Reel Rave!
Jul 10, 2008
REVIEW: Batman: Gotham Knight
(Image from Wikipedia)
Note: The following review was submitted by Marc Gibson.
Holy anime Batman!
If you like Batman and you like anime, then Batman: Gotham Knight should be right up you alley, street, thoroughfare, whatever.
B:GK is the first time, EVER, that one of the most enduring comic book characters of all time has be touched by Japanese animation [for the newborns, also known as anime].
It was figured by the powers-that-be that casting the Shadow of the Bat with a new anime light would be a sure sell, plus it would be an excellent way of collecting the pocket change of Bat-fans and anime-junkies ahead of The Dark Knight.
For me, Batman: Gotham Knight did not meet my expectations. Don't get me wrong, the idea that anime could capture the essence of Batman wasn't a bad one. The execution of that idea, however, comes crazily close to making a joker out of B:GK.
The story [or more accurately six interconnecting stories] fills in the gaps between Batman Returns and the upcoming Dark Knight. While I will not spill the beans on the story for each of the segments, I will say that the various animation styles used for each [while interesting] ended up segmenting the tale more than I found desirable. One segment 'Field Test' had Bruce Wayne looking more pubescent than playboy-ish. Another segment [you'll see which one] gives a glimpse of the Batmobile from a different time.
Don't get me wrong, each of the anime styles featured brought something different to the film, but the uniqueness of each style kept a disjointed feel constantly apparent. Imagine a Batman comic cobbled together with artwork from Jim Lee, Stan Lee, and Alex Ross, or a puzzle done by an enthusiastic three year-old.
Batman: Gotham Knight did mark Kevin Conroy's first return to voicing what is perhaps his defining role as Bruce Wayne/Batman. While Conroy's voice-acting brought a sense of the familiar to B:GK it did not fit as well as it might have if the film did not skip through several different anime styles.
A couple of the segments, 'Crossfire' and 'Deadshot', do capture the essence of Batman quite well IMHO, easily making them my favourites, while the lead-in segment 'Have I got a Story for You' does an excellent job of showing how the Bat becomes an urban legend.
Hiccups aside, Batman: Gotham Knight does a decent job of bridging the gap from Batman Returns in terms of the progress of Batman as a character, and his battle against the darkness of Gotham. I wouldn't advise anyone who is following that same progression to skip this anthology film before watching Dark Knight.
(Image from Wikipedia)
Note: The following review was submitted by Marc Gibson.
Holy anime Batman!
If you like Batman and you like anime, then Batman: Gotham Knight should be right up you alley, street, thoroughfare, whatever.
B:GK is the first time, EVER, that one of the most enduring comic book characters of all time has be touched by Japanese animation [for the newborns, also known as anime].
It was figured by the powers-that-be that casting the Shadow of the Bat with a new anime light would be a sure sell, plus it would be an excellent way of collecting the pocket change of Bat-fans and anime-junkies ahead of The Dark Knight.
For me, Batman: Gotham Knight did not meet my expectations. Don't get me wrong, the idea that anime could capture the essence of Batman wasn't a bad one. The execution of that idea, however, comes crazily close to making a joker out of B:GK.
The story [or more accurately six interconnecting stories] fills in the gaps between Batman Returns and the upcoming Dark Knight. While I will not spill the beans on the story for each of the segments, I will say that the various animation styles used for each [while interesting] ended up segmenting the tale more than I found desirable. One segment 'Field Test' had Bruce Wayne looking more pubescent than playboy-ish. Another segment [you'll see which one] gives a glimpse of the Batmobile from a different time.
Don't get me wrong, each of the anime styles featured brought something different to the film, but the uniqueness of each style kept a disjointed feel constantly apparent. Imagine a Batman comic cobbled together with artwork from Jim Lee, Stan Lee, and Alex Ross, or a puzzle done by an enthusiastic three year-old.
Batman: Gotham Knight did mark Kevin Conroy's first return to voicing what is perhaps his defining role as Bruce Wayne/Batman. While Conroy's voice-acting brought a sense of the familiar to B:GK it did not fit as well as it might have if the film did not skip through several different anime styles.
A couple of the segments, 'Crossfire' and 'Deadshot', do capture the essence of Batman quite well IMHO, easily making them my favourites, while the lead-in segment 'Have I got a Story for You' does an excellent job of showing how the Bat becomes an urban legend.
Hiccups aside, Batman: Gotham Knight does a decent job of bridging the gap from Batman Returns in terms of the progress of Batman as a character, and his battle against the darkness of Gotham. I wouldn't advise anyone who is following that same progression to skip this anthology film before watching Dark Knight.
Labels: anime, Batman, comics, Gotham Knight, Marc Gibson, review
