DVD Review: Batman Gotham Knight
DC Comics, Warner Bros. Animated Movie Stars Kevin Conroy
Batman: Gotham Knight is a direct-to-DVD animated movie, offering six inter-connected films that offer different visions of the venerable DC Comics character.
Batman goes anime?
Despite the much-ballyhooed "Batman goes anime" buzz around the DVD, the anime aspects of Gotham Knight are a lot more muted than its advance publicity would suggest. Granted, Yoshiaki Kawajiri's animation in "Deadshot" (especially his re-imagining of the titular villain) owes a hell of a lot to his work in Vampire Hunter D, and Batman's look in "Field Test" gives more than a few nods to Gatchaman. But, stylistically, there's a lot more of Fritz Lang's Metropolis, late Impressionism, and 1940's film noir going into Gotham Knight than, say, Ghost in the Shell. It's anime attempting to be American, rather than the reverse.
Gotham Knight isn't without its flaws. The first segment, "Have I Got a Story for You," has a great concept and script from Josh Olson, but Shoujirou Nishimi's grotesque and distorted vision of the superhero doesn't quite do justice to Olson's plot. Conversely, "Field Test" looks great but Jordan Goldberg's story isn't as satisfying as the other five.
While we're at it, the climactic showdown between Batman and Deadshot in the final segment could've been a lot better choreographed. That's something even voice actor Kevin Conroy comments on when he dryly points out that Deadshot inexplicably loses his impressive targeting abilities when he finally faces our hero.
On the other hand, Toshiyuki Kubooka and writer Brian Azzarello click beautifully in "Working Through Pain" – offering a fascinating flashback into Bruce Wayne's past while offering a killer final image – and Futoshi Higashide's animation smokes in tandem with Greg Rucka's script for "Crossfire," where a dubious cop (Gary Dourdan) realizes why Lt. Gordon appreciates that Batman is patrolling the streets of Gotham.
Gotham Knight extras?
There aren't a vast amount of extras associated with this DVD. DC Comics Senior Vice President/Creative Affairs Gregory Noveck, former DC Comics editor Dennis O'Neil and longtime Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy are called in to contribute commentaries. They take a while to get going, especially O'Neil and Conroy, but they end up contributing some interesting tidbits about the production and their experiences working on Batman. They frequently gasp with wonder over some of the more impressive images within the DVD, and O'Neil's pointing out of his favourite shot in the entire movie is a high point.
There's also a sneak peek at the upcoming Wonder Woman direct-to-DVD animated movie, which features Keri Russell (voicing Wonder Woman/Diana), Nathan Fillion (Steve Trevor), Rosario Dawson (Artemis), Alfred Molina (Ares), and Virginia Madsen (Hippolyta) talking about the comic's relevance and their characters. Molina also gets in a priceless crack about British accent being associated with villainy, which just about justifies the cost of the DVD.
Final Analysis
Batman fans will of course go crazy for this darker vision of their hero in Gotham Knight, but people looking for clues to the upcoming The Dark Knight live-action movie will go away disappointed. However, Gotham Knight is a worthy addition to the DC catalogue, and is a fun little flick to boot. It scores a 7/10.
