10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Entirely Chilling!, May 20, 2002
In my humble corner of the universe, the creator/producer behind the BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES has masterminded the only storytelling -- big and small screen -- to hit the "nail on the head" with its portrayal of Batman, Robin, and the whole Rogues Gallery of criminals. The animation is brisk, the tales are even swifter, and the conclusions typically pack an emotional wallop not commonly associated with animation.
SUBZERO isn't 'substandard' Bat-telling fare by any stretch of the imagination. The tale -- Mr. Freeze once again is up to trying to save the life of his beloved wife, Nora, in suspended animation, and it just so happens that Barbara Gordon (aka Batgirl) has the proper DNA to make it possible -- is intelligent, insightful, and captivating. The events happen quickly, and the action-packed ending puts everything in the budget up on the screen.
In fact, if SUBZERO has any shortcomings, it might be that the intended blending of traditional animation with CGI isn't as seamless as the producers might've wanted it to be. There are whole sequences that stand out because of the contrast, but, in the end, they do little to detract from the story.
SUBZERO briefly explores the tragic nature of Mr. Freeze, a reluctant supervillain forced to do what he does out of the attempts to save his wife's life. This is the beauty of the animated Batman venues; the characters -- especially the villains -- are just as flawed as Bats himself.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
On DVD April 23, 2002!!, January 5, 2002
That's right, Warner Bros has decided to release Sub-Zero to DVD, along with JLA, ROTJ Uncut, and the first five Batman episodes. Sub-Zero was originally a direct-to-video release around late 1997 that was supposed to cash in on the popularity of the Batman and Robin movie, and bridge the gap between seasons of the tv series. HOWEVER, in a rather hilarious twist, the live-action movie bombed, and WB shelved Sub-Zero for a few months so it wouldn't make the movie look worse than it already did.
Sub-Zero features Mr. Freeze, one of the best villains from the now-classic Batman cartoons of the early 90's. What made this villain so memorable was the emotionless, monotone voice delivered by Michael Ansara. The villian also has some sentimental value for me, as his was the first episode of Batman I ever saw. The story revolved around Mr. Freeze taking revenge against those who killed his wife and destroyed his life, and was the most emotionally compelling piece of animation I'd seen up to that point.
Sub-Zero doesn't quite match that first Mr. Freeze episode I saw, due to some minor points and the fact that I was older, but its still an excellent piece of work. It's better than the last two live-action Batmans, but falls short of Mask of the Phantasm and Return of the Joker. As a recap, Mr. Freeze eventually finds out his wife Nora is still alive, kept in suspended animation. He retreats to the north pole, where he befriends a boy and some polar bears, and spends his time searching for a cure to his wife's disease. A team of explorers accidentally shatters Nora's containment vessel, and Freeze returns to Gotham to find a live organ donor to save his wife. That donor turns out to Barbara Gordon (Batgirl), which puts Batman and Robin on a race against time to find and save her.
The vocal talent is excellent, especially Michael Ansara and Kevin Conroy, who still continues to provide the voice of Batman to this day. The animation is really good for a direct-to-video release (hey, when ALL your animated movies are DTV, you tend to do a good job) and includes a lot of CGI enhancements. Some people have had problems with this, citing that the random CGI inserts detract from the movie. For me, it's no big deal, the CGI in this movie, especially of the submarine rising into the caverns in the intro, is impressive.
Where the movie falls short is in that Batman feels underutilized. Granted, Batman still has a beefier role than Clooney did in the live-action movie, but Robin and Batgirl tend to eat up more screentime. Nothing wrong with this, but the movie's full title was Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero, so I expected Batman. I also thought that Barbara's various escape attempts ate up more time than they should have. Finally, the movie doesn't really escape its DTV roots. Where Batman: Mask of the Phantasm was originally a theatrical release and Return of the Joker (Uncut) could have been one, Sub-Zero feels like three episodes of the TV series, albeit three VERY GOOD episodes.
Still, Sub-Zero is classic Batman. The new DVD makes for a great addition to your collection, or a great gift for a Batman fan. I've heard the supplements aren't anything overly special, just an intro by Bruce Timm and a game or two, but the disc should be relatively cheap and well worth it. Until April 23rd....
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as the Mr. Freeze episodes, but worth seeing., November 5, 1999
Some people have ripped on this movie pretty hard, for reasons they're never too specific about. I will say that this movie is not the best representation of Batman or Mr. Freeze that the Animated Series has to offer, but it is still very enjoyable. There are some really slick action scenes near the end, and it's always good to see comic book characters USE LOGIC TO MOVE A STORY! The problem is, the story just isn't that amazing. The regular animation looks great, as always, but the computer animation, while looking good, sticks out, drawing the wrong kind of attention to itself. Of the three animated movies Timm & Co. have released, this is #3. But in the world of Batman movies, animated and live action, it sure beats the crap out of "Batman & Robin!."
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