BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN: Parts 1 and 2

Here is the decision in full. This two-part animated feature is a superlative adaptation — a panel-for-panel retelling of an acclaimed 1990s graphic novel, faithful to its source and gripping from start to finish. And it isn't only a great mystery. It's a story that takes man's fallen nature seriously and dramatizes, honestly, the two roads a person can walk.

It also earns its R rating. There are several scenes of premeditated gun homicide, a man obliterated by a boat propeller, and a body count that matches the "Holiday Killer" premise. The language includes strong obscenities and a profanity using the name of Jesus. This is an adult film, animated or not.

So: if you are an adult who loves a smart, hardboiled mystery and can watch intense violence without harm to your conscience, this one rewards you richly. If you are choosing for children or young teens, choose something else — this was made for older audiences.

Early in his crimefighting career, Batman faces a puzzle he can't punch his way out of. A serial killer has begun assassinating members of Carmine Falcone's crime family — one murder on each major holiday, beginning with Halloween.

To bring down Falcone's operation and stop the so-called "Holiday Killer," Batman joins forces with Police Captain Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent. Three men who believe in justice, hunting a murderer who strikes by the calendar. Who the killer really is — and what it costs to find out — is the surprise we'll keep.

Four stars, and here is what they mean. DC's cinematic history has been rocky, but its animated projects have long been its strong suit — and this is among the best. Where the more recent "Tomorrowverse" films have drawn criticism, THE LONG HALLOWEEN stands apart as a master class in bringing a beloved graphic novel to the screen.

The choices are deliberate and they pay off. A 2D animation style honors the source material rather than chasing modern conventions. The voice performances are gripping — Jensen Ackles as Batman, the late Naya Rivera as Catwoman, and a strong supporting cast. The result lets an old-fashioned, hardboiled mystery speak for itself and carries you along on a mystifying, exciting, thought-provoking ride. It's a detective story told with real craft.

This film never preaches, but its moral vision is remarkably clear-eyed. It rests on a truth Scripture states plainly: evil isn't only "out there" in villains like the mobster Falcone or the psychopathic Joker. It runs through every human heart. As Solzhenitsyn wrote, "The line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being" — and that recognition is the engine of this story.

Watch the two men it sets side by side. Batman recognizes his own capacity for evil and rejects it, channeling his darkness into protecting the innocent and bringing "order to a world of chaos." Harvey Dent, his foil, puts full faith in his own righteousness, ignores the darkness within, and finally surrenders to rage and vengeance — becoming "Two-Face." Notice, too, what Batman does when his friend falls: he seeks first to save and redeem him before fighting him. That instinct toward rescue is the film's most Christian note.

By the end, this is more than a detective story. It's a parable of two fates — those who choose good and walk home in peace, and those who choose evil and suffer its consequences. The film's grasp of our fallen nature is spot-on, even if it never names the God who redeems it.

Dent trusted his own righteousness and was undone. Scripture warns of exactly this: "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death" (Proverbs 14:12).

This is that rare thing: a superb crime story that also tells the truth about the human heart, and reaches, in Batman, for redemption. It's also a violent, R-rated film with strong language it doesn't shy from. So here is our answer, the same one we opened with: worth the trip — adults only. Planning family movie night instead? Start with our latest family-friendly picks.