by Jeffery Rahming, Contributing Writer
There’s a strong possibility that when the dust is settled and human civilization comes to a close, Batman will end up the most adapted character of all time. He’s been portrayed as everything from a pirate to a caveman, and DC shows no signs of ever letting its beloved cash cow take a break. Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires easily could’ve ended up as just another generic attempt to capitalize on a hot brand, but against all odds, writer/director Juan Jose Meza-Leon manages to create a completely original take on an old tale.
We follow Yohualli Coatl (Horacio Garcia Rojas), a young Aztec whose family has connections to a bat god named Tzinacan. While his father worships the god religiously, Yohualli is is still bitter that the god didn’t save his mother from an early death. When Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés arrives on the island with his band of conquistadors, the Aztecs find themselves woefully unprepared for the invasion. Yohualli is hopeless as Cortez leads a wave of destruction across the land. With nobody else to step in, he takes the responsibility for himself to don a costume in the style of his bat deity and go to war for his people.
This is probably one of the loosest adaptations I’ve ever seen. It borrows the aesthetics of Batman more than the typical story beats. Some fans might find it too far away from the source material to be a good Batman story, but as historical fiction, it’s a pretty innovative take. This feels like it was made by history nerds, rather than comic book nerds. If you know anything about the Spanish takeover of the Aztecs, it’s impressive how close we stick to the actual major events. The way the movie mixes and matches Batman’s mythology with the historical characters is pretty fun. The most interesting one is Poison Ivy as a trippy ayahuasca goddess who guides Yohualli on his vengeance quest. The comic book villain Hernán Cortés transforms into throughout the story is also inspired, but I won’t spoil the surprise for that one. Their take on the Joker is very cool, but unfortunately he doesn’t get much to do. He’s the only character who feels like he’s here out of obligation.
The one major issue is the animation, which is not horrible, but just clearly compromised, for lack of a better word. With everything going on at Warner Bros. over the last three years, the fact that this was able to be finished at all is nothing short of a miracle. But it doesn’t change the fact that it’s hard to take dramatic scenes seriously when the characters barely express emotion. It’s even more of a weird clash because the voice cast is so superbly talented that you have these great performances that don’t match up with how wooden the characters are. The action is dynamic and well-choreographed, but again, there are moments where you can see them stretching the budget in real time. There are even scenes that I’m pretty sure are just production storyboards with music over them cut into a montage. All in all, it feels a little scrappy, even for a direct-to-video movie.
All things considered, though, it’s a wonder this was even made. It’s clearly a passion project, and it feels more like a well-written fan film than a traditional movie. And that’s not a bad thing. Clash of Empires tries its best to give you a multi-year historical epic in under an hour and 30 minutes, with what is clearly a shoestring budget. While it doesn’t completely overcome it’s limitations, the ambition and vision behind this is genuinely inspiring.
Aztec Batman is shockingly well written, and a great example of taking a strange premise to its fullest extent. It really didn’t need to be a superhero movie — it could’ve just been an animated film about Aztecs fighting for their land — but it being a Batman story is definitely cooler. If you can forgive the fact it looks a little cheap, the passion and historical roots of this story shine through.
Rating: Liked It
Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires is currently available on VOD
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