Batman: Year One (2011) directed by Sam Lui and Lauren Montgomery
Back from vacation!
I'm finally back from vacation and should go back on a normal posting schedule. I don't want to turn this into a personal kind of blog, so I'll just say that it was a nice trip but I'm glad to be back home sleeping in my own bed. Movie watching was at times pretty draining because of some super long tours and/or really rough days at sea and using the internet was a nightmare. While flying to Europe I lost twelve hours due to the time difference and was never able to get it back which was why my posts were coming in a day late. It's kind of crazy to think that I wasn't able to squeeze in two movies in one day to make up for it over a two plus week trip, but it just goes to show how tough this whole thing can be at times. Anyways I got back in kind of late so I decided to pick a shorter movie so I can go to bed soon. This is the second animated Batman film I've done so far, the first being Batman: Under the Red Hood. I'm kind of a nerd so I really enjoy these movies, but they are actually pretty good even for non comic geeks.
On to the movie...
A lot of people mistakenly credit Christopher Nolan for reinventing Batman into a more mature and darker character. While the recent movies have certainly helped revitalize the Batman franchise to the mass public, the real credit for Batman's darker image should go primarily to Frank Miller thanks to two key story lines he wrote in the 1980's, The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One. While Batman has always been a dark character by nature, it was Miller's realistic, gritty and brooding origin story that really changed the way people viewed Batman.
Batman: Year One is based on the comic of the same name, and from what I've heard is a really faithful adaptation (I haven't read the comic). The story is what you'd expect it to be based from the title, Batman's first year on the job. It is also Lt. Jim Gordon's first year in the job at the Gotham City's Police Department and surprisingly, this film is almost as much about Gordon as it is about Batman. The film deals with their two separate stories; they both seek to bring justice to Gotham but from different sides of the fight, one is a police officer and the other is a vigilante. As we've all learned from various films like Death Wish real vigilantism would never be tolerated in the real world. Batman's main struggles in his first year aren't with the criminals he's trying to catch but with the police that's trying to catch him. Gordon is tasked to bring in Batman, although he has his reservations about it. He is more interested in curtailing the rampant corruption of the Gotham Police Department. As we all know Gordon would be Batman's greatest ally and vice versa.
One minor comment that I have is that the film feels a little choppy in its pacing at times. Perhaps this has to do with being lifted directly from the comic sometimes panel for panel or that it has to cover an entire year of events in just over one hour. There is no in-between segment from Batman's first patrol where he's still an overzealous amateur to when he's confidently taking down bad guys with fearsome style. Other than that though, I'd have to say I was pretty entertained and interested throughout.
I also have to say that the production value of this movie is pretty good. The animation is very nicely drawn and heads and shoulders above the animated Batman's from my childhood and subsequent films throughout the years with the possible exception of Batman: Gotham Knight. The voice acting is spot on with none other than Bryan Cranston voicing Gordon. Overall, a very solid movie that focuses more on character than action which may turn off some casual viewers but should fascinate the fans.
Grade: B
Back from vacation!
I'm finally back from vacation and should go back on a normal posting schedule. I don't want to turn this into a personal kind of blog, so I'll just say that it was a nice trip but I'm glad to be back home sleeping in my own bed. Movie watching was at times pretty draining because of some super long tours and/or really rough days at sea and using the internet was a nightmare. While flying to Europe I lost twelve hours due to the time difference and was never able to get it back which was why my posts were coming in a day late. It's kind of crazy to think that I wasn't able to squeeze in two movies in one day to make up for it over a two plus week trip, but it just goes to show how tough this whole thing can be at times. Anyways I got back in kind of late so I decided to pick a shorter movie so I can go to bed soon. This is the second animated Batman film I've done so far, the first being Batman: Under the Red Hood. I'm kind of a nerd so I really enjoy these movies, but they are actually pretty good even for non comic geeks.
On to the movie...
A lot of people mistakenly credit Christopher Nolan for reinventing Batman into a more mature and darker character. While the recent movies have certainly helped revitalize the Batman franchise to the mass public, the real credit for Batman's darker image should go primarily to Frank Miller thanks to two key story lines he wrote in the 1980's, The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One. While Batman has always been a dark character by nature, it was Miller's realistic, gritty and brooding origin story that really changed the way people viewed Batman.
Batman: Year One is based on the comic of the same name, and from what I've heard is a really faithful adaptation (I haven't read the comic). The story is what you'd expect it to be based from the title, Batman's first year on the job. It is also Lt. Jim Gordon's first year in the job at the Gotham City's Police Department and surprisingly, this film is almost as much about Gordon as it is about Batman. The film deals with their two separate stories; they both seek to bring justice to Gotham but from different sides of the fight, one is a police officer and the other is a vigilante. As we've all learned from various films like Death Wish real vigilantism would never be tolerated in the real world. Batman's main struggles in his first year aren't with the criminals he's trying to catch but with the police that's trying to catch him. Gordon is tasked to bring in Batman, although he has his reservations about it. He is more interested in curtailing the rampant corruption of the Gotham Police Department. As we all know Gordon would be Batman's greatest ally and vice versa.
One minor comment that I have is that the film feels a little choppy in its pacing at times. Perhaps this has to do with being lifted directly from the comic sometimes panel for panel or that it has to cover an entire year of events in just over one hour. There is no in-between segment from Batman's first patrol where he's still an overzealous amateur to when he's confidently taking down bad guys with fearsome style. Other than that though, I'd have to say I was pretty entertained and interested throughout.
I also have to say that the production value of this movie is pretty good. The animation is very nicely drawn and heads and shoulders above the animated Batman's from my childhood and subsequent films throughout the years with the possible exception of Batman: Gotham Knight. The voice acting is spot on with none other than Bryan Cranston voicing Gordon. Overall, a very solid movie that focuses more on character than action which may turn off some casual viewers but should fascinate the fans.
Grade: B
Nice post Chris!
ReplyDeleteI too liked this movie, as I do all of the animated movies in this series. I went into it with a slightly different perspective than you, because I have read the classic comic story at least 3 times, including a reading the week before I watched this one in anticipation of the release.
I thought it was so faithful to the source material that I actually got a little bored because I had just read the book. Ha! I think that is a good sign!!! Surely it is not boring, for the record. I could see what you are saying about the pacing. That is my biggest beef with these movies, because they have to squeeze so much into a short time, and sometimes make odd choices about what to cut. But I'd rather have them with pacing issues rather than not at all, that's for sure. But query - why the fuck can't they just make em longer?!?!? Who says they only get like an hour? Aren't most anime movies like 3 hours plus?!?! Ha. Seriously though. Don't be cheap DC/WB!
Good news for us all... Maybe because DC/WB acknowledges these issues re fitting big comic arcs into one hour animated movies, the other classic Frank Miller joint you mentioned, the notorious DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, is currently in production, and it is supposed to be a 2-parter... Yay!!!
P.S. Eliza Dushku, the voice of Catwoman, is still so god damned hot. I just saw her in a new episode of The League, and she looks as good as ever.