Batman: Gotham by Gaslight

A nice adaptation of the comic and surprisingly R rated yet no too adults only either. A simple Victorian-era serial killer mystery featuring Jack the Ripper referencing Sherlock Holmes and Houdini. The problem for me with these films is that the immense possibilities that are not exploited. There can be simple editing techniques that can be easily used in here which would have been made this way better.

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight: It is Victorian times and Gotham is looking a little Londonish. There is a killer afoot named Jack the Ripper stalking the streets. Also stalking the night is a masked vigilante known only as The Bat. Can Commissioner Gordon solve the cases with the help of his prosecutor Harvey Dent and Dent's millionaire childhood chum Bruce Wayne?

The Good: The greatest thing about Gotham by Gaslight is what it doesn't do. There are no Tesla or Lovecraft cameos. Nobody invents an airplane powered by a diamond. It is a realistic (relatively) style environment with people that act like people actually did back then (Guy in Bat costume excepted).

Gotham by Gaslight also finds proper roles for Batman's Rogue gallery and his allies. Commissioner Gordon, Alfred the Butler, and Harvey Dent keep their old roles. While other's get to put on a new hat. Hugo Strange is a progressive doctor running a psychiatric hospital and Poison Ivy is a vaudeville stripper. The movie has Batman in the role of Sherlock Holmes with focus on detective work rather than Bat punching. Selina Kyle (Catwoman) takes the role similar to Sherlock's love interest Irene Adler and three Robins (Dick, Jason, and Tim) take a role similar to the Baker Street Irregulars. It is a lot of fun seeing well-known characters in their new roles. The movie handles this quite well.

The Bad: Why is this an "R" rated film? There are some adult themes but neither Poison Ivy nor Selina Kyle shows any nudity despite some obvious story beats where it would have been expected. The violence is muted and the camera turns away from anything possible offensive. I have to think this us more of a marketing ploy (An Adult Batman Cartoon) rather than a reflection of the material. If you are going for an "R" rating and your story is about a serial killer that murders prostitutes it is not as if there is no material to work with.

In Conclusion: A Sherlock Holmes mystery with a Batman dressing. It is a good mystery that will keep one guessing. Characters are well written and voiced with Selina Kyle and Harvey Dent being standouts. Overplayed Victorian elements (see above) and overplayed Batman elements (Joker) are nowhere to be found. A good family film despite the "R" rating and an excellent treat for fans of the bat.

As a stand alone movie, this is a fun ride. It is beautiful, chock full of Easter Eggs, actual historical references, and has a good pace. Unfortunately, they chose to make some rather bizarre changes to the original story that I just can't quite stomach. If they hadn't messed with such pertinent aspects of the story, this would have gotten close to a ten. It is metal, truly R and that makes it very awesome. But, if you are a fan of the original source materials, be prepared to walk away a bit disappointed.

How much you like this film will definitely depend on how much you are into the Victorian/Steampunk aesthetic, as well as the murder mystery genre in general. There is definitely nothing bad to report about this movie, it is a decent little crime noir set in the early 1900s.

If there is a problem it is that it has no connection to the greater Batman/DC animated universe and could easily not be a Batman film at all, since outside of the character names themselves there is little to link the two. Batman only vaguely 'Batmans' outside of some grappling-hook action and minor detecting. It is certainly not one for those who like outlandish superhero action.

Overall if you see this as a short murder mystery there is little to be disappointed by here, and if you crave a more down-to-earth Batman then this will be great for you. In my opinion you might as well just watch something like Zorro or Lone Ranger, or any other masked vigilante that Batman was based on as for me its 'back to basics' tone is just a little too basic, but it is certainly a matter of personal opinion in this regard.

I enjoyed this animated movie it was a lot darker than usual batman stuff the fight choreography was pretty good and it had good cinematography an interesting story to boot i enjoyed the twist at the end.

Watch this if you like batman and have an hour to waste 7.5 / 10.0