Review of Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero

I watched this directly after watching "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm", and it definitely in my opinion isn't as good as that is. But on its own merits, I did like it. It's pretty straightforward in this story as Mr. Freeze is trying to save his wife Nora Fries, and Barbara Gordon aka Batgirl happens to be one of few people who is a rare match for her blood type. So he kidnaps her to attempt to make Batgirl give one of her organs to save his wife. And with that, it's Batman and Robin to the rescue. Well, kinda. It's really Batgirl's movie when you think about it. And I like that she's scrappy and trying to be resourceful despite the fact that she's been abducted. She's a hero too, and this movie treats her like one. That's a good thing. And better realized than how she was in the live-action "Batman and Robin". Her introductory scene even involves her fighting off goons. I will say though part of what did tend to get redundant after a while was the repeated number of escape attempts that she made from Freeze. Don't get me wrong. I would too, but it got kind of repetitive to watch. So much in fact to where I began to think it didn't need to be a movie, let alone a direct-to-video movie. I started to feel like it could have just been a two-parter on the Animated Series, and I still kind of feel like it could have. I started feeling like they did that to pad the time a bit. It started to drag. It's hardly over a hour as is. Batman and Robin are here, but not as much as she is. I understand why, but when it's called "Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero", one might think Batman will play a larger role in the movie. I wasn't hating it, and I don't mind the other characters being more of the story focus. I still think it's alright, and not because "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" is superior. I just thought that it would be something else. Technically speaking, I love the 2D animation and I only liked the CG animation that was applied to certain scenes. Sometimes though, it stood out in a unflattering way. Other times, it blended in well. As a whole, I enjoyed how colorful the movie was too. The sound and music were also well done. What made the movie improve for me was its final act, and its ending. As a whole, it's fine.