Batman: The Long Halloween - Part Two Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Batman: The Long Halloween - Part Two Blu-ray Movie Review

Damn, Sofia Falcone is THICC.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III July 27, 2021

First appearing as a 13-issue limited comic series by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale, Batman: The Long Halloween is a slowly-unfolding murder mystery that, in many ways, is a spiritual successor to Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli's Year One (a personal favorite of yours truly which was also made into an animated movie in 2011). Taking place during Batman's early days in Gotham City, the story also features up-and-coming D.A. Harvey Dent and police Captain James Gordon, who work with Batman to figure out the identity of a serial killer that's been murdering victims once per month on major holidays. Also appearing are Catwoman and other established members of the Rogues Gallery (The Joker, Mad Hatter, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, and Two-Face) and even a few lesser-known villains (Calendar Man, Solomon Grundy), creating a well-rounded and perfectly woven tale that, for many Batman fans, is at or near the level of all-time Batman classics such as The Dark Knight Returns, A Death in the Family and, of course, Year One itself.

The Long Halloween's animated adaptation is a two-part story that fits in nicely with DC's ever-expanding universe, and the sixteenth (!) to prominently feature Batman. Part One, released to Blu-ray last month after its digital debut in June, was a stylish 85-minute production that admirably attempted to condense the first portion of this fan-favorite limited series into a sleek, screen-ready thriller. This follow-up picks up soon after Part One's conclusion, tying up a few loose ends while digging ever-deeper into the true identity of its main villain, the mysterious Holiday.

Things start off on an odd note, but only if you didn't read the original book or stick around for Part One's post-credit sequence: Bruce Wayne struggles to break free from the tangled web of Poison Ivy. And with Batman out of the picture, Carmine “The Roman” Falcone pretty much has free reign and enlists the help of Rogues' Gallery regulars including The Scarecrow and Mad Hatter. Once free, however, he resumes work with James Gordon to stop Holiday, who continues to pick off victims on important dates. Simultaneously, we see the downward spiral of Harvey Dent: it's a compassionate portrait of a man whose personal life is crumbling and makes repeated moral compromises, all the while hoping that his actions will serve the greater good. This culminates with his literal transformation into Two-Face after a deadly attack, with Dent's newly- scarred mug making him basically unrecognizable to friends and family, including his distraught wife Gilda. All the drama is balanced nicely with other narrative detours, from the rocky relationship between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle -- which has now morphed full-time into Batman and Catwoman -- to the curious fate of Solomon Grundy, Calendar Man, and even Falcone's family, who aren't immune to Holiday's murderous spree.

All told, it's top-tier stuff and one of the most immediately memorable stand-alone DCAU films in recent memory, coming in slightly ahead of Part One with a more intense story and several dips into darker territory that earned it a rare "R" rating that, considering the source material, isn't gratuitous. The Long Halloween - Part Two once again has strong fundamentals as well, as its solid on-a-budget animation works in tandem with the terrific voice actors and great music to deliver a faithful adaptation that die-hard fans and newcomers alike should really enjoy. If Part One sucked you in completely, I doubt you'll be dissatisfied with how this second and final chapter plays out.

Similar to Part One, this second and final chapter is, for now, a Blu-ray-only title which will be expanded on in the coming months as a complete 4K edition... which, to the studio's credit, was announced before the Blu-ray release of Part One. Once again, though, despite the immense strength of the main feature, this is another disappointing disc in just about every other department: the visuals suffer from rough compression issues and the bonus features, while enjoyable on the surface, have almost nothing to do with the film itself. For this reason, I'd encourage all but the most 4K-phobic fans to wait this one out: Warner Bros.' complete 4K edition will likely be one of the year's best animated releases, which means this Blu-ray feels like nothing more than a second appetizer for the main course.

Batman: The Long Halloween - Part Two Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

It goes without saying that my evaluation of Part One's Blu-ray transfer applies to this disc for the most part; after all, both are parts of a whole with a near-identical creative team and visual style, and both 90-minute films are squeezed onto single-layered discs. It's a somewhat satisfying effort at first glance but there's obviously room for improvement: compression artifacts and banding are all over the place, with some of Part Two's foggiest and darkest moments lagging behind what I might call an ideal video presentation. However... both problems are handled marginally better here, if not for the more regular presence of spattered, stone-like textures that give The Long Halloween - Part Two a slightly rougher texture than the first; these do a better job of hiding such deficiencies, but they're obviously still present. I said it before and I'll say it again: both parts of this film will undoubtedly look better on the forthcoming 4K edition, but even more careful compression -- or, at the very least, a dual-layered disc -- could've yielded better results on a format that's capable of more than this. If you're limited to Blu-ray only, I wouldn't blame you for being disappointed.

Batman: The Long Halloween - Part Two Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Likewise, my thoughts about Part Two's default DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio are more or less identical to those of Part One; this is a a suitably well-crafted mix with plenty of intimate, character-driven moments balanced with intense action and other sonic surprises. There's nothing that sounds quite as good as Part One's rainy rooftop chase between Batman and Catwoman, but horrific scenes like The Scarecrow's fear-inducing toxins, Solomon Grundy's booming presence, and a near-deadly car accident come awfully close. One slight downgrade here is the weak presence of a few gunshots and other hard-hitting sound effects which, on occasion, sound weirdly dialed back and make much less of a sonic impact than expected; whether or not this is the fault of its Blu-ray transition, however, is unclear. But The Long Halloween - Part Two's audio is still a solid effort and, like the first part, more capable than its visuals. (I'd expect that dominance to end once the 4K release arrives, unless there's a secret Atmos track waiting in the wings.)

Optional subtitles, including English (SDH), are offered during the main feature and most of the extras.

Batman: The Long Halloween - Part Two Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in an eco-friendly keepcase with attractive cover art, a matching slipcover, and a Digital Copy slip. The on-board extras are thin but enjoyable, just like those on Part One.

• DC Showcase Animated Short: "The Blue Beetle" (15:30) - This ultra-light and goofy throwback short -- complete with theme song! -- will either feel wildly out-of-place or serve as a perfect palate-cleanser after The Long Halloween, depending on your mood. I certainly enjoyed it, and you probably will too... even if you're basically coming in blind. Hell, I'd probably be down for a full animated series in the near future.

• A Sneak Peek of "Injustice" (7:48) - This short but sweet preview of the forthcoming Elseworlds animated movie features concept art, storyboards, finished clips, and interviews with screenwriter Ernie Altbacker, producer Rick Morales, director Matt Peters, actor Kevin Pollak (voice of The Joker), and more.

• A Preview of "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns - Part Two" (6:53) - This 2017 featurette was originally included on Batman and Harley Quinn and is pretty much only here to pad out the extras.

• A Preview of "Batman: Hush" (9:17) - Ditto, except this one's from Justice League vs. the Fatal Five

• From the Vault - Two vintage episodes of the seminal Batman: The Animated Series, which are always worth a spin. Both look and sound more or less identical to their counterparts on the complete series set.

• "Two-Face - Part One" (22:27)
• "Two-Face - Part Two" (22:30)

Batman: The Long Halloween - Part Two Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Batman: The Long Halloween - Part Two is an even better follow-up to the satisfying narrative of Part One; it's a rich and compelling character study that's well-paced, fun to dissect, and stands tall as a mature adaptation of celebrated source material. The darker and more visceral elements also work in its favor, and there's no doubt that the complete two-part film (due to be released later this year on 4K) might play even better as a whole. Sadly for now, both stand-alone Blu-ray halves are underwhelming in most other categories: the single-layered discs often run into trouble with compression issues, and the bonus features -- while certainly enjoyable on their own terms -- are mostly irrelevant to the actual main feature. That doesn't exactly translate to a ringing endorsement, especially if you're currently equipped for 4K playback... so just like Part One, consider this a mild recommendation at the very most.