters. The doorbell rings, revealing a family with a boy dressed as Batman; Bruce and Selina watch Alfred hand out candy.
In a post-credits scene, Alfred opens the door and, after seeing The Flash and Green Arrow, tells Bruce that it's for him.