The Great Geek Manual

Movie: “Batman: Gotham Knight”

Tagline: “Get Ready….To Rage Against Evil”
Rating: PG-13 for stylized violence
Release: July 8 (Blu-Ray & DVD)
Running Time: 1 hr 15 min
Starring: Kevin Conroy, Gary Dourdan, David McCallum, Parminder Nagra, Ana Ortiz … IMDB listing

Verdict:
This collection of six short films breaths fresh life into the DC Animated Universe. Animatrix fans are certain to love it. Boys of all ages will love it. Even hardcore Batman nitpickers are certain to enjoy this fresh perspective on the franchise, so long as they approaching it expecting style rather than substance.

Review
The first thing you need to know about Batman: Gotham Knight before you buy it is that it turns the Batman franchise on its head.

Rather than following Batman as he tracks down an opponent through a series of clues to a remote location for a final confrontation, it tells the story of the chase and apprehension of the villain in spurts through the eyes of a series of on-lookers, namely a group of skateboarding punks.

Where Batman’s creators have a long track record of favoring substance over style, relying on clever, emotionally-powerful writing and clean, stylized artwork. On the other hand, these films are not very substantive. Their stories are largely eye-candy, telling an extremely simple slice-of-life story as many artistic flourishes as could be shoe-horned in.

In particular, the films’ styles feature an amazing juxtaposition between the film’s tidily uniform backdrop and a rowdy array of character art, similar to the styles of the series Paranoia Agent and the Animatrix episode “Beyond“. It’s a refreshing new look for Batman, who has been appearing in bold but austere lines for seemingly decades.

Finally, where most of the Batman franchise is told from Batman’s point-of-view and is concerned with the personal development of Bruce Wayne, this film instead examines others’ reactions to the newly-emerged Batman.

While, at first blush, turning a beloved and much geeked-upon icon upside down may be a turn-off, but I predict that the experience will inspire viewers to a greater appreciation of the Dark Knight as they more closely examine the fine details of a franchise, which, in recent years, has grown increasingly over-exposed.

The second thing you need to know about Batman: Gotham Knight is that Kevin Conroy returns as the voice of Batman! That in itself is enough to bring hardcore Batman fan to attentions.

HAVE I GOT A STORY FOR YOU
Synopsis: Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Josh Olson (A History of Violence) and Studio 4°C (Transformers) tells a story of four skateboarders who meet up to swap tales of their close encounters with the Gotham Knight and a mysterious villain who has managed to just allude capture throughout the day.

Review: While this story is short, it is a beautiful hook for Batman fans, as closely resembles the fan-favorite episode “Almost Got ‘Im” from Batman: The Animated Series. In fact, the film not only pays homage to the episode, it surpasses it with a rich artistic flair and a some rowdy plot twists.

CROSSFIRE
Synopsis: Acclaimed author Greg Rucka tells the story of Gotham City police tells a story of a distrustful detective having to overcome his distrust of the “vigilante” calling himself Batman, while pinned down in a cross-fire between to opposing gangs.

Review: My initial reaction to this segment was regret that it didn’t continue it’s excellent homage to Batman: The Animated series. Instead, it strikes out into territory never before covered in animation or film, spanning the gap between Nolan’s film, Batman Begins and the next film. It ties Gotham Knight into the continuity of the Batman franchise as none of the other segments do, and thus, it fills a vital role. However, watching it a second time, I was still left with a vague since of dissatisfaction that leaves me of the opinion that this is the weakest segment of the lot.

FIELD TEST
Synopsis: Writer Jordan Goldberg tell a tale of a bullet-proof Batman. In this high-tech morality tale, Lucius Fox creates an electromagnetic shield that deflects bullets, but when Batman goes looking for a woman’s killer among the gangs of Gotham, the ricocheting bullets put those around in him in danger.

Review: I loved this episode. It’s a clever allegory beautifully adapted to a technological age, and it balances out this collection’s action and art pieces with a little thought-provoking morality.

IN DARKNESS DWELLS
Synopsis: Batman must descends into the sewers to rescue a Cardinal who was abducted mid-sermon. In the dark, he must face-off against both “Killer Croc,” and the Scarecrow, in a story from the co-writer of Batman Begins, David S. Goyer.

Review: Having been written by Goyer, this segment is, predictably, the most intense. The story is closely inter-woven with the film, and the backdrops of the Gotham City Sewers are some of the artistic high-points of the entire collection.

WORKING THROUGH PAIN
Synopsis: Comic writer Brian Azzarello 100 Bullets expands the mythos of Bruce Wayne’s earliest training in a story of his stay with a mysterious Indian woman named Cassandra who introduces Wayne to techniques for managing physical and spiritual pain.

Review: Cassandra is a new and intriguing addition to the Batman story. The segment is a bit boring, but it lends the melancholy air we’ve come to expect from the Dark Knight to the collection.

DEADSHOT
Synopsis: Four-time Emmy Award-winning author Alan Burnett concludes the collection by tying the threads of the other segments in a storyline in which the Dark Knight faces off against an obsessive, unerring assassin with a complete disregard for the life of Gotham’s citizens.

Review: This is as stereotypical a Batman storyline as they come. It finishes the rollercoaster of cerebral expression with a predictable and action-packed sequence that will seem familiar and welcomed to Batman fans.

While shallow compared to earlier segments, this segment, which climaxes atop a speeding trains, ends the film on a high note that will certainly leave fans stoked and eager for more.