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BATMAN: YEAR ONE DVD
Review by:
Jim "Good Old JR" Rutkowski
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Directed by:
Lauren Montgomery, Sam Liu |
Written
by:
Tab Murphy, based on the story by Frank Miller |
Starring the Voices of:
Bryan Cranston, Benjamin McKenzie, Eliza Dushku, |
Running time:
64 minutes
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Released:
10/18/11-direct to dvd |
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Rated PG-13
for violence and some sexual material. |
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"Batman: Year One adapts Miller's tale with excellent animation and first-rate
voice work from a talented cast, finding a nice balance between human moments
and exciting action sequences."
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 Batman:
Year One is a darker, grittier Batman than we've seen in the already
dark-and-gritty DC Universe animated features. This is a film in which, among
other things, the Dark Knight does battle in the middle of Gotham City's porn
district, and some of the violence is fairly bloody.
The graphic novel, as they say, is always better but this full-length
made-for-DVD animated adaptation of the Eighties comic does a decent job of
representing the source material.
In the hoopla surrounding Frank (300, Sin City) Miller’s influential Batman: The
Dark Knight Returns comic Miller’s own 1987 Batman: Year One graphic novel (or
comic arc to be more accurate) is often forgotten, even though it was probably a
bigger influence on Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins movie than Returns. For
starters an action sequence in which Batman (Christian Bale) is trapped in an
abandoned apartment building by trigger happy SWAT team members is taken almost
verbatim from Miller’s Year One - right down to Batman using a sonic gizmo to
attract a swarm of bats!
Like the Nolan movies, Frank Miller’s story is concerned with how Batman would
work in the real world. Here the real world is more influenced by Taxi Driver
and typical 1970s urban decay than the 1930s crime fiction noir that inspired
the character originally. It is a tougher and grittier Batman, and although one
has gotten used to Batman being tough and gritty over the past few decades it
often easy to forget the self-aware irony of the ‘Sixties TV show and the day-glo
neon of the Joel Schumacher Batman movies (shudder).
Batman: Year One sticks closely to the original comic, right down to the
multiple voice-over technique. The story of Batman’s first year as a masked
vigilante is told from the perspective of a wet behind the ears Bruce Wayne
still trying to figure out how to avenge the death of his parents (what does
make a man dress up like a bat and go out and fight muggers?) and a younger
Captain Gordon, newly arrived in Gotham City and finding it to be a wretched
hive of scum and villainy – most of the crooks being corrupt cops!
As the title suggests, the story depicts the year that Bruce Wayne (voiced by
Benjamin McKenzie) begins patrolling Gotham's streets in his bat costume. It is
also the first year that honest cop Jim Gordon (Bryan Cranston) spends on the
city's police force. Both men face trials and tribulations: Batman takes on
villains in a corrupt political system, while Gordon struggles to defend himself
from fellow cops who want him to be as crooked as they are. Eliza Dushku
provides the voice of Catwoman, who is borne from the dust that Batman and
Gordon kick up in the city.
Miller's story has always been solid, because it adds a lot of character depth
to this world. The movie version keeps that intact. We can see that Batman is an
outlet for Bruce Wayne's a nger toward those who killed his parents. Dressing up
to nobly fight crime is his way of trying to right the world's wrongs. Gordon,
meanwhile, has unbending values while on duty, yet carries on an illicit affair
with a female cop on the side. His own double standard eats away at him. Batman:
Year One adapts Miller's tale with excellent animation and first-rate voice work
from a talented cast, finding a nice balance between human moments and exciting
action sequences.
The only complaint I have is that, at just 64 minutes, it's awfully short. Some
scenes last only a few seconds, delivering a crucial plot point and then moving
on. I'd have liked to see a slightly longer take on the story. What's here is
very good, and quite frankly, I wanted even more. Some of the other DC Animated
Universe pictures have run about 80 or 85 minutes. Batman: Year One should have
had that length. The substance of the story kind of demands a longer length.
Several things feel rushed here.
That said, I still recommend Batman: Year One. It's a smart, well made, and
suitably introspective Dark Knight/Jim Gordon adventure. |
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BATMAN: YEAR ONE © 2011 Warner Home Video
All Rights Reserved
Review © 2011 Alternate Reality, Inc.
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