Ben Affleck is the perfect Batman for many fans. His version of Bruce Wayne is loved by many, and his Batman also feels highly comic accurate in terms of appearance and demeanor. People had a problem with him killing openly in Batman V Superman, but that was meant to be part of an evolving story arc. Anyway, we’re not here to talk just about Batfleck. We’re here to talk about the notion of a flawless Batman, which has been depicted by a new 25-minute-long fan-funded short film called Batman: Death is Easy. Here, watch the film if you haven’t already:
Actor Kevin Porter plays Batman to perfection over here. He’s big, brawny, bone-shattering, and quite scary when needed. The Batsuit is awesome. The ears on the weren’t short, or long. The voice is quite amazing. What’s great about this film is that within 25 minutes, it captures the textbook essence of Batman and keeps the no-killing rule intact! It shows us how twisted Batsy can actually be, and how great a detective he is. He’s ten steps ahead of all his adversaries at all times, including someone as mind-bending as the Joker.
What’s also great about this film is the villains. We get cameos from several familiar Batman villains like Victor Zsasz, Hugo Strange, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, the Riddler (played by Doug Jones), and Harley Quinn. But Death is Easy gives us the perfect Joker. Co-Director Aaron Schoenke delivers a great take on the Crime Prince of Gotham. Every bit of dialogue was well-written. There are references to ‘A Death in the Family’ and ‘The Killing Joke.’ And the way Batman and Joker’s relationship has been explored is nothing short of excellent.
Ultimately, I loved the fact that Batman stands tall as the unscathed watchful protector of Gotham. He knows the monster that he is, and he fully embraces it. The film also gave us good-looking CGI for the budget it had. It could have been disappointing, but I’d say that it pulled through really well. It envisioned an astounding image of Gotham City. And, Michael Madsen’s Harvey Bullock was remarkable. Kudos to Batinthesun for getting every little detail right, and for reminding us that this is the level of excellence we want from any Batman project.
We’re quite excited about Matt Reeves’ take on The Batman. It will certainly be very different and grounded in reality. But Batman: Death is Easy is exactly the kind of take we wished to see in Ben Affleck’s unmade The Batman. Yes, I know that Deathstroke was supposed the villain of that film instead of the Joker. But you get the point, right? Hopefully, Zack Snyder’s Justice League will restore the Snyderverse, or at least get a solo Batfleck project greenlit on HBO Max.
