Batman, or Bruce Wayne, had a kid with Talia al Ghul. She drugged him, and pretty much had her way with him. They kind of skim over that part in the movie, it is alluded to but they don't go to big into it. Talia was in the Nolan batman movies, so if you saw the more recent films, you may remember her. She was in the last one they put out. Her role wasn't to large, but she ended up being one of the main bad guys and was killed at the end of the movie. You should know her father though, Ra's al Ghul, who was the main villian of the first Nolan movie. He was played by Liam Neeson. Bruce and Talia do have a relationship of sorts, however her being unable to give up her assassin heritage stops it from advancing. Ra's is the leader of the League of Assassins. He wants Bruce to Marry Talia and take it over. Now that he has Bruce and Talia's kid, he wants him to take it over.
The story starts at that point. Damian is 10, and has been trained by the League of Assassins since birth. He is violent, a killer, and very skilled in various forms of martial arts and weapons. Deathstroke, who you should know if you watch the tv show "Arrow," was once thought of as a possible successor to the league. He attacks the league and kills Ra's in order to take it over. Talia and Damian escape, and she confronts Bruce and tells him about his son in hopes that he will protect him. Damian is mad and wants revenge for his family, he swears to kill Deathstroke and is unable to comprehend why Bruce is so against it.
A good portion of the movie is spent on trying to establish the relationship between Damian and Bruce. Bruce did not know he had a kid, and he has no real idea how to be a father. So he ends up treating him like a new Robin for the most part. He is impressed by his abilities, and tries to teach him that there is another way then killing. Some of the more enjoyable scenes are when the two are out of costume. Damian showing up at Bruce's job and catching booking mistakes that he missed. Or Alfred and Damian arguing over the small things. They really did a good job of establishing the Damian character. He is not likable, but you feel like he can be. He was raised as a killer, but you can see that there is hope for him to be something else. He wants to impress his father, and he is receptive to his ideology.
The animation isn't to bad, I would say a notch above what you normally see on cartoon network. I think the more recent Justice League movie was a bit better in this department, but I was still happy with what was offered. The writing was decent, but nothing special. And the story was about the same. This was a solid straight to dvd film, but compared to some of DC's other offerings, it did feel a little lacking.
While this is a Batman movie, Damian really is the star of it. Damian gets the final fight, he gets the main story, everything is about Damian here. That works well enough, Damian is pretty entertaining after all. Seeing a 10 year old beat a big man almost to death is oddly satisfying. However people who are unfamiliar with him may not find it as endearing as I did. If you are a fan of the comics, and think Damian is the best robin, this movie is for you. If you have no clue who he is, well it might be a pass. It was a good enjoyable DC animated film. But it does not live up to some of their better offerings. If you just want to get into batman, I would recommend finding a copy of Under the Red Hood instead. That is the Batman movie as far as I am concerned. Or check out Justice League War, which is also currently at redbox this month.
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