[Review] Batman: Soul of the Dragon(2020) {6/10}

Directed by Sam Liu from a screenplay by Jeremy Adams, the film stars David Giuntoli (Bruce Wayne / Batman), Mark Dacascos (Richard Dragon), Kelly Hu (Lady Shiva), Michael Jai White (Ben Turner / Bronze Tiger), James Hong (O-Sensei), Jamie Chung (Jade Nguyen) and Josh Keaton (Jeffrey Burr). The film features an original story and is not based on any comic.

The plot follows Bruce Wayne (David Giuntoli) who owns a dance club in 1970s Gotham City. One night, Bruce's old friend from his grueling days of martial arts training in a secret monastery, Richard Dragon (Mark Dacascos), arrives to tell him that the mysterious gate that took the life of their master O-Sensei is now under the possession of Jeffrey Burr, the sadistic millionaire leader of the evil Kobra Cult. They're soon attacked by an axe-wielding gang hired by Schlangenfaust. During the fight, Richard and Bruce learn that Burr is looking for the sword that will open the gate, the sword that was given to Shiva (Kelly Hu) by O-Sensei. Now, Bruce and Richard must find those still living who also trained under O-Sensei: Shiva, who is now the head of organized crime in Chinatown, and Ben, who now owns and teaches in a dojo for inner-city kids. After Schlangenfaust steals the sword, these four must return to what remains of their secret monastery to stop Burr from reopening the portal and unleashing demonic evil upon the world.

Where most stories stew in Batman’s dour mindset, Soul of the Dragon takes a refreshingly low-steaks approach. Director Sam Liu morphs Batman’s mythos with the campy energy of 70’s kung fu movies, utilizing the genre’s cheesy pastiche to subvert audience’s typical expectations. Liu’s playful sensibility generates a few high-flying action frames along the way, relishing the material’s inherent cheekiness with a few bright, uptempo fist-fights. The veteran voice cast deserves praise for elevating their thinly-written roles. Batman: Soul of the Dragon’s promising aesthetics have a certain allure, but Liu and company do little to give the veneer much weight. A truncated 82-minute length allows little breathing room amongst the chaotic action, leaving several intriguing subplots in the dust. Where other animated efforts present thoughtful textures with their vibrant settings, Liu’s latest chases a style that isn’t implemented as successfully. Outside of a few playful references, the material mostly confuses formulaic plot notes as clever homages. Batman: Soul of the Dragon will please some die-hard fans, but the wishy-washy delivery doesn’t live up to its distinct premise’s promise.

Batman: Soul of the Dragon is now available on Digital and Blu-ray.