Movie Plot – Batman: The Long Halloween Part Two: The killer known as Holiday continues to haunt the Falcone crime family as a new class of costumed criminals emerges in Gotham City. Batman suspects that a former ally may well be the serial killer.

Director: Chris Palmer
Writers: Jeph Loeb, Tim Sheridan
Cast: Jensen Ackles, Josh Duhamel, Naya Rivera, Troy Baker, Billy Burke, Laila Berzins

The Long Halloween

While the Holiday Killer is still at large and Bruce Wayne appears to be under the spell of the poisonous Poison Ivy, Batman is nowhere to be seen. Crime boss Carmine, ‘The Roman’ Falcone, is forced to recruit less desirable partners to save his organization, which the Holiday Killer is thinning out.

Meanwhile, a war crime in Gotham comes with a heavy price. And Gotham City is at a crossroads in its history. Is it the end of the Mafia’s control of Gotham, with a new breed of villains rising up to take over? This is the story that explores this transition in a vital part of Batman’s history. The Long Halloween, the graphic novel, was always an essential reading material and this movie proves it!

Two-Face

Harvey Dent is fighting a battle on two fronts: he is trying to end the mob war and, at the same time, entering into a strained marriage. After an attack that leaves him maimed, Dent unleashes the duality in his psyche that he has tried to suppress his entire life.

I loved seeing the rogues gallery in action in this new universe. However, Josh Duhamel’s performance is really on point and outshines the rest. The others are also great, but I sympathized with Harvey Dent the most because he had good intentions, but they ended badly in the end. It felt like the world was against him.

In addition, he was someone who Jim Gordon and Batman trusted. He hated crime and all he wanted was justice. However, all that escalated after a while and when he got disfigured, it was permanent.

From graphic novel to movie

The movie adaptation of The Long Halloween is a worthy one. It’s up there with The Dark Knight Returns. Still, The Dark Knight Return remains one of the best films based on a graphic novel. Both films have their own style and strengths and feel different from one and other.

You have a lot of different characters in Batman’s rogue gallery who are part of the movie. Most of them have very minor roles as the focus is heavily put on the Falcone family and Harvey Dent. This time around, we get introduced to one of Carmine’s daughters, Sofia, who looks exactly like in the comics.

Furthermore, the new animation style fits The Long Halloween perfectly. Or should I say, the best? Yes, definitely as it suits the long dark tone. Another great element is that they split this story into two films where they are actually taking their time to tell a story. Finally, they have a decent combined running time to tell it all. The Long Halloween is not too long, but not too short either.

Conclusion

Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two is an incredible finale that is exciting, dark and satisfying, making it one of the stronger adaptations.

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