Batman: Gotham Knight
BY DR. CHARMING I JULY 10, 2008
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IMAGE PROVIDED COURTESY OF SCREENRANT.COM |
As you may know from reading articles posted by my esteemed colleagues, Wizard World hit Chicago this past weekend. Every convention brings something exciting and new for geeks around the Midwest to drool over. In my case, I found out that Wizard World would premiere a sneak preview of Batman: Gotham Knight, and let me start by saying "Holy kick ass movie, Batman!" The film is comprised of six short anime films done by different anime directors. They all follow a general story arc that fills in the time between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Fanboys of the original animated series will be pleased to hear that Kevin Conroy voices Bruce Wayne/Batman in all six episodes. So without giving too much away, I'll run down the list for you and highly suggest purchasing these when they come out on July 8, 2008.
The First film is titled "Have I Got a Story for You." This film centers around three Gotham youngsters, who take turns telling their friend about their encounters with the Batman. Each child submits a different version of Batman's appearance in their stories because they all saw him at different times through out the day. Through out each sequence, Batman is chasing a criminal called the man in black who pulls all most as many tricks as the Dark Knight himself. SPOILER ALERT: The chase comes to an end in the very skate park where the youngsters are hanging out, where in the fourth friend experiences his own encounter with Batman. The man in black's arrest leads into the next short film.
The second film is "Cross Fire." We find Lt. Gordon spear heading the major crimes unit. Gordon's two mainofficers transport the man in black back to the narrows (remember Batman Begins). One member of the unit is uneasy with the relationship between Gordon and Batman while the other supports the aid of Batman. The story leads to an encounter between Batman and the officers, wherein they are required to team up. As you may have guessed from the title, there is a shoot out that results in some classic anime style action. SPOILER ALERT: Ok, so I'm going to slip and give you a hint about the arc story, gang wars. The officers get trapped in between a gang shoot out and Batman is first to respond to the call for back up.
The third film is titled "Field Test" and centers on the Dark Knight testing out new equipment. In each film, Batman's suit appears slightly different but always high tech. Naturally, Lucius Fox makes an appearance in this episode. SPOILER ALERT: The test takes place when Batman decides to confront the aforementioned gangs. Since encountering so much gun play in Crossfire, Bruce comes in to this fight bulletproof, and forces a temporary truce between the mob bosses...Yes I did say bullet proof, and if you're thinking conventional body armor, you're completely wrong.
The Fourth film titled "In Darkness Dwells" stars not only Killer Croc, but also the Scare Crow, who has been missing since Batman Begins. The majority of the film takes place under Gotham where Batman is searching for a kidnapped Cardinal (holy man, not the bird). As I mentioned prior, Batman's suit is always a little different. In this film you get to see the Dark Knight pull out some exciting gadgets.
The fifth installment is called "Working Through Pain". This film opens with a wounded Batman, and centers on more of his previous training. While Batman stumbles through the Gotham sewers, he goes in and out of flashbacks to his travels through India. Much the way the animated series showed Bruce in Japan studying martial arts, this film shows a young Bruce in India attempting to learn the pain management techniques of a fakir. It was an awesome flash back sequence.
The final installment of Gotham Knight is titled "Dead Shot". The famed assassin takes out a contract on Lt. Gordon, and it's up to Batman to stop him. The opening sequence features a hit by Dead Shot executed off of a Ferris wheel. Needless to say the animation on the behind the bullet point of view is amazing. The final showdown between Batman and Dead Shot takes place on top of a train in a Gotham tunnel. Need I say more for you to buy/rent this movie today?
Once again, I can only sum up what happens in each short film with out giving up to much of the plot. As for general comments, each film displayed fantastic animation. Much of the background art looks real when shots pan across the screen. Though each film was handled by a different director, the story lined flowed together flawlessly. Speaking of story line, had I read this script in a trade paper back volume complete with art from the movie, it would be one of my favorite Batman stories to date. Outside of seeing former WWE diva Terri in person (yes, she is still hot) this film made my trip to Wizard World. So if you haven't already left for store yet, do so now.
-Dr. Charming
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