Batman: Gotham by Gaslight

I gave it a 6 mostly for the concept of the film and the atmosphere which was really great but when the movie ended it still felt like something was really missing and I couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was until a few hours later... It was the actual detective work.

Before the film started my greatest question was how the hell is he going to solve any mysteries without his super powerful bat-computer and I was looking forward to see how it will play out. It turns out there was little to none of that detective work and the Bat figures out who the killer is by pure luck and nothing else, which is really a shame for the world's greatest detective.

I did enjoy other parts of the movie, but, I cannot tell you what without giving any spoilers. You should watch it yourself and you will know what I'm talking about just don't put your expectations too high for the general outcome, it's definitely not a 10 or a 9.

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.

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.

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 loved Batman: Gotham by Gaslight. I found the concept of Batman in the 18th Century to be intriguing and the story line was excellent. The characters are all names that a Batman fan would be familiar with, but it is the way the characters are worked into the story that makes this a great animated film. The settings felt a bit like London in the 18th Century, and it could have well been London, I noticed that they seemed to be a reference to the Charles Dickens character Bill Sykes, along with a bit of mixture of Sherlock Holmes as well. All in all, a great movie and worth purchasing if you are a animated Batman fan like me.