Batman: Gotham Knight Movie Review (2008)
 
Directed by
Yasuhiro Aoki (segment "In Darkness Dwells")
Futoshi Higashide (segment "Crossfire")
Toshiyuki Kubooka (segment "Working through Pain")
Hiroshi Morioka (segment "Field Test")
Jong-Sik Nam (segment "Deadshot")
Shoujirou Nishimi (segment "Have I Got a Story for You")
Writing credits
Josh Olson (screenplay) (segment "Have I Got a Story for You")
Greg Rucka (screenplay) (segment "Crossfire")
Jordan Goldberg (screenplay) (segment "Field Test")
Brian Azzarello (screenplay) (segment "Working through Pain")
Alan Burnett (screenplay) (segment "Deadshot")
David S. Goyer screenplay (segment "In Darkness Dwells")
Bob Kane Batman characters
Major Cast
Kevin Conroy as Batman / Bruce Wayne (voice)
Gary Dourdan as Crispus Allen (voice)
David McCallum as Alfred Pennyworth (voice)
Jim Meskimen as James Gordon / Deadshot (voice)
Corey Burton as Scarecrow / The Russian / Marshall (voice)
Will Friedle as Anton / Cultist / Youth #1 (voice)
I was one of many unfortunate souls who did not adequately anticipate the magnitude of “Bat-Mania” during the opening weekend of “The Dark Knight”. Tickets were sold-out all weekend long at my local theatre, and I was left on the outside, clenched fists raised in unmitigated angst as I cursed at no one in particular, and in true supervillain fashion, swore vengeance against the legions of innocent, better-prepared bystanders.
But then I remembered that I had the new cartoon Batman DVD to watch at home, and somehow that made everything slightly better.
Batman: Gotham Knight is an animated, direct to DVD collection of six short stories that loosely bridges the gap between the films Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Each story has its own unique graphics, animation, and writing styles, and most provide a somewhat fleeting sense of continuity.
Watching the stories is similar to watching a team in a relay race in that the individual’s running styles, strides, and gaits are all unique and especially evident as the baton is passed from one runner to another, but the ultimate goal is the same.
So what is there to say about Batman: Gotham Knight? Most of the new drawings and animation styles were innovative and rather cool, but I also found the loose, or often, lack of continuity among the cartoon shorts to be somewhat of a distraction.
This was especially true during the first cartoon short, which looked like a fifth grader drew-up the storyboards. I assume the elementary graphics were in direct relation to the storyline being told from the perspective of childhood friends as they recounted their Batman sightings to one-another. In hindsight, leading off with that cartoon first was a gutsy call, but it almost backfired. Honestly, I almost quit watching midway through the first cartoon due to my disappointment in the ghastly drawings and choppy animation. I’m glad I stuck with it.
Artistic interpretation and continuity issues aside, using the familiar voice of Kevin Conroy as Batman served as an important anchor that grounded the entire body of work. Without Conroy’s voice to fall back on, the entire body of work loses something important. Kevin Conroy’s contribution to this project cannot be overstated. In essence, without Conroy, Batman loses his identity and becomes just another weirdo in a mask, fighting crime.
And now that I’ve beaten that horse to death, here’s a little trivia; according to Wikipedia, Kevin Conroy has voiced the animated Batman for over fifteen years. His tenure in the role of Batman is longer than any of the live-action actors combined, and that includes the cheesy series that starred Adam West. So, yeah, there ya go.
The Grades
Story: All of the story elements were interesting and engaging, but the continuity issues were distracting. Grade: B
Acting: Two words: Kevin Conroy. Grade: A
Visuals: Like the stories, the visuals were interesting and unique, but the continuity was a problem. Also, the blocky animation of the first story nearly submarined the whole project. Grade: B-
Originality/Innovation: It is often difficult to bring a fresh perspective to an iconic character like Batman, but this “relay team” did just that. One story even explores Batman’s “soft underbelly”, or the source of his “true pain” in a way that was both subtle and poignant. Grade: A
Enjoyability Grade: It took willpower to sit through the first cartoon, but everything else was exceptional. Grade: B-
Date Material: I’d consider this a “special interest” date film only. Unless you’re both comic book geeks or share some quirky, kinky Batman fetish, I wouldn’t recommend this one. Also, there will be cartoon blood. Grade: C
Contemporary Element (Will it be watchable two decades from now?): Again, the longevity of this collection is highly specified. Batman geeks may watch it repeatedly, but I certainly won’t and I have relatively normal taste in action cartoons. Grade: C-
Redeeming Quality: I enjoy projects that “bridge the gap” in the extended universe of a given action series cash-cow. I enjoyed watching Batman struggle through certain story elements that have barely been touched upon. I enjoyed seeing the artists’ different renderings of Gotham’s Dark Knight. And yes, Kevin Conroy is The Man. Grade: A
Edited to add: I just saw the film, The Dark Knight, and whoever billed the animated collection, “Batman: Gotham Knight” as a vehicle to “bridge the gap” between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight deserves to be set on fire and put out with a pitchfork.
I don’t appreciate being lied to… especially when there is no need to lie in the first place. I’ve been a Batman fan all my life, jerks. You don’t have to lie to me in order to get me to watch a new Batman project. You could have titled it, Batman: Watch this Cartoon Crap, and I would’ve gleefully popped the DVD in and tortured my wife with it for the next two hours.
This reprehensible deception has cost your animated potpourri to drop a full letter grade. I hope you’re proud of yourselves.
Overall Grade: C (Adjusted from a “B” to reflect the discovery of a shameless lie in promoting this project.)
***
Blind Eye Turning: Poems, Prose, and other Scribbles, by Barry Dawson
Buy it at www.lulu.com
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