With the latest chapter in the Batman film series appearing on big screens this summer (and certain to bring lots of cash to Warner Brothers), this animated rumination on the Dark Knight follows in the footsteps of the Animatrix and has some anime adventures of the caped crusader.
Gotham Knight follows the style of the previous Animatrix DVD release in that it takes several different writers and animators gives them their subject, the Matrix in the previous case and Batman in this case, and unleashes them.
The results are a little bit of a mixed bag, but one thing that might be a universal complaint is that the ones that interest you turn out to be too short (the disc has a total running time of 76 minutes). Just when you get into an episode it’s over.
Personally I found something to like in each of them, but was a little disappointed that we don’t get to see anime interpretations of some of the top tier villains.
A Joker variation on the anime theme might be most interesting, maybe in time for the third Dark Knight sequel.
The cover claims that this is the first PG-13 Batman animated feature, which isn’t exactly true since the uncut version of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker has that honor.
The first tale is “Have I Got a Story for You” (written by Josh Olson and directed by Shojiro Nishimi) and has some street kids telling about their individual encounters with Batman. Each one embellishing him as a demonic shadow, a monstrous giant bat, a robot, and finally the man himself appears in the tale.
Tale two is “Crossfire” (written by Greg Rucka and directed by Futoshi Higashide) in which two of Commissioner Gordon’s detectives (one pro Batman, the other not so) are transporting a prisoner and get in the middle of a gang fight that Batman steps in to quell.
“Field Test” (written by Jordan Goldberg and directed by Hiroshi Morioka) is the third episode and has Batman and Lucius Fox testing out some new magnetic equipment and encountering some mobsters.
“In Darkness Dwells” (written by Batman Begins’ scribe David Goyer and directed by Yasuhiro Aoki) is fourth and finds the Dark Knight in a dark sewer encountering both Killer Croc and the Scarecrow.
Fifth is “Working through the Pain” (written by Brian Azzarello and directed by Toshiyuki Kubooka) and shows how Bruce Wayne learned to control through Eastern mysticism.
Finally there’s “Deadshot” (written by Alan Burnett and directed by Jong-Sik Nam) which has Batman encountering the sharpshooting villain.
Each story has something different to offer, as well as being done in a different animation style. What is constant through all the episodes is the vocal work of Kevin Conroy as Batman.
I was a bit put off by the rudimentary nature of the animation of the first tale but since it’s a story told by kids it’s understandable.
“Crossfire” and “Field Test” are interesting but feel like a part of a much larger storyline, although the Batman costume of “Field Test” reminded me of the woolen one that an 1800s Batman wore in one of the Elseworld comics.
“Working through the Pain” was also interesting and seemed a bit out of Batman Begins. It was nice to see a flashback to how Bruce Wayne went about becoming the Batman. “In Darkness Dwells” and Deadshot” feel like the more traditional of the tales and also feature appearances by supervillians, although nothing like the Joker, etc.
However, this is an interesting and entertaining experiment and I hope we see more of it. Brevity is the complaint that I think that most will have with the presentation since you’re just about getting into the story when it ends.
Gotham Knight is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. A single disc version is available separately (that replicates disc one below) as well as a Blu-ray, but this review is for the two-disc special edition.
Disc one has a commentary with Kevin Conroy, former Batman editor Dennis O’Neil, and DC senior vice president Gregory Noveck. Next is a 10 minute preview of the upcoming animated Wonder Woman film and previews for other Warner films, including the Dark Knight.
Disc two starts off with the 35 minute “A Mirror for the Bat” that chronicles how Batman’s villains reflect him as well. Next is a wonderful look at Batman’s creator Bob Kane called “Batman and Me” that runs 38 minutes. Finally you get a selection of episodes from Batman: The Animated Series (“Legends of the Dark Knight,” “Heart of Ice,” “Over the Edge,” and “I am the Night.”) selected by animator Bruce Timm.
I found this experiment a successful one and hope that it branches out into other characters – Joker please. The two disc edition features a wonderful tribute to Bob Kane, who couldn’t be Batman so he became Bruce Wayne. It’s a wonderful set and if you’re a Bat-fan you’ll eat it up.
Batman - Gotham Knight (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) is now available at Amazon and AmazonUK . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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