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| Review of Gotham Knight |
Author: raleagh
Wed, 2nd July 2008 |
| Review of the anime feature |
For those Batman fans who have been living under a rock, Gotham Knight is an animated feature consisting of 6 interlocking anime short films set between the events of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight - in much the same way as The Animatrix did.
Does it bridge the gap? Time will tell (as The Dark Knight is not released at this moment in time) but it certainly does introduce important characters that play major roles in TDK. To anyone not aware of the players in TDK, this feature certainly does bring them up to speed quickly presenting us with Sal Maroni, The Russian and Anna Ramirez.
The animation, as you would expect, is breathtaking. Gotham is a living breathing landscape and at times you almost think you are watching a live action film - although the character designs in some of the sequences remind you that you are not!
We see how Batman has settled into Gotham, how he has retained his mythical status and how he is percieved by those in Gotham.
The first film, Have I Got A Story For You, is told from the point of view of 3 children. Each see him as something other than human, each exagerating the story to impress the others. One sees Batman as an ether floating between the shadows, another as a man-bat and the last child sees him as a robot. These sequences are full of action with breathtaking animation, most notably where Batman fights as a smokey shadow.
Crossfire, the second film, tells us how Batman is seen by those working for Gordon in the MCU (Major Crimes Unit). We are introduced to Ramairez here. We also see what has become of The Narrows - with Arkham as its Administration center. Arkham here is represented as a building that looks more like a monster that a prison - quite fitting that it should be too. There is very little of Batman here, but what there is remains flashy. Batman is shown as a human, but some of the scenes are a little un-realistic.
Fieldtest, is little more than a moral lesson for Bruce Wayne, but we get to see how Batman deals with rival gangs. Impressive animation throughout this one. The suit is like a cross between Batman and Azrael.
I have to admit that while In Darkness Dwells is probably the most unlikely story to link the movies (with Killer Croc not exactly fitting into the realistic approach Chris Nolan is taking with the franchise) it is also one of my favourites. There is great work between Batman and Gordon and the action is great - with smooth realistic fighting. It also features a score by Christopher Drake that oozes class! The underground, where much of of action takes place is brown and merky - this serves to impress even more how great Gotham looks at night, with blues and blacks, when Batman does emerge from the sewers.
Working Through Pain is another look at Bruce's internal workings although I did feel it dragged a little when we were watching the flashbacks. The small exchanges between Batman and Alfed are subtle and work very well.
The last film in the feature is the best in my opinion, Deadshot. Again, the city looks amazing. This sequence actually reminds me more of an episode of The Animated Series - the pace of the action and the interaction between Batman and Alfred.
Overall, I can agree that having different teams create each segment is exciting and each new style gives us something new, but on the other hand I think I would have prefered to see the same look throughout. In the Animatrix, different styles worked, because different characters and situations were involved. In Batman: Gotham Knight we deal with the same storyline interwoven through 6 short films.
Having Kevin Conroy voice Batman was nice, although his voice has aged and some of the dialogue is rushed to keep with the pace of the scenes - as a result he sounds out of place at times.
It would have been better to have the cast from the films involved, as they were for the Batman Begins video game, using their voices and likenesses - this would have provided the audience with a better link to the films.
Overall, I really enjoyed this feature. The downsides are the dialogue and the overload on gadgets (gadgets that seem to place it in the future rather that the here and now of Chris Nolan's approach). The animation whilst fluid and rich in some places seemed choppy in others (almost like The 90's Aminated Series at times). This may not appeal to Batman fans who are not used to Japanese animation, because to appreciate some of the sequences you really have to like that style.
Another thing - it's also damn short (running little over an hour) which ends up leaving you wanting more - it's not everyday we get to see a Batman cartoon with blood. Perhaps that is the plan all along......it build the anticipation for The Dark Knight which, if it follows this formula, should be amazing.
For me the real test of a film of any sort is whether it stands up to repeated viewings - I have watched Gotham Knight three times so far.
Graded: B+
Batman: Gotham Knight is released on 8th July 2008 and is available from Amazon.com on Single DVD , Special Edition 2-disc DVD and Blu-ray
Last edited by raleagh on Tue, 19th August 2008 at 10:40pm
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