Reviewed by Cassam Looch
Stars the voices of Kevin Conroy, Gary Dourdan, David McCallum, Corey Burton, Brian George, Jason Marsden
Written by Brian Azzarello, Alan Burnett, Jordan Goldberg,
David Goyer, Josh Olson & Greg Rucka
UK certification 15 | UK RRP £12.99 | Runtime 73 minutes
Directed by Yasuhiro Aoki, Futoshi Higashide, Toshiyuki Kubooka, Hiroshi Morioka & Shoujirou Nishimi
As if the excitement for The Dark Knight wasn’t already approaching fever pitch, this animated release (cleverly pitched as showing the transition of Batman from Beginner to Dark Knight) comes from a highly respected team of directors and writers. Taking the form of six interweaving chapters, and borrowing cues from Manga in stylistic terms, Gotham Knight stands out for all the right reasons.
It opens with the Rashômon-lite segment where a group of youngsters recount in varying styles their own encounters with Batman. Some see him as an unbeatable robot, others as the Man-bat ... that is, until they see him once more. From this earliest moment you will note that the violence on this DVD is thankfully set to a high level. The next few chapters work in their own right, but not necessarily as an overall story, which cannot be said of the superb In Darkness Dwells. The Scarecrow and Killer Croc make welcome appearances and Batman shows exactly why he is the darkest of all the mainstream superheroes. The final two chapters build to a visually stunning climax where relatively new villain Deadshot is introduced. This is very much a Nolan type character, and would fit into the recent series of features with no problem.
Fans of the peerless Batman: The Animated Series will need to be prepared for a change. Not just in stylistic terms, but in tone as well — this is very different to Batman: Mask of the Phantasm or Subzero. Serial Bat-voice Kevin Conroy is present and correct, but this Japanese infused outing looks like little else out there. The new visuals work wonders in some scenes, but just like Nolan’s depiction of the Dark Knight there is little sign of the classic Gothic look of the franchise.
The links between this collection of stories and the two Nolan Batman movies is tenuous. They exist in the same theoretical universe, but other than that there is only a cursory reference to Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Lucius Fox and the gadgets feature in an earlier episode, which feels like an elongated morality tale rather than part of the new Batman. Despite all the press hype, this is not really the franchise filler that one might have expected. It’s a new direction for the animated side of the DC universe, it’s a welcome change of tone (darker) and pace (slower) ... and also introduces a more philosophical element to the character. Overall this is a triumph in it’s own right — not to be seen part of the bigger movie picture, but as the debut of a fantastic new strand.
EXTRAS * Just a trailer (for the excellent looking Lego Batman videogame) and an audio commentary from the filmmakers. That's the single-disc Region 2 edition. But those lucky folks in Region 1 get a 2-disc special edition which features the following scintillating extras that are being denied to Bat-fans in Region 2: Commentary by DC Comics senior vice president/creative affairs Gregory Noveck, former Batman editor Dennis O'Neil and voice of Batman Kevin Conroy; Exclusive sneak peek at DC Universe's Wonder Woman movie; Revealing documentary Batman and Me: the Bob Kane story; A Mirror for the Bat: featurette exploring Batman and the Evil Denizens of Gotham City; Bruce Timm presents 4 bonus Batman: The Animated Series episodes — Heart of Ice, I Am the Night, Legends of the Dark Knight and Over the Edge. Region 2 customers should email their disdain to Warner Bros, or simply buy a Region 1 DVD from your favourite online store.