Hello, my friends. There’s something sinister slithering within our world and it’s going to take a small group of jive turkeys who’re exceptionally skilled in martial arts to stop this potentially world-threatening terror. On that note, I welcome you all once again to another entry of my signature journey of reviews called…
Once again, the Caped Crusader gets to bask within my critical spotlight. However, he’s not going to punch, kick and flip into this venture all by himself. For this particular outing, he’ll have the benefit of a small group of familiar faces who’ve all trained with him under one particular roof that we’ll be discovering along the way. As such, it’s time for us to disco dance into our featured film known as…
Originally released on January 12, 2021 for Digital Download before ultimately seeing its home media release on January 26, this marks the third entry within this overall series that the Dark Knight has found himself in an R-Rated movie (fourth if you also count the DC Showcase entry of “Batman: Death In The Family”). So, what kind of evil will our hero and his allies find themselves up against? Let’s groove onto this dance floor and find out.
We open in (presumably) Monte Carlo as a man has just won a game of poker. Afterwards, his waiter asks him if he would like to have another drink, to which the guy tells him to “keep them coming” as he hands over his empty glass. From there, the waiter takes his leave before he discards the tray, pulls out a pocket camera and takes a picture of one particular side of the glass. Afterwards, he arrives at an elevator where he prints out a copy of the guy’s fingerprint and uses it upon the thumbpad in order to gain access onto the lift.
From there, he discards his waiter outfit and reaches the penthouse suite before he accesses a secret panel within a wall-mounted painting. With the safe being revealed, he uses a codebreaking device to automatically scan its combination. As he waits for it to do its job, he takes an apple from a nearby fruit bowl and begins to eat it. Just then, the safe gets unlocked as he retrieves a file and proceeds to take pictures of its contents. Suddenly, he notices a picture of an ancient doorway as he instantly recognizes it.
Just then, he’s approached by a small group of hired goons who look to stop him from completing his operation. After using another apple to disorient one of the thugs, a fight breaks out as he easily disarms the men before taking them all out in an efficient manner.
However, one of the goons attempts to take him down with a grenade. Thankfully, the fighter notices this as he runs towards a window and kicks the explosive back at the fiend before smashing through the panel. As the room gets blown up, our main hero proceeds to use a hidden parachute and glide his way down towards a boat that’s occupied by two bikini-clad women. When one of them asks who he is, the man tells them that he’s Richard Dragon (voiced by Mark Dacascos).
Following the opening title sequence, we then shift over to a mansion upon a secret island as a spectacled-man named Schlangenfaust (voiced by Robin Atkin Downes) reaches his master’s bedroom and tells his fellow cohorts that he has some urgent information for their leader. As such, he walks in as Jeffrey Burr (voiced by Josh Keaton) is in the middle of pleasuring a prostitute. From there, Schlangenfaust informs him that one of their French bases was compromised and that the intruder was aware of “The Gate”. Realizing the sudden urgency of their operation, Jeffrey tells him that he knows what must be done before excusing him. Afterwards, the hooker has gotten dressed as he pays her for her services before showing her the way out.
However, it turns out that she was led into an imprisoning pit. From there, Jeffrey oversees this from a special room as he tells her to “dance” for him. With the prostitute rightfully refusing to comply and ordering him to let her out, he uses a switch on his console and unleashes a quiver of poisonous cobras into the pit. While he takes out a live mouse in order to eat it, the hooker meets her tragic demise at the toxic teeth of those sinister serpents.
We then transition into Gotham City as Richard arrives at a nightclub called Gotham Nights. Despite mentioning that he’s a friend of the building’s owner, the bouncer tells him to leave before he uses his karate skills on him. Richard then challenges him to a fight within a nearby alley. Because the bouncer entered the area first, Richard takes advantage by locking him in before heading inside.
Up in the private penthouse, Bruce Wayne (voiced by Eddie Saville himself, David Giuntoli) is having a conversation with his girlfriend Silver St. Cloud (voiced by Erica Luttrell). Despite the fact that they’ve been in a relationship with each other for several months, she expresses her concern over the fact that he hasn’t revealed everything about himself to her. As such, she wants him to share his deepest and darkest secret with her in order for them to properly embrace it as a couple. However, he’s unable to tell her about his secret identity. As a result, she gives him his spare key and effectively ends their relationship. Just as she takes her leave, Richard arrives as he and Bruce rekindle their longtime friendship while Wayne takes out some ice in order to prep their drinks.
From there, we transition into a flashback as a younger Bruce has scaled some Himalayan mountains before arriving at a massive and ancient set of doors. He then uses one of the chiming door knockers, but doesn’t get a response. He even calls out for anyone inside, but is only greeted by utter silence. Just as he begins to angrily leave, he suddenly hears the door become unlocked as he makes his way inside where he’s met upon by O-Sensei (voiced by James Hong). Shortly afterwards, he guides Bruce into the main area known as Nanda Parbat. He then tells Wayne that he’ll be “the sixth” student before he presents his fellow sparring mates.
First up, Bruce is introduced to O-Sensei’s “best student” named Shiva (voiced by Kelly Hu) who swiftly slices through a series of bamboo with ease. Next, Wayne gets informed about Ben Turner (voiced by Spawn, Gambol & Black Dynamite himself, Michael Jai White), a “strong and fierce” man who came here with the intent of controlling his temper before he smashes through a Wing Chun Dummy. Afterwards, Bruce is presented to Jade Nguyen (voiced by Jamie Chung). While she’s hopping around and balancing herself upon a series of posts, O-Sensei tells Wayne that she’s good, but constantly asking questions.
Bruce is then informed about Rip Jagger (voiced by Chris Cox), “a decorated war hero” who’s striving for inner peace. Wayne then reminds O-Sensei that he’s his sixth student, to which his master realizes it and shows him a particular pupil who’s actually been here for a significant amount of time. This one turns out to be Richard Dragon as O-Sensei concludes his tour of the overall area. Just then, Wayne notices a particular door leading into an area separated from the rest of the grounds as he asks about it. However, he’s able to sidestep the topic and tells Richard to set Bruce up within his personal rest area. O-Sensei then tells Wayne that this won’t be an easy road for him to travel on, since it could potentially lead him towards utter ruin, to which Bruce tells him that he can’t turn back now.
From there, the flashback ends with him pouring a pair of drinks for himself and Richard before asking his old friend why he’s suddenly in Gotham City. Dragon tells him that somebody knows about “The Gate” and that he wants Wayne’s help in finding it. However, Bruce declines on the grounds that this municipality is keeping him very busy and that he’s through with “the other stuff”. Richard then takes the ice pick and throws it at Bruce, who successfully catches it with precise reflexes. Wayne asks his friend why he’s come here for his assistance, especially since he’s a “globe-trotting super spy”. Dragon says that his high-end associates would only want to open the gate for their own means. He then says that he needs someone whom he trusts and even compliments his friend for being “the most driven man” he’s ever known. However, Bruce says that he has his “own scene” going on right here. Richard then calmly pulls on a book that’s actually a hidden switch as a pair of shelves open up to reveal the building’s main security console, complete with a trio of discreet cameras that’re used to pick up any information from the patrons about an upcoming crime. Dragon then tells Wayne that none of it are as dire as “The Gate” and that they “owe him”. As such, Bruce ultimately agrees to this venture as Richard begins to inform him about what they’re up against. It turns out that a terrorist group discovered “The Gate”, only to get killed off a week later. Wayne realizes that this was a means to axe off any loose end that found out about it and that Dragon is a loose end himself. Suddenly, the security footage picks up the patrons fleeing over the sight of a looming threat.
From there, they make their way to the main club as a group of blue-clad warriors orders them to hand over “the sword”. A fight proceeds to break out as Richard manages to fend off the opposing fiends. Meanwhile, Bruce deals with several of the warriors before he’s thrown into a table as a lit candle falls off of it.
From there, we transition into another flashback where Wayne and his fellow students are given a long-term task by O-Sensei to constantly hit and ultimately (maybe) break their own heated stones. They’re warned that this task will hurt, but they’ll be strengthened and cleansed by it as a result. Afterwards, he lets his students begin their assignment. After a while, Shiva silently stops and takes her leave as Ben thinks that she’s given up on this task. Jade then quits on this assignment due to Shiva’s sudden departure from it, while the guys stay put and continue with their attempt to smash their rocks.
Time proceeds to pass as Rip has also checked out on this task, while Bruce, Richard and Ben’s constant strikes has left their fists bloodied. Ultimately, Turner gets frustrated with his inability to break the rock and his hand getting hurt as a result. As such, he kicks the stone and its grilling platform off before heading out. Dragon tries to sway him back to his task, but Ben assures him that he’s done with it as he takes his leave. Richard then begins to agree with him and thinks that it’s time that they should rest up, but Wayne continues to pound away at his rock while he checks out for the night.
With him being the last one standing, Bruce continues to punch away at his stone, but relents for a moment due to the pain within his bloodied fist. He’s then suddenly met upon by O-Sensei, due to his use of the surrounding darkness, and gets told that he won’t be able to break his rock anytime soon or possibly ever. He then tells Wayne that he knows what happened to his parents and of his intention to prevent his loss from occurring onto others, but he informs him that “evil is as eternal” as his rock. Even if Bruce does manages to smash it, it will still remain intact as smaller and finite things, just like evil, which is something that will never change. From there, he tells Wayne to accept the things that he’s unable to change, since “life is meant to be lived with others” and that it’s “too hard to do it alone”. After O-Sensei takes his leave, the flashback ends with Bruce continuing with his impossible task of punching his rock.
Back in the present, Wayne punches his adversary into a table before seeing Dragon fending off a group of warriors. He then runs into the back, with Richard being puzzled for his friend’s action. Just as he finds himself surrounded, the lights go out as the warriors get taken out one by one. With a pair of Batarangs disarming the last remaining fiend, Bruce reemerges as Batman and takes the guy out with a diving kick as Richard is amazed by his friend’s secret identity.
Over at Kobra’s secret island mansion, Jeffrey is informed by Lady Eve (voiced by Grey DeLisle-Griffin) about their operations expanding into America thanks to ten new bases. Afterwards, they get a call from Schlangenfaust as he informs Burr that the hired Axe Gang failed to defeat our heroes, who’re much tougher than what they expected. As such, Jeffrey tells his right-hand man to let the failed gang know how much “displeasure” they’ve given him. Schlangefaust assures him that his message has been delivered, since he’s already slayed every last member.
Meanwhile, Bruce and Richard have already driven off in Wayne’s car. Dragon asks his friend about his costumed identity, to which Bruce assures him that it’s his way of keeping his lives separate. From there, he gets his friend back on track with their mission and that they must reach “the sword” before their foes do. They ultimately realize that they must reunite with Shiva as they arrive in Gotham’s Chinatown District.
We then transition into another flashback where O-Sensei reveals the key sword to his students. This blade, known as “Soul Breaker”, was made centuries ago by Muramasa and because its main metal was folded numerous times over the years, it’s become a weapon that’s both flexible and strong. However, it’s also been made with dark magic and could be a major factor towards vast life or grim death. As such, he must assign one of his students to guard it, particularly someone “who chooses life”. Ultimately, he picks Shiva to take up that role, mainly due to her “focus, strength and integrity”.
However, Jade scoffs at this decision as O-Sensei asks her why she doesn’t approve of his choice. She tells him that Shiva lacks a “killer instinct” that should be required and that someone like Rip deserves to have it since he’s the longest tenured student. Ultimately, O-Sensei takes back the blade and asks Jagger if he would be interested in guarding Soul Breaker, to which he exclaims “Yes”. From there, O-Sensei tells him that he must defeat Shiva in combat in order to acquire the sword. Not only that, but he tells her that she’s only allowed to use a single finger for the fight.
From there, the duel begins as Ripp attempts to strike her. However, Shiva manages to dodge his attacks before she grabs his mouth with her finger and slams him onto the ground. Jagger resumes his assault, but Shiva continues to display her vast skill with a fierce poke at his gut.
Even when he manages to grab her neck and hold her up, she turns the tide and finishes the fight with a precise strike upon his neck. She then heads over for the final poke before O-Sensei announces that the match has ended. After he tells Jade to “know” herself before others, the flashback ends with him properly handing over Soul Breaker to Shiva.
Back in the present time, Bruce and Richard enter a souvenir shop before being let into the back room. As they arrive at her underground ring, Wayne assures Dragon that Shiva has changed a lot since their training days. Now, she ruthlessly runs all of Gotham’s organized crimes within the Chinatown district. Fortunately, they notices that she still has possession over Soul Breaker. When Richard asks him if he’s confronted her as Batman yet, Bruce simply exclaims that he’s “working up to it”.
Meanwhile, the main fight continues as the brawler in the red trunks is defeating his opponent. However, the white shorts-clad fighter decides to cheat as he grabs a patron’s glass and smashes into his opponent’s face, thus deceitfully gaining the upper hand and beating him up.
Afterwards, Lady Shiva hops into the ring and calls him out for his “dishonorable” victory before challenging him to another fight. With the man agreeing, the patrons place their bets as the duel gets underway. After dodging his attacks, she manages to trip the guy before he grabs a bottle, smashes it and heads back in.
However, she simply kicks it out of his hand, catches it and casually discards it. With the crowd’s laughter bearing down on him, he resumes his assault in anger. However, Lady Shiva is able to block his strikes and get a few hits in herself.
From there, the fight ends with her blocking other attack, striking him in the chest and then finishing him off for good by plunging her fingers into his neck as he outwardly bleeds and dies.
She then notices Bruce and Richard from afar as she takes out a pair of shurikens and throw them their way, only for her projectiles to actually hit the two Kobra ninjas who were behind them. From there, Schlangenfaust arrives with several more soldiers and orders his men to take their foes out. With the patrons fleeing, Wayne, Dragon and Lady Shiva proceed to take on the various ninjas.
During the scuffle, Richard tells Bruce to go “put on that mask”. Shiva asks him about it, to which Dragon says that Wayne puts it on in order to become “a different person”. She then realizes that Bruce is Batman, to which he tells his comrades to focus since their foes have come for Soul Breaker. She then sees Schlangenfaust taking the sword as she goes after him, only for his ninjas to slow her down while he reaches his limo and escapes.
Thankfully, our threesome manage to reach Bruce’s car as a chase ensues. As they begin to catch up, two opposing ninjas attempt to attack. Fortunately, Wayne takes one out with some surprise spikes before subduing the other one with a bola net. As the pursuit enters a tunnel, our heroes soon notice that a group of police officers have joined the chase. While Schlangenfaust and his fellow ninjas escape by exiting through an on-ramp, our main group continue to get chased down by the cops.
Just as Richard informs Bruce and Shiva that their foes are en route towards the overpass, they suddenly find themselves under fire by the pursuing police who actually attempts to shoot them with shotguns. With a dead end vastly approaching, Wayne fires a grappling hook in order to swing around and escape via an aqueduct as they also elude the trigger-happy police.
As Shiva sees Schlangenfaust’s limo up on the looming highway, she then notices a big red button. Against Bruce’s orders, she presses it and discovers that she’s in an ejector seat as she rockets onto the freeway, taking out one of the ninjas in order to continue the pursuit on their motorcycle.
Meanwhile, Wayne and Dragon are forced to drive through the park in order to catch up. With the highway in sight, Bruce activates his car’s turbo boost as he reaches the freeway and properly rejoins the chase. Back with Lady Shiva, she takes out the two remaining ninjas in her way by decapitating one and forcing the other foe to slam into another car. With Schlangenfaust in her sight, the chase makes its way into another tunnel.
By the time that they get to the opposite end however, she notices an approaching helicopter as Lady Eve opens fire on her, forcing her to abandon her motorcycle and continue the pursuit on foot. Meanwhile, Lady Eve uses the helicopter’s magnet in order to carry the limo to safety while Schlangenfaust casually waves at his foe.
After their adversaries escape, Bruce and Richard catch up to Lady Shiva as Wayne assures her that their enemy will only win if they give up. When she asks for any suggestions, Dragon tells her that they’ll meet up with Ben as she gets in before they head out to reunite with another fellow fighter.
We then shift into another flashback as O-Sensei and his students are eating their rice. Jade then asks him about the mysterious door and why it’s off limits to them. However, he continues to be vague about it as he mentions that it’s “the place where all destinies converge”.
Afterwards, Ben heads over to get some more rice, only to discover that Bruce has taken the remaining batch. Despite Wayne being willing to share, Turner smacks his bowl away before berating him for not earning his place here, especially given their differences in both race and social class.
After Ben trips up Bruce, Richard tells O-Sensei that they must stop this fight from escalating. However, he assures Dragon that “they need this”. From there, they proceed to duke it out as Turner is able to get his immediate hits upon Wayne.
As Bruce manages to get back up, Ben continues to deliver the vicious hits. Even after Wayne takes a brutal beating and Turner tells him to stay down, Bruce is still able to get on his feet. Ben admires his determined spirit as he ends the fight and helps Wayne towards some proper medical care.
We then transition towards the ghetto side of Gotham as a young boy runs out of a karate dojo in tears. He’s soon met upon by his teacher as Turner asks him about what’s bothering him, to which the kid says that he’s not strong enough. When Ben asks the lad who exactly told him that, the boy says that no one did as Turner reminds him that nobody said those disheartening words to him. He then tells the boy that when he was younger, he thought that he had to train a lot and act tough in order to feel stronger. He then tells the kid that martial arts isn’t about perfecting his own offensive strikes, but mastering what’s in his mind and body. In that vein, the boy would only need to know that the only one who’s capable of stopping him is himself. With renewed confidence, the kid races back inside to train again.
Suddenly, he’s met upon by Bruce, Richard & Shiva, as they inform him that their foes have discovered the gate and they’ve taken Soul Breaker. Afterwards, Shiva tosses her recently-acquired blade at Ben as he discovers the Kobra symbol on the underside of its pommel. As such, he heads inside in order to get properly dressed and help them with their quest.
Once again, we shift into a flashback as O-Sensei’s students debate about what’s behind the mysterious gate. Jade thinks that their master’s “most secret techniques” are behind it, while Shiva believes that there’s vast riches being stored in there. Rip thinks that it’s “something powerful” that O-Sensei is “too afraid to use”, while Turner has the hilarious idea that their master has a private whirlpool on the other side of the gates. When Bruce gets asked about what he thinks is within those mysterious doors, he exclaims that it’s just one big distraction before they all head off to sleep.
Later, Wayne and his students are woken up by a sudden scream. O-Sensei discovers that it’s coming from behind the particular gates as he learns from Bruce that both Jade and Rip have gone missing, while Shiva tells them that Soul Breaker has been taken. With another blood-curling scream piercing the silent night, O-Sensei and his remaining students rush over to the forbidden gate and discover that it’s been broken into. Upon their entry, they discover that Rip has killed Jade with Soul Breaker. Not only that, but he’s also an undercover agent for Kobra. He then tells our main group that a fierce god exists on the opposite side of the gate and it’ll help “make the world right again”. As such, Jagger wishes to be this god’s vessel of divine power.
O-Sensei warns him that this entity is actually a powerful demon before telling his former student to cease this devious activity. However, he refuses to let up at Rip says that a sacrifice is required in order for the gate to open and Soul Breaker is “the key”. With Jade’s soul trapped within the blade, Jagger proceeds to plunge the sword into the gate. With its sacrifice accepted, the gate proceeds to open as Rip calls upon “the heralds of the great Naga”. However, a small group of Naga’s serpent men emerge and proceed to mutilate Jagger.
From there, they notice and engage O-Sensei’s remaining students. Despite our group’s training, they’re barely able to fend off the fierce strikes. After saving Shiva from a fatal demise, Bruce manages to take one sinister serpent out by stabbing both of its eyes and flipping it over.
Just as another creature approaches Wayne, Ben comes to his rescue. With the gate continually opening, O-Sensei sees the approaching Naga as he discreetly heads towards the entryway. Meanwhile, Turner takes the serpent down after strangling it. With Soul Breaker lying nearby, he notices Shiva within the grasp of another monstrous snake as he throws the blade towards her. After catching it, she proceeds to slice off its hand before taking it down for good with a precise decapitation. Meanwhile, Richard take out his opposing snake being by forcing it towards the ground before slamming his feet down onto its neck.
Shortly after Bruce lures the final serpent towards Shiva, where she takes it out with Soul Breaker, the students then notice that O-Sensei has entered the other realm to confront Naga. With the gate closing as a result, he tells his students that he’s sacrificing himself in order to prevent Naga from entering their world. Turner & Wayne rush over in an attempt to hold the gate open while Dragon reaches for his master and says that there has to be an alternative mean of stopping this threat. However, O-Sensei tells him that this is both his “destiny” and his “purpose”. He then tells his students to never forget that they’re “stronger together than apart”. From there, the gate closes as O-Sensei screams from Naga’s attack.
Afterwards, Richard tearfully exclaims that they must find a way back inside in order to save their master. However, Bruce tells him that it’s too late. With the room beginning to fall apart, Shiva tells Dragon that their master wouldn’t want him to die alongside him. As such, all four of them proceed to escape. From there, the flashback ends with the mysterious gate still in tact.
Back in the present time period, Kobra has taken possession of the gate and have placed it on top of their temple. After Jeffrey learns from Lady Eve that Soul Breaker is soon to be in his possession, he tells her to make sure that the island’s security gets fortified in order for his ceremony to go off without a hitch. From there, a piece of cargo arrives onto the island, which turns out to be a group of kidnapped children that’ll soon be used as sacrificial lambs.
Meanwhile, our main group is making their way towards the island aboard Bruce’s private plane. With the auto pilot engaged, Wayne reaches his teammates as they look over an aerial map over the piece of land. Ben says that it’s swarming with anti-aircraft guns, while Bruce says that it’s also “crawling with soldiers”. Lady Shiva wants to land right in the middle of the island so that they can immediately get to slaying their enemies, but Wayne tells her that they wouldn’t be able to evade the enemy fire. Fortunately, Turner mentions that several catacombs exist underneath the island and they do lead towards the central courtyard. However, the only way inside it is through a vertical cave that’s several hundred feet deep. While Richard says that they’ll freefall right inside before safely landing with their parachutes, Ben mentions that the entryway is only 10 feet wide. As such, Bruce says that they won’t miss. Lady Shiva then asks Turner why he knows a lot about this island, to which he reveals that he was previously here. Not to mention, he’s willing to admit why he’s to blame for all of them winding up within this situation.
Shortly after going his own way following O-Sensei’s sacrifice, Ben went on a venture where he took down an illegal deal. He soon discovered several crates with the Kobra logo on it, instantly recognizing it as the same design as Rip’s tattoo. From there, he went on an investigative journey where he learned about the Kobra cult, an international group “of murderous zealots” with temples placed at various points around the world. As such, he embarked on a journey to bring each base of operations down for good.
With each fortress that he tore down, he slowly made his way up Kobra’s chain of command. During his worldwide takedown, the devious organization began to take him seriously and even branded him with a codename: Bronze Tiger.
Turner then explains that Kobra was focused on an “obscure prophecy” where a “chosen one” named Jeffrey Burr would one day become their avatar towards Naga. Using the catacombs, Ben initially snuck in and slayed the opposing cultists.
Ultimately, he reached Jeffrey’s sleeping chamber and prepared to terminate Kobra’s plans for good. Unfortunately, Burr was a kid back then and Ben couldn’t bring himself to execute a child. As such, he returned home and began teaching karate while completely forgetting Kobra.
While Richard commends him for what he thought was right, Lady Shiva chastises Turner for not finishing his assignment when he had the chance. Fortunately, Bruce tells his team that they can’t change the past and that they must refocus on their mission. With the drop zone approaching, he then opens up his weapons gallery for his teammates. Dragon then tells Wayne that they’ll need any and all advantage they can acquire, thus making this the perfect time to bring his “outfit” back out.
With Bruce dressed up as Batman again, he and his teammates proceed to jump out towards the island. They manage to aim towards the narrow entryway and make it through before they parachute down to a safe landing. From there, Ben leads the group towards their destination.
Just as they reach the final chamber, they hear some approaching footsteps as they’re forced to take cover. It turns out to be Schlangenfaust who tells them that he’s aware of their presence. As such, our group emerge and prepare to engage him in combat. Suddenly, Schlangenfaust reveals that his hands can shapeshift into various snake heads. Lady Shiva confronts him and manages to slice his right arm off. However, he’s able to regrow another limb. Not only that, but his severed snake hand had become a humanoid snake monster.
With sharp weapons officially off the table, our main group proceed to engage their adversaries. They fight for a while before Batman grapples with the snake monster and tells Richard & Shiva to head for the surface while he stays put with Ben.
Back on the surface, Jeffrey acquires Soul Breaker before he preps his cultists for Naga’s impending arrival. Afterwards, he approaches the kidnapped children and prepares to sacrifice them for the ritual. Suddenly, they hear one of their members get stabbed as Lady Shiva and Richard emerge. From there, they’re approached by the cultists & their ninjas as they manage to fight their way through the opposing armada.
Afterwards, Jeffrey sends his two lieutenants after our heroes. While Shiva proceeds to cross blades with Lady Eve, Dragon finds himself up against Sir Edmund Dorrance a.k.a. King Snake (voiced by Patrick Seitz). Richard begins to attack, but Edmund is able to evade his strikes while connecting with his own hits. With our heroes occupied, Jeffrey takes one of the children and heads out to sacrifice him.
Back in the catacombs, Batman and Bronze Tiger begin to turn the tide as they manage to beat up Schlangenfaust, especially when they kick him towards a pillar with enough force to have it fall on top of him. However, they’re then approached by the snake creature while Schlangenfaust is able to recover. Ben says that they can’t keep this up for much longer, to which Batman prepares to use mace on their foes.
Just then, Turner notices a nearby torch as he grabs it and swipes the mace from Bruce just as their foes are about to attack. Thankfully, Ben’s quick thinking pays off as his makeshift flamethrower incinerates Schlangenfaust and the snake creature into ashy remains.
Back on the surface, Shiva and Eve continue their sword fight. During their conflict, Shiva manages to relieve Eve of one of her blades. Eventually, she tosses her sword as it sticks into the monument. With Eve chastising her for discarding her lone weapon, Shiva simply exclaims “I am the weapon”. From there, she finishes their fight with a fierce chop that shatters Eve’s sword before ultimately plunging her hands into her foe’s gut. With her adversary deceased, Lady Shiva reacquires her blade and heads out to intervene.
Meanwhile, Richard is struggling against King Snake. Due to Edmund’s heightened senses, he’s able to evade Dragon’s attacks while constantly scoring successive hits. Suddenly, Richard grabs some pebbles and uses them to distract King Snake, thus allowing him to finally land his own hits. Ultimately, Dragon is able to punch Edmund into a nearby fountain. After using one last pebble as an auditory distraction, Richard defeats King Snake with a jump kick.
Afterwards, Lady Shiva frees the captured children before Richard gives them a comm tracker in order for them to get rescued. After the kids take their leave, Bronze Tiger rejoins them before they spot Jeffrey dragging the lone child towards the gate. Suddenly, a Batarang comes in and slices through the boy’s rope as Batman approaches the fiend to tell him that his mission has failed.
As Bruce’s comrades rejoin him, Jeffrey is unwilling to back down from the prophecy that he’s been informed about throughout his life. Batman tells him that it was nothing but a huge lie before ordering him to hand the sword over. Unfortunately, Jeffrey doesn’t comply as he plunges Soul Breaker into himself before it jams into the gate. Just as he claims that Naga will save him, his body becomes engulfed within a supernatural flame before his soul gets ripped out and sucked into the gate.
With a sacrificial price now paid, it proceeds to open as Bruce and his fellow fighters prepare for the terror to come. Suddenly, a figure emerges from the dimension as they discover that it’s O-Sensei as Richard heads over to help him. However, he receives a vicious hit as it turns out that Naga has taken possession over O-Sensei’s body. With his snake army slowly making their way towards the gate, he proceeds to engage our heroes.
With his otherworldly swiftness and strength, he’s able to deliver a fierce pounding upon our main group as he easily defeats Richard, Ben and Shiva.
Afterwards, Batman approaches him as Naga learns from O-Sensei’s memories that he’s the most determined out of his students, but the devious god only sees him as “a sad little boy trying to quiet the ghosts of the past”. Bruce then uses a smoke pellet to create a smokescreen before launching a series of Bararangs. While Naga easily deflects every last one of the projectiles with Soul Breaker, one of them explodes and unleashes even more dense smoke. From there, the snake god asks him what he has that his fellow fighters don’t. Suddenly, Batman answers with “a cape” as he emerges and wraps it onto his foe’s head before twisting it around.
However, this doesn’t defeat Naga as he simply recovers and delivers a fierce roundhouse kick upon Bruce. Afterwards, Richard manages to stand up and tells the infamous god that he doesn’t deserve to have O-Sensei’s likeness. Naga then manages to grab Dragon’s neck and says that this is only a temporary form. As such, he explains that only a particular vessel can contain his demonic spirit within the mortal plain, ultimately revealing that he’s aiming to possess Richard’s body. Naga even tries to tempt him with the promise of absolute power and having a high-end purpose, but Dragon refuses. The fiend then attempts a deathly grip upon Richard’s chest, but he manages to break free before he proceeds to engage the vile being.
They fight for a bit before Naga grabs both of Dragon’s fists. They proceed to struggle as their individual spirits rage, while Batman recovers and notices Soul Breaker lying nearby within Jeffrey’s deceased body. Back with Naga, he begins to overpower Richard and begins to forcefully claim his body. Suddenly, Bruce manages to distract the vile god with a pair of smokescreen Batarangs before tossing the sword towards Dragon.
From there, he catches the blade and attempts to strike. However, Naga grabs onto the sword and says that he can’t be defeated since his soul is eternal. Thankfully, Richard is able to slay the opposing god as he forces Soul Breaker into O-Sensei’s body. As a result, Naga gets expelled and is sent back into his dimension.
Afterwards, O-Sensei removes the blade from his chest before collapsing onto the ground. As Richard rushes to his side, his master compliments him for his impressive display before telling Batman that his parents would appreciate what he’s done with himself. From there, Shiva and Ben manage to recover and reach their master. Shortly afterwards, O-Sensei ends up succumbing to his fatal wound and passes on.
However, their mission isn’t entirely over as they discuss who should make the self-sacrifice in order to permanently close the gate. Bronze Tiger offers himself so that he can make up for his past mistakes, while Shiva wants to do it since she was given the task of looking after the famed sword in the first place. Even Richard is up for sacrificing himself, since he was ultimately wrapped up in the prophecy. Suddenly, they notice that Batman isn’t with them. It turns out that he’s going to sacrifice himself as he enters the other dimension while wielding Soul Breaker. Suddenly, his fellow fighters join him before the gate seals itself. As Richard reminds Bruce that they’re all in this together as “The Dragon”, they suddenly hears Naga’s armada approaching. And so, the film ends with Batman and company preparing to face the scaly hoard as a team.
Now that we’ve reached the end of this jiving journey, let’s kick into my character arc. We’ll start things off on a different note and begin with our actual main character of this piece: Richard Dragon. After all, he’s the first person from this team that we’re introduced to. During the climactic fight, Naga does tell him that his master never informed him about his true destiny. Seeing how he’s mainly an honorable man who displays incredible confidence throughout this venture, it’s possible that he also has a modicum of humbleness and never assumed that he would ultimately become as vital towards the grand scope of things that he eventually wound up in. Within our main group, he’s more of a traditional fighter with a Bruce Lee-esque presentation to his style, though not entirely like the legendary figure. After all, he never uses any traditional weapons at any point. Not to mention, his physical appearance was changed here since he appears to be Caucasian in the comics while this version was given more of a Chinese flavor here. More than likely, this choice was made in order to have more diversity amongst both the main group and in representation towards the entertainment world, to which I can definitely say that it pays off here. He’s presented as a likable guy throughout the course of the film with his own quirks and has a vocal style that seems to easily fit him. Mark Dacascos (who has his own martial arts background, I might add) presents himself with absolute assurance in the role, delivering his lines with good precision and a wholesome quality. In the end, he helps this version of the character stand out on his own while interacting with his friendly fighters in as natural of a way as he can.
Next up, let’s get to our titular character himself: Batman. Despite the fact that his name is in the title, Bruce doesn’t use his alter-ego all that much for this story. For this tale, it delves more into himself as the man who would ultimately become the Bat. During his training time at Nanda Parbat, he gets shown to have a persistent drive, especially since he’s fueled by his parents’ murder. At a few points throughout the film, he’s shown that he’s not the most skilled fighter amongst his group. Fortunately, he makes up for that shortcoming by relying on his relentless self-motivation and forging the other skills that he will go on to perfect later on. In terms of the latter, I liked the subtle touch that O-Sensei used when he approached Wayne while he attempted to punch through his rock. Because his master discreetly moved within the shadows in order to approach him, it’s hard not to believe that he kept that helpful skill in mind as he ultimately developed his Dark Knight persona. Because of his drive, he’s also shown to be the most focused out of the main group. After all, there were at least two moments where his fellow fighters begin to get sidetracked by an unrelated topic before Bruce has to step in and get them refocused. In that vein, he serves as the glue that keeps this team together As for how he handles his portrayal, David Giuntoli definitely feels more at home when Wayne is in civilian mode, mainly due to how much screen time is devoted to the character outside of his signature persona. His delivery in that vein felt genuine, down-to-Earth and somewhat stern. As for his portrayal of the Caped Crusader, it definitely feels fine for what it is. While he doesn’t stand out a whole lot, he does what he can to make his portrayal as respective and good as he’s able to make it. As a whole, Giuntoli does put in the work and ultimately makes for a decent showing for his skills.
Continuing with our main group, we’ve now reached our emotional powerhouse in Bronze Tiger. Given his backstory, he’s had to struggle through life to become the confident fighter that we see here. Because of his ethnicity, it’s made his personal struggle hard and it’s most likely the cause of his anger issues. It’s absolutely understandable given the time period and for any non-Caucasian in modern times that’re unfairly oppressed. As a result, it’s made his fighting something more akin to a brawler, albeit with his martial arts training mixed in. Also, his detective background that led to his initial run-in with Kobra did a nice job of portraying some character growth following his time in Nanda Parbat. Not only that, but he even has a noble fault that would come back to haunt our main group. Not to mention, he became a karate teacher where it hinted at him having a soft and caring spot for children. As such, it makes sense that he would want to sacrifice himself following the climactic fight, since he was unaware how much of a threat Jeffrey Burr and his terroristic team would become. In the end, Ben Turner gets a fair amount of overall development for this singular story. Since he’s ultimately a main supporting player within the movie, it seems fair with what he’s got to work with and how he interacts with his fellow fighters. In terms of his performance, Michael Jai White felt very comfortable within the role. After all, he did physically portray the character on the show “Arrow”. His intonations and range allowed him to portray Ben with various shades of confidence, care, anger and snarky attitude. With that kind of skillful delivery combined with his experience of fully-embodying the character, he ultimately did a wondrous job in terms of portraying him with some personality and helped this version standout in its own way.
As we round out our primary fighters, let’s briefly get to Lady Shiva. From the moment we’re first introduced to her within Nanda Parbat, it’s clear that she’s an exceptionally skilled fighter. As the movie progresses, that fact becomes even more clear when she’s able to use her own fingers as potentially-lethal weapons that complement her focused, determined and ruthless style. Aside from that, she has the most lax character development amongst our main group. After bring trusted with guarding Soul Breaker, she eventually becomes the main operator of crime within Gotham City’s Chinatown District. Because of the movie’s somewhat crowded cast of characters, it would’ve been tricky (though not impossible) to further delve into how she found herself within this position. Make no mistake, the movie does a really good job in displaying her excellent fighting skills and it combines itself with Kelly Hu’s performance to help her stand out in a huge way. The former Lady Deathstrike delivers a serious and dry wit that fits in with whatever scene that Lady Shiva is in, resulting in it surprisingly working within conversational moments, fighting banter and even her comedic timing. As a result, her presentation helps her character stand out in her own way, despite the lack of any notable development. While I kind of wish that more could’ve been done in that department, it was still refreshing to see her in a more heroic light for this particular entry.
Finally, let’s get to our villains. First up, we have Kobra and its leader himself: Jeffrey Burr. When this falsely-assumed “chosen one” is first introduced, he’s actually pretty competently presented. Within his first two scenes, he’s displayed as a confident leader of the entire Kobra organization with plenty of respectful command to boot. Not to mention, the moment where he tricks a prostitute into walking towards her own demise before toying with her while he unleashes the venomous cobras that ultimately do her in, all of that do a wondrous job of showing how diabolical he could be. After all of that however, he’s absent for a good portion of the film before he turns up again in preparation for unleashing Naga onto the world with the hope that he would be the demonic god’s mortal vessel. Ultimately, his three top-tier lieutenants do a far-better job at displaying how physically ruthless Kobra can be. If not for him being sparred by Bronze Tiger’s wrath due to his moral code while he was child, then he wouldn’t even be running this operation. When he’s finally confronted, he ultimately takes himself in delusional belief that Naga will possess him in order to let him live. However, the prophecy doesn’t come to that kind of pass and he’s ultimately taken down. As such, Jeffrey ultimately lacks the terror that he initially started out with once his forces are ultimately defeated. As for Naga, his possession of O-Sensei does serve as a surprising perversion to our main group. After all, he gives their teacher’s body enhanced strength and agility in combination with his fighting skills to give them a fierce challenge. While his true form is never shown, that works in a particular way. It keep the sinister god as an unseen evil that looms over the events of the movie and make him an even greater terror, since he can combine his attributes with whomever he possesses to potentially be a horrifying force to be reckoned with upon the face of the Earth. Unfortunately, he’s still partially held back by the fact that he can talk a bit too much. Don’t get me wrong, since the revelation of him wanting to take hold of Richard’s body in order to survive in the mortal world is compelling. If some of his dialogue was trimmed in certain areas, then I believe that he would become a far-more interesting villain. In the end, the film does falter with the use of its antagonists. Had there been a central figure throughout the movie that received some proper development and carried a looming & terrifying presence, I’d figure that it would be an aspect that would’ve helped this movie receive higher marks.
The narrative isn’t the most tightly-written for a Batman film, but it does handle the overall plot within the 1970s and the numerous flashbacks as smoothly as it can. While the first half of the present day events do a nice job of slowly-yet-surely bringing our four central characters together to stop a common threat, the scenes at Nanda Parbat does some good work at presenting how these fighters play off of each other while also bringing the true terror of the movie into light. The development allows the audience to get a believable realization of what our heroes are all about, some of their hang-ups, how they interact with one another and even allows its viewers to have a firm grasp on how each character presents themselves in combat. Speaking of which, the action scenes are absolutely what it excels at. Throughout the film, these range from thrilling & fun to tense and serious. The climactic battle against the O-Sensei-possessed Naga may be somewhat lacking due to the flaws of our ultimate villain, but it’s still gripping in its own right. Also, it’s fitting how despite the fact that this is a Batman movie, he ultimately helps Richard with delivering the final strike. After all, Dragon is the first one within the group that we meet and thus, he gets introduced to the viewing public first. Because he’s a character that hasn’t been in a ton of media outside of the comics, the movie gets to present him to those who would most likely have never heard about him. Not to mention, changing his ethnicity to the more-appropriate Chinese makes sense both for the character and for the time period in which the movie takes place in. After all, the movie scene within the 1970s saw the rise of popularity for martial arts films, especially with “Enter The Dragon” (which had its international distribution by Warner Bros., by the way) helping to fuel that distinct cinematic trend. Not to mention, Bronze Tiger’s inclusion also makes sense here due to the fact that Blaxploitation also became a notable subgenre during this time period. As for how the movie presents the 1970s, it mainly handles that notion while we’re in Gotham City. From the look, the fashion, the technology & vehicles of its day and even the main theme that composer Joachim Horsley provides, it allows this particular vibe to ring true in order to allow modern audiences to get a feel of what that period in history was like. Aside from all of that, the animation was once again very solid with no noticeable lapses or flubs with anybody’s movement and it was backed by a decent color palette. The pacing may not be to everyone’s liking here, mainly due to it bouncing around between the present and the past, but it never gets overly tedious in that vein. Aside from that, the movie moves at a good rate and keeps its central narrative in focus. Finally, the overall plot felt very engaging throughout. Both Richard and Jeffrey have a parallel with each other about feeling like they’re the central figure towards something grand & vast. Burr was told at a young age that he was destined to fulfill a prophecy by the Kobra cult. As a result, it got his expectations high and set in stone. Meanwhile, Dragon never knew about his ultimate ties with Naga because O-Sensei kept that vital piece of information a secret from him in order to protect him. He never yearned for this kind of higher attention, other than to become as good of a fighter that he could possibly become. By the end, he subverts this terrifying destiny and prevents this sinister god from laying waste to humankind. Sure, Batman provided a minor assist, but Richard is still the one who fights the final fight and ultimately finishes the fiend off. As such, it’s why this movie continues a recent trend from the late 2010s where the Caped Crusader has had so much attention over the decades that he somewhat takes a backseat in favor of other characters. Even with Bruce not donning his cape and cowl a whole lot throughout, he’s well-balanced alongside his fellow fighters and they stand tall throughout this story overall in order to make one of the Dark Knight’s better stand-alone, team-up tales.
Overall, this is a singular tale that punches and kicks to impressive heights upon the disco dance floors of my critical thoughts. With likable characters, solid vocal work, decent development, nice pacing, an engaging plot and thrilling action, this solo tale is able to boogie its way towards becoming a breezy period piece with plenty of entertainment value for its adult crowd. While it could’ve had some better execution with its antagonists, this is still an enjoyable romp that allows the Caped Crusader to wonderfully interact and fight alongside a trio of characters that were all co-created by the late Dennis O’Neil (who gets honored by the film) with grooving results. If you’re up for some animated martial arts mayhem that fits with its time period, then give this one a go and prepare for a karate-chopping good time.
Next Time: The Scarlet Speedster will find himself dealing with time travel again, but not in the New 52 universe. He’ll see himself going up against Axis forces and thus, he’ll join a team of grand figures that predate the World’s Greatest Heroes in order to stop a vast armada of hateful evil. A fierce struggle against the malevolent might of the Nazis await us within this tale known as “Justice Society: World War II”.
Batman (created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger) and all related characters are owned by DC Comics.
