Batman: Year One

After a string of bad to mediocre Batman animations I went into this with very low expectations. Due to it's origin plot and short runtime perhaps no expectations at all.

Batman: Year One looks at how Batman, Catwoman & Commissioner Gordon came about and does it in a sombre drama style rather than traditional action packed superhero action.

With the voice talents of Bryan Cranston, Eliza Dushku and the late great Jon Polito everyone does a decent job and that includes the writers.

With plenty of DC alumni appearing during the films single hour duration this is certainly one of the best Batman animated outings.

Perhaps it should have been longer, perhaps Catwoman should have by all rights got more screentime and perhaps they could have done without the ridiculous bats scene!

Regardless this was a damn fine effort and I'd have liked to see more like this.

The Good:

Well written

Decent voice talents

A great toned down approach

The Bad:

Couple of dumb scenes

Cheating protagonist, again!

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

If I had Bruce Waynes money I'd likely be what he pretended to be to Gordon, but the hookers would have less fake tan

I consider myself a Batman fan. Having loved a vast majority of the previous Batman adaptations, I loved this movie. The animation is wonderful, the backgrounds and colours are dark and the character designs are sophisticated.

The music has a real haunting quality to it, and does so well in enhancing the atmosphere. And what an atmosphere it is too, for me the best Batman adaptations(Batman: The Animated Series, Mask of the Phantasm, 1989 Batman and Under the Red Hood) have a suitably gritty tone, which is what the movie does have.

Batman: Year One's dialogue is sharp, intelligent and edgy, and generally apart from the rushed subplot of Selina Kyle(a longer length in general might've helped) the story is clever and compelling. Mostly the characters are very well written, with special mention going to Gordon, a character that could be bland but here he is very interesting.

Voice acting is strong. Bryan Cranston is especially outstanding. Ben McKenzie is generally good and emotive, if in need of more charisma in places. All in all, excellent Batman movie. 8.5/10 Bethany Cox

This is a dark, realistic and fantastic installment from DC. I was really immersed into the whole visual and direction of this movie. Sure, the plot maybe a bit slow but the story is really good. The movie focuses in on two primary characters, which is Bruce Wayne and Jim Gordon. Although the movie seems to focus more on Jim Gordon and his subconscious more than Bruce Wayne. It doesn't take away anything from this movie. Because I thought it was cool to delve more into the persona of Jim Gordon and where he comes from. Some people maybe against him being portrayed as this masculine though guy. But I thought it was refreshing to see him as this badass lieutenant. The animation for the most part is fluid and I just really liked the more dark and gritty atmosphere in this, which has more of an adult theme going for it. Although the action sequences are well done, that isn't the driving force of this movie. What drives this movie is the intricate and the direction of the two main characters and how it develops. Even the music score fit right into the environment and it actually does stand out.

8.2/10

Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham after 12 years abroad. Lieutenant James Gordon transfers to Gotham where he finds corruption in the police department. Both decide to clean up the problems in their own way.

It's a fine adult animation of Batman. Gordon has the more interesting story. It's good animation. If anything, it needs to be longer than one hour. There are scenes that needs more fleshing out. Catwoman is fun. With more time, some of this could be even better. Overall, there is nothing big to complain about.

I am surprised at the user reviews here and they basically compelled me to write my own. Year one is one of the greatest batman story ever and the movie sticks closely to the source material. If you are unfamiliar with the comic, Year one basically details Bruce Wayne's first year after his return to Gotham City, twelve years after his parent's death. Running parallel to this is the story line of James Gordon, a lieutenant transferred from Chicago to Gotham City. The challenges faced by these characters as they embark on their respective paths and how those paths cross is where Year One shines. The animation perfectly brings David Mazzucchelli's muddy comic panels to life. The inclusion and portrayal of Catwoman might some but it is a very brief part of the story. Year One is an excellent movie and I would recommend this to any Batman fan.