Batman: Soul Of The Dragon is the new Batman film that is said to be a tribute to martial arts films of the 1970's (especially the ones starring the late, but great Bruce Lee) and is an Elseworlds story, not affecting whatever the DC Animated Movie universe has planned for Batman in the universe started by Superman: Man Of Tomorrow.
In this movie, Richard Dragon seeks Bruce Wayne's help after learning millionare and cult leader Jeffrey Burrhas possession of a gate and is now looking for Sword Breaker, a muramasa sword once wielded by O-Sensei, who was one of Bruce's teacher during his training to become Batman, now wielded by Lady Shiva, the crimelord of Gotham's Chinatown district. When the sword is stolen, the three must team up, joined by Bronze Tiger, to stop Burr, a.k.a. Kobra, from opening the gate and releasing a serpent demon whom he believes his is destined to be the early avatar for.
Yeah, while this is an okay martial arts tribute, the film is far from good. The title has Batman in the name, but sadly, this is not much of a Batman film, as Bruce appears for most of the movie, however, he does not put on the iconic Batsuit after assembling the team and preparing to enter the island, but even so, he still feels like he is more of a side-character, as Richard Dragon feels more like the focus (as he is the one who discovers the villains' plot), but Batman got top billing because Batman is more recognizable than Richard Dragon, which means more sales. Also, the voice actors are hit or miss (While Kelly Hu and Michael Jai White do a good job as Lady Shiva and Bronze Tiger, as those two roles are reprised from previous DC media, I don't get how David Giuntoli, an actor who is known for 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, and Grimm, was chosen to voice Batman in this film, as his voice does not have the same charm as other VAs who voiced him in previous movies). As a martial arts film, this is okay (even though the pacing can be bad, as most of the film is basically flashbacks about Bruce training with the others under O-Sensei), but as a Batman film, it is a disappointment, as Batman is only there to add a recognizable name so the movie can sell.
In this movie, Richard Dragon seeks Bruce Wayne's help after learning millionare and cult leader Jeffrey Burrhas possession of a gate and is now looking for Sword Breaker, a muramasa sword once wielded by O-Sensei, who was one of Bruce's teacher during his training to become Batman, now wielded by Lady Shiva, the crimelord of Gotham's Chinatown district. When the sword is stolen, the three must team up, joined by Bronze Tiger, to stop Burr, a.k.a. Kobra, from opening the gate and releasing a serpent demon whom he believes his is destined to be the early avatar for.
Yeah, while this is an okay martial arts tribute, the film is far from good. The title has Batman in the name, but sadly, this is not much of a Batman film, as Bruce appears for most of the movie, however, he does not put on the iconic Batsuit after assembling the team and preparing to enter the island, but even so, he still feels like he is more of a side-character, as Richard Dragon feels more like the focus (as he is the one who discovers the villains' plot), but Batman got top billing because Batman is more recognizable than Richard Dragon, which means more sales. Also, the voice actors are hit or miss (While Kelly Hu and Michael Jai White do a good job as Lady Shiva and Bronze Tiger, as those two roles are reprised from previous DC media, I don't get how David Giuntoli, an actor who is known for 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, and Grimm, was chosen to voice Batman in this film, as his voice does not have the same charm as other VAs who voiced him in previous movies). As a martial arts film, this is okay (even though the pacing can be bad, as most of the film is basically flashbacks about Bruce training with the others under O-Sensei), but as a Batman film, it is a disappointment, as Batman is only there to add a recognizable name so the movie can sell.