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 | From the producers of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight comes Batman: Gotham Knight. Bridging the gap between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight and directed by Bruce Timm (Batman: The Animated Series) Batman: Gotham Knight taps into the work of three pioneering anime studios (Production I.G. Studio 4C and Madhouse) and five noted anime directors (Shojiro Nishimi Futoshi Higashide Hiroshi Morioka Yasuhiro Aoki and Toshiyuki Kubooka) to create a thrilling anthology of six interrelated... read more.
Starring Voiced By: Kevin Conroy, Gary Dourdan, David McCallum, Corey Feldman, Parminder Nagra, Jason Marsden, Alanna Ubach, Will Friedle, George Newbern, Kevin Michael Richardson and Corey Burton, directed by Bruce Timm.
Released 14 July 2008.
Warner Home Video. PAL.
rrp £12.99. Our best price £7.97 | |
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| Kashif Ahmed, 14 Jul 2008 |
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| Clever and atmospheric animated film, spilt up into six fifteen minutes segments designed to bridge the gap between Chris Nolan's 'Batman Begins' and 'Dark Knight'. 'Gotham Knight' plays to the relatively new trend of animated or computer game tie-ins released as interlinks prior to a popular movie sequel, the Wachowski brothers were among the first to venture into such territory (though 'Marvel' & 'Lucasfilm' were producing intra-universe 'Star Wars' comics for years) with their groundbreaking, and visually spectacular, 'Animatrix' series, a collection of books and 'Enter The Matrix' game. All this introspective, navel gazing deconstruction and multi layered narratives must matter to someone, somewhere, presumably, though its never as important to the live action pictures as studio hype would have you believe. That said, I loved 'The Animatrix', and if truth be told: 'The Second Renaissance' parts I & II were better than 'Reloaded' and 'Revolutions' put together. 'Gotham Knight' is a lot more hit n' miss than the 'Animatrix' though many of its creators are on board: 'Manga' legend Shoujirou Nishimi ('Akira') directs 'Have I Got A Story For You'. An intriguing, 'Rashoman'-esque tale written by Josh Olson (who adapted Locke & Wagner's excellent 'A History Of Violence') that has some kids describe their varying, mostly exaggerated, encounters with Gotham's mysterious new vigilante. Batman is portrayed as an ultra-violent avenger, Man Bat monster, spectre and even an absurdly animated T-800 style Terminator; all of which makes for disjointed hyperbole that nonetheless accurately serves to describe each of his characteristics (i.e. tortured, vengeful, good with technology etc). Anime stalwart Futoshi Hiaside teams up with D.C. comics scribe Greg Rucker to deliver 'Crossfire': An episode which works to establish a violent and foreboding premise to the trial of mob boss Sal Maroni (responsible for creating the tragic figure of Harvey ‘Two Face’ Dent). Much of this story focuses on struggling Gotham cops Allen and Ramirez, their first run-in with Batman and, of course, the Russian-Italian Mafioso turf war, which eventually brings The Joker to prominence. Good action, sharp, fluid animation and listen out for 'CSI' star Gary Dourdan as the voice of detective Crispus Allen. Hiroshi Morioka ('Tsubasa Chronicle') steps up to direct the divertive 'Field Test' with Jordan Goldberg (AP on Nolan's 'The Prestige') along for the ride as writer. This is a surprisingly slow burn noir, which sees Bruce Wayne testing an innovative bullet deflector invented by Lucious Fox (Morgan Freeman's character in the movies) whilst looking into the murder of an anti-globalisation activist, links to property developer Ronald Marshall and our old friends the Russian & Italian mob. An entertaining, if convoluted, little story highlighting Batman's developing investigative prowess & crime fighting techniques. Yasuhiro Aoki, key animator on 'Beyond' in 'The Animatrix' anthology, is paired with fan favourite auteur & Stanley Tucci look-alike David S. Goyer ('Blade', 'Blade II', 'Blade Trinity', 'Batman Begins', 'Dark Knight' and errm...'Jumper') for an episode entitled 'In Darkness Dwells'. Action takes the place of intrigue as Batman goes up against super villain Killer Croc in the Gotham City sewer system. Croc, in cahoots with Scarecrow, is armed with fear toxin and the caped crusader has a tough time of things in a brutal, well-drawn battle scene. A good episode, which also builds upon Batman's friendship with Commissioner Gordon along with the realisation that he's only just begun his crime-fighting career, and still has some way to go. Toshiyuki Kubooka ('Gundam Wing') helms an impressive, highly original vignette penned by newcomer Brian Azzarello: 'Working Through Pain', as its title denotes, follows the Dark Knight on his mission to break through the pain barrier. I loved the way they cut back and forth in time here, with an injured Batman trawling through the sewers as Bruce Wayne recalls his time in Africa & Asia with doctors sans frontiers. How he sought then, as he does now, to follow an enlightened path via the way of the Sufi Mystics who, along with their wisdom & spirituality, could make themselves impervious to pain. Flashbacks are well written and 'E.R.' actress Parminder Nagra voices Cassandra, one of the mystics who tires to help our hero. 'Working Through Pain' sets up Batman's suspenseful finale with master assassin Deadshot in an episode of the same name, and works to portray how a hero is forged in hardship: resolve and grim, autotelic determination his only true allies in a harsh, unforgiving world. We wrap things up, appropriately enough, with a cartoon by old school superhero scribe Alan Burnett, now this guys done a lot when it comes to animation and comic books. Burnnet's credits include Toshihiko Masuda's 'The Batman & Superman movie', 'Batman: Mask of the Phantasm', 'Batman Beyond', 'Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman' and 'The Smurfs'! 'Batman-Gotham Knight' ends on a high: an heroic, commendably dark, addition to the animated cannon, though whether this was essential viewing or pre-hype filler will depend entirely upon how much you love Bob Kane's immortal creation. For now, this is for die hard Bat fans only, the rest of us may wish to wait a while, investing in a copy when we, inevitably, add 'Dark Knight' to our DVD or Blu-Ray collection.
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