Batman Gotham Knight DVD: A Hit And Miss Vignette Film
Beware the Spoilers
When I first heard Bruce Timm was doing an animated movie that would take place between Batman Begins and Dark Knight, I was excited. But I became less excited when I learned it was not only going to be in anime style, but also in vignettes. I’ll admit I have a general distaste for anime, but even beyond that, this all sounded like too much for one movie to handle, and it was.
There are six short films, all done in an anime style and each done by a different director, much like the Animatrix. Somehow, this worked better for the Matrix than it did for Batman. I think a lot of that is because Matrix is about a particular universe more than it is about a single individual– yeah, the movies are mostly about Neo, but he’s in every scene, and none of the Animatrix is really about him. Obviously Gotham Knight had to be exclusively about Batman himself. But in none of these six short films is the psychology of Batman really explored like it was in Batman: The Animated Series. In some of the films, a very simple story is told, and I understand it, but I wonder what the overall message is supposed to be. Others are quite disjointed, throwng up a lot of bizarre images, but not telling much of a story, and I still find myself wondering what the point is.
When I read or watch a Batman story, I want it to be straight forward, with a clear beginning, middle, and end. I don’t care what the format is, anime or not. Art films can be made legitimately with other properties, but you shouldn’t do it with Batman. An attempt at a comic book art film is what made the first Hulk film so lame. Comics can be serious, they can make a point, but I don’t think they should be so “innovative” that they can’t hold an audience.
Understand that I found a couple of these short films to be quite interesting and entertaining, but I was jarred through the whole movie by trying to keep my continuity straight. All of this is supposed to be in the Begins/Dark Knight continuity, but Kevin Conroy is doing Batman’s voice in every film. Don’t get me wrong, Conroy is the best Batman ever in my opinion, but I’m used to hearing him in the Bruce Timm continuity. He and Christian Bale, though both playing dark, are still playing two entirely different versions of Batman.
The first of the films, “I’ve Got a Story For You,” is cool in concept but ultimately doesn’t have much of a point. It’s about three kids, each with a different Batman story, each perceiving Batman in an entirely different way. It spends so much time showng elborate fight scenes that obviously didn’t happen the way the kids narrate them that lmost no real plot is told, and it amounts to an inferior version of a fantastic Batman: TAS episode called “Almost Got ‘Em.”
My favorite is the second, “Crossfire,” which is most closely related to Begins. It’s about two cops who take a prisoner, who Batman delivered to Gordon, across the Narrows, which is now filled with nothing but inmates after the events of Begins. There is a lot of commentary about whether Batman is a vigilante and how much good or bad he’s been doing for Gotham since Begins. Batman looks his best in this one and has a very epic fight scene in the midst of a huge fire. This is the closest the movie gets to using an anime style that serves Batman well.
“Field Test” is another one that’s excellent in theory but badly executed. It has one of the most desracting animation styles (I just can’t get around a Bruce Wayne who looks like that) and it moves far too slow in pace for being so short. It does have one of the best and clearest messages, however. Basically, Bruce gets an invention from Lucius Fox that makes him almost invincible, but the risk to his enemies is too great, so he opts to risk his own life rather than theirs. With an idea like that, it’s too bad the writing wasn’t better.
“In Darkness Dwells” has an absolutely steller script, probably the best writing in the whole movie. It reads much like an early Batman: TAS episode or a recent comic. Unfortunately, it’s the worst animation in the entire piece. It’s so gritty that the people hardly even look like people. Killer Croc doesn’t look like he has a rare skin disease, he looks like he’s a giant monster from another planet– he doesn’t even look lizard-like! And Batman’s got the stupidest looking costume in this one. Watch it for yourself, though– the story’s good enough I’d rather not spoil it.
“Working Through Pain” is nothing short of an abomination. No story is told here whatsoever. It’s hard to tell what exactly this thing is trying to do. At the very beginning, Batman’s in the sewer (we have no idea why) and some guy walks up and shoots him. Batman. Only two people down there and Batman gets shot by some random thuggish guy who is obviously still on Scarecrow’s fear toxin for some reason. The bullet hits Batman’s side and he crawls around bleeding and having flashbacks of some Indian woman he went to train with. We have no idea when this was, or if he was Batman yet when it happened (I get the feeling it was). But this is Begins continuity, so why would he go train for months with someone when he’s already been through his training with Ducard? And, why isn’t he wearing any body armor so he won’t bleed to death in the sewer? There seems to be no real point to these flashbacks, and at the end, Batman’s found a whole bunch of guns in the sewer he wants to take back with him, and he looks really sad about it. Okay. Batman hates guns. Knew that. And that’s all I really got from this. Lamest, most pethetic Batman ever, and he’s lucky he’s made it this long.
The final film, “Deadshot,” is pretty solid. It, too, has an anti-gun message, but it makes more sense than the other. It ties Batman’s hatred to guns directly to his parents’ murder, which at least brings the original mythos in and makes it feel a little more like Batman. Bruce keeps a collection of guns, not to use, but to better understand his enemies– he says that guns give you the power of God, and while he calls that an “attraction” he can understand, it seems to be the very reason he won’t use one. This one finally delves at least a little into his psyche, and I liked that, but I still prefered the epic mysteriousness in “Crossfire.” The story here, about a sniper going after Gordon to bring out Batman, isn’t bad.
It’s worth taking a look at, but unless you’re a big collector like myself and want everything with Batman filmed in your collection, you might rent this one. I don’t imagine it’ll ever be on my frequenly watched list.
LLAP
-Cap’n Logan
Tags: Batman, Batman Begins, Batman Gotham Knight, Bruce Timm, comics, Dark Knight, DC, superhero