Review of Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero

Ever since i can remember Mr. freeze has always been one of my favorite super villains, and the thing is, hes not a traditional villain, like he doesn't just rob banks or kill people for fun he does it with purpose, and that purpose is to revive his wife. In this movie Nora freeze looks like an angel floating in a tube of frozen ice, ever since i was a kid that powerful image always resonated with me, and i understood why freeze was so radical in trying to protect her and save her from her ice prison. But to truly understand this version of freeze i recommend you watch the batman the animated series episodes " heart of ice" and "deep freeze"that perfectly introduce Mr. freeze and his motivations for being a villain and it just flows wonderfully with this movie, i know, if a movie needs to rely on a show to make it better than its not a good movie, right. Wrong, I actually watched this movie before those 2 episodes as a kid, and i thought this was already a great movie to begin with, but if you watch those 2 episodes before this movie, it feels like an epic. At the beginning of this movie you get a glimpse of what Mr. freeze was probably like before his accident, it shows him adopting a little boy, has 2 loyal polar bear friends and taking care of his frozen wife... and then a submarine literally pops out of the ground under them. This movie is also less of a superhero film and more of a dramatic thriller, since it focuses on a desperate mr. freeze trying to save his wife's life.This movie is actually a lot more profound than i remember. For example, in order to save his wife, Mr. Freeze needs to give her an organ transplant from a still living human girl ( A family picture), the tension gets very high as it gets closer to surgery time, also the fighting is a bit intense in this film then in other animated films, it has explosions, gunfire and a truly spectacular boat death at the end. The final showdown is grandiose with explosion after explosion, it feels like you should play opera music over it. Speaking of music, i truly enjoyed the charming 50s-60s soundtrack throughout the film, especially during the romantic scenes between dick gray son and Barbra Gordon, it just makes their relationship the more endearing. The animation is interesting, the 2d looks great ( i love the jazz club scene), the 3d cgi can sometimes look off putting but can look great in certain scenes like the motorcycle chase. A lot of people have told me they don't like this movie because batman is barely in it, and to be fair this is the climax to Mr. freezes story, so it makes sense batman would not be included as much. Mr. Freeze is one of the most tragic villains in fiction, and his portrayal in this movie and the show is one of his best versions, and his dialogue is just so good. ( Freeze is talking to his frozen wife) "I can only beg your forgiveness, and pray you hear me somehow, someplace... someplace where a warm hand waits for mine". The ending of this movie is very bittersweet, especially if you have seen the entire batman the animated series and it always leaves me feeling emotional. I hope Mr. freezes story and this movie will thaw the most cynical hearts of ice.