Sunday, August 23, 2009

Batman: Gotham Knight - 3/5

This was definitely the most interesting and creative take on the Batman legacy that most of us have come to accept and love. Although I am not into Anime (the only other Anime I have ever seen in its entirety is the "Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie" and I had that on VHS as a wee kid), the animation was unique for each story and very good almost the entire time. Combining Anime and Batman at first seemed a bit odd to me but "Gotham Knight" worked it out very well.

Story wise, it was interesting to see these different short stories and how they tied into one another towards the end. It was a ballsy sort of idea that worked for the most part. I could have done with a bit more tie in's between some of the stories as most of them are pretty on the surface and/or fast quips that reference the other stories. It paid off when it happened but I could have seen it done more.

It was interesting to see the takes on Batman's look and actions. By far my favorite was the final section with Deadshot and how it tied in a lot with some of the earlier ones but some of the takes on Batman were a little odd to me. The story with Croc and Scarecrow felt the most like a traditional Batman story but the animation had a weird size shifts in it and I wasn't thrilled with their portrayal of Killer Croc.

Overall, this was an interesting take for fans of the Batman although I don't know if I'll be watching it repeatedly. I suggest this for fans only (mostly due to non explanation of characters and what not - if you don't know the story then you will be lost). I wish it was a tad more cohesive as a whole but it worked nicely. 


Written By Matt Reifschneider

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