Ask any Batman fan to name any one of their top five storylines and Hush will make that list. For me it sits follows The Long Halloween as the greatest Batman arc ever inked, edging out The Killing Joke by a hairs length. When I heard it was to be adapted to a full length animated movie I was elated.
Having now watched it, I have more mixed feelings than a high school girl. So to properly analyze the movie I decided to review it on two levels. The movie on its own and the movie as an n adaptation.
The Movie
I had to dig deep to try and zone myself into a mental space that gave me the illusion I had read the book a few times. It was hard trying to erase such an epic tale but here goes nothing. Well as a movie it works, full stop. It has multiple layers than is always moving forward. There is the blossoming relationship between Catwoman and Batman, which is really carved open in a very beautiful manner.
The movie also manages to capture everyone perfectly. From Alfred as the wise yet snarky butler to Dick’s youthful and fun take on life, even though he faces ruthless villains and violence on a daily basis. Then there are the villains, from Harley’s madness to the Joker’s psychopathic traits it hits all the right notes.
Poison Ivy oozes sex appeal and her seduction technique is very much on point. Bane, however, is a disappointment. He is reduced to a brute force rather than the calculated outlaw that makes him a bonafide threat to old Bats.
Like I said earlier, the movie is well constructed, with art that pulls you to Batman’s Gotham in both visual manners and an emotional one. The story has you guessing the whole way through and at the end, once more. It pushes Batman to the limit.
It isn’t the typical hero movie where the villain gets a lot of screen time so the audience can understand him or be enlightened to his reasons for doing what he is. No, rather all screen time is minimized and the appearances are brief and shrouded in mystery. This truly does wonders for the villain.
As a movie it works, as it entertaining to watch. It takes you deep into Batman’s world as he races to find out who the mystery villain is. As a movie, the reveal at the end is actually rewarding and makes sense to a point. The fight sequences are excellent and the banter is par to none. Take away the infamous title and I would be gaga over the film.
The Adaptation
Here is where it goes horribly wrong. This was changes are made to a classic story for reasons we cannot understand. Somehow the studio forgot that the original was near perfect story. It didn’t need change. Sure they could argue that if they didn’t change it, it would simply be the book in motion. I suppose that’s a point.
And I am sure that switching Bane for Killer Croc makes sense in reaching a wider audience. But when a classic villain origin and well entire character profile is savagely butchered, then there is a problem. The sad part is that it could have been still preserved while playing it the way they did. Mid-post-credits scene anyone?
As an adaptation, it starts off fairly well but loses sight very quickly and while it maintains the arcs of all characters it still falls short at the end simply for the sacrifice it makes in order to give us something new and fresh. The irony is that those who have read the story will be disappointed and those that didn’t will actually miss out on one of the biggest twists in comic book lore.
DC has effectively created a double-edged sword and decided to use it on themselves.
As an adaptation, this movie doesn’t work, it takes that title villain and plays him of for thrills. While adapting a story may require key changes when changing mediums, it doesn’t mean the core DNA must be altered. This will change the movie in such a fundamental way that it may not resemble the original concept after a while. And that’s what happens by the third act.
Verdict
I have always praised DC on their animated films, it always seems to push the envelope. However, with now two adaptations falling short, I am starting to wonder if they are entering their animated threshold. For Hush, it should have been an instant classic. It should have simply stuck to the source material.
Unlike live-action, animation is the only place that really comes close to the imaginations of the beloved creators of these original stories. There is no adapting to reduce costs. There is no expanded universe that needs to factor in.
But maybe I am too close to this. Maybe others will enjoy the new twist, after all, I hear vanilla is a flavor too.
