7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.4 |
A mysterious villain puppeteering Gotham’s most dangerous forces leads the Dark Knight into uncharted waters in Batman: Hush, the next entry in the popular series of DC Universe Movies. An adaptation of the seminal DC classic tale, Batman: Hush centres on a shadowy new villain known only as Hush, who uses Gotham’s Rogues Gallery to destroy Batman’s crime-fighting career, as well as Bruce Wayne’s personal life—which has already been complicated by a relationship with Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman.
Starring: Jason O'Mara, Jennifer Morrison, Stuart Allan, Sachie Alessio, Geoffrey ArendComic book | 100% |
Action | 80% |
Sci-Fi | 57% |
Animation | 55% |
Adventure | 51% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
German: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English SDH, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
NOTE: For an additional 15 1080p images, please refer to my separate 4K review.
Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment continue their hit-or-miss series of Batman comic book adaptations with Hush, a re-telling of the immensely well-received 2002-03 twelve-issue arc by Jeph Loeb (story), Jim Lee (pencils), Scott Williams (inks), and Alex Sinclair (colors). The print version is a dense and layered tale with a staggering number of established DC characters -- Batman, of course, but also Superman, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, The Joker, Harley Quinn, Nightwing, The Riddler, Ra's al Ghul, multiple Robins, Clayface, and more -- as well as one major new one: the title character "Hush", a hyper-intelligent master of disguise who is somehow behind a rash of violent crimes in which the Rogues' Gallery villains seem to be acting out of character. Warner Bros.' new animated movie represents this story's first official leap beyond the printed page*. Is their 82-minute feature worth the nearly two-decade wait?
* This review initially claimed that "Hush" was planned as a full-length animated production in 2007 that was later cancelled, but that information was incorrect. It was, in fact, pitched as a single episode of "The Batman" during the show's later seasons but never went beyond that phase. Apologies for the confusion.
From a technical standpoint, Batman: Hush is either right on par or slightly better than many recent DCAU productions...in some areas, at least. The character designs and backgrounds are, for the most part, very good (although substantially different in style from the comic) and Frederik Wiedmann's score, as performed by the Angel City Studio Orchestra, is suitably large in scope. Yet the actual animation, from lip movements to fist-fights, can't measure up to all three of those strengths: it's even stiffer than usual at times, which robs several important scenes of the impact they deserve. Budget and time constraints are likely the culprit, but I'm not alone in wishing that Warner Bros. Animation would be much better off releasing less of these things and taking more time on each one.
But in the here and now, Batman: Hush is half decent adaptation and half disappointment. Nostalgic ties to the original
comic give this a strong "your mileage may vary" factor, and I would not be surprised if established fans hated it. Nonetheless,
Warner Bros.' Blu-ray package is another outstanding effort, serving up a rock-solid A/V presentation and a decent assortment of extras that,
similar to most DC releases, cover both the main feature and other upcoming projects. If you end up liking this very loose adaptation,
you'll find Hush to be a fairly well-rounded disc.
Presented in its original 1.78:1 aspect ratio, Batman: Hush looks very good on Warner Bros.' 1080p transfer; it's easily on par with the studio's more recent animated titles, if not slightly ahead. The film's character designs and backgrounds aren't exactly loaded with fine detail or texture, with strong shadows that tend to overpower but are handled nicely. Colors are vivid and well-saturated with no obvious bleeding, from bold primaries to subtle background variances that keep things visually interesting from start to finish. Black levels often run extremely deep with many scenes displaying a suitable amount of depth despite the fundamentally flatter style of animation used. What's more is that Hush doesn't suffer from many common digital imperfections such as aliasing or edge enhancement and, though some compression artifacts can occasionally be seen and banding is clearly visible on some of the color gradients, this is almost expected for 1080p animation and not all that noticeable in-motion. Overall, this is a very solid effort that only looks more impressive on the separately available 4K edition, but even those limited to Blu-ray will enjoy themselves.
Likewise, the DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track is a clear winner from every angle; it's more immersive than most, especially during the film's second half. Dialogue is cleanly recorded with no defects, drop-outs, or sync issues and is mostly anchored squarely up front with occasional separation between the left, center, and right channels. As expected, surrounds are largely reserved for outdoor ambiance, heavier action scenes, and the excellent score by Frederik Wiedmann. Plenty of well-placed and dynamic panning effects keep things lively from start to finish, while the low end is represented strongly during several key moments. Explosions and gunshots pack an awful lot of punch without sounding overcooked, although they're obviously balanced with smaller home theaters in mind. While an Atmos mix may have put Hush even more over the top, there's really nothing to complain about here -- it's simply a great-sounding track that complements the visuals perfectly (and in some respects, exceeds them).
Optional English (SDH) and multiple sets of foreign subtitles are included during the main feature; they're cleanly rendered with no obvious sync issues.
Warner Bros.' two disc Blu-ray/DVD combo pack arrives in a dual-hubbed keepcase with a Digital Copy code and sweet cover artwork (with matching slipcover) by original Hush artists Jim Lee, Scott Williams, and Alex Sinclair. The extras are light but entertaining although, like most DCAU releases, they don't all focus on the main feature.
NOTE: Warner Bros.' original press release for this title advertised two bonus episodes of the vintage cartoon show The Batman/Superman Hour ("The Underworld Underground Caper" and "Partners in Peril", both from 1968), but the above episode of Batman: The Animated Series appears in their place.
If you're a die-hard fan of Jeph Loeb's original Batman: Hush story arc, it's important to know that this animated adaptation changes a lot of it. I can't say that most of these changes offer any kind of improvement: the new "twist" isn't as satisfying, the pace is compromised, and too much attention is devoted to Batman and Catwoman's budding romance...not to mention the film's relatively stiff animation, which is a far cry from Jim Lee's stunning original art. That said, new fans -- or at least those with fewer nostalgic ties to the original story -- may be a bit more forgiving of its sins and objectively, those who enjoyed this loose adaptation of Hush will really appreciate Warner Bros.' excellent Blu-ray package, which serves up a great A/V presentation and a handful of decent bonus features. The 4K package unsurprisingly bumps up the video a few notches, but this Blu-ray should be good enough for most fans.
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