Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2019)

(On TV, October 2020) It’s tempting to say something about the unlikeliness of the crossover in Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but as the film’s ending credits make clear, there are already dozens of comic books dealing with that exact same premise, or variations thereof. And as it turns out, there’s a peanut-butter-and-jam quality to the stoicism of the caped crusader and the irreverent teenage humour of the four reptiles. The plot itself is fairly obvious, but the character interactions can be a lot of fun, perhaps most notably with Robin finding some kinship with characters that are his own age. As usual, the rich cast of characters of the Batman-verse provides much entertainment. Visually, the film does find an acceptable middle ground between the aesthetics of both series. What doesn’t work so well is the sometimes-excessive amount of violence (I guess I’m just still used to PG-13 Batman), especially how it clashes with the more lighthearted tone of the rest of the film. Still, Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is watchable enough, and an unlikely success considering its two inspirations.