Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Batman, along with many of his allies and adversaries, finds himself transported to feudal Japan by Gorilla Grodd's time displacement machine.
Batman Ninja is a wildly imaginative visual spectacle that transplants the DC rogues gallery into feudal Japan with stunning anime aesthetics courtesy of Takashi Okazaki's character designs and Jumpei Mizusaki's direction. The cinematography and visual invention are genuinely exceptional — the art direction shifts between styles including a striking ukiyo-e sequence. Novelty is sky-high as a truly singular genre mashup that could only exist as this film. However, the plot is thin and incoherent, leaning heavily on escalating absurdity over narrative logic, and the climax devolves into kaiju-style chaos that strains even generous suspension of disbelief. The voice acting (in both English and Japanese dubs) is solid and committed. Overall a feast for the eyes that stumbles badly on story coherence.