Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1

No one does it better than the Bat at any age he is still the same, too smart for those who what to get on his bad side.

This part1 is so good I can't wait to see the rest; I hope veterans like the joker will be there to make it all crazy like.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is a two-part animated superhero film, an adaptation of the four-issue story arc The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, printed in 1986.

This animation is nowhere near the movies (i.e. story wise), and it focuses on the future, wrong choice of words it is about the future, Bruce Wayne is 55 and the bat has not been seen for 10 years.

The story arc curved around the bat after retirement. Gotham now seemed to be overrun by a group called Mutants. The Mutants weren't just any gang they were absolutely ruthless and in a way useless.

Also in this flick we get to see Harvey Dent/Two face after he has undergone plastic surgery to fix his face. Harvey now looked normal but he was so paranoid and out of it that he went back to his old ways.

Things weren't changing in Gotham and with the ongoing nightmares and Bruce sleep walking and sleep doing things in the night; it was obvious he could no longer cage the bat any more.

Bruce carved to the urges. In the dark is the "billionairelly" in sane Batman, is seen jumping over roof tops and doing things other billionaires could only dream that their bodyguards could do (because no sane billionaire jumps around in the dark. Imagine one day you look out the window only to see Bill Gates in his underwear and a cape on your roof…would you say Bill still got all his screws nicely tight?) I don't know what I liked better is it watching Bat being Bat again in his old age, or the bad guys not knowing in time to skip town when they found out he was out of retirement (you can't blame them though, some didn't know who he was).

Well, the directing of this wonderful flick was done by Jay Oliva, who worked as a storyboard artist on Man of Steel, Batman: Year One and Batman: Under the Red Hood.

The animation was well drawn, far better… sorry, far far far better than what we saw in Superman vs. the Elite.

The only downside to this wonderful movie is the news casting; it was boring and looked too much like child's play I hope you are not still reading this, because I expect by now that you have hit the stores to go grab your copy of The Dark Knight Returns Part 1.

www.lagsreviews.com

After seeing Batman Year One, I was nervous about this one, but I was pleasantly surprised! The story is faithfully recreated here, with very little censorship of the violence, and most of the (included) dialogue straight from the pages of the comic, albeit with some forgivable changes. The pacing is excellent, and really captures that sense of "awesome" that the graphic novel had. The visual style is "close enough" to Millar's work to give you flashbacks, but of course it lacks the detailed nuances of the comic. And lastly, the music fits everything perfectly.

Some complaints, though. First and foremost, the acting lacks passion. Virtually all the main characters play "middle of the road" emotions well, but any extreme was unconvincing to me. It's almost like there was a "no shouting!" rule for the actors. Nobody gets really angry, or forceful, or upset. Even so, it's nowhere near as disappointing as the acting in Batman Year One.

Also missing is Batman's inner monologue- which I guess can be forgiven since movies are a visual medium, but ultimately we lose some of the comic's best lines because of it. Though they do try to force some of batman's narration into the movie as dialogue, it doesn't work that well at all.

One change I'm not sure about is the PG-13 censorship to the script. They maintain the political dichotomy that existed in the comics, but it's way toned down. They seem to want to avoid alienating people on either side of the political spectrum (perhaps wisely). Some of the humor is still there, but again, it's got kid gloves on.

In the end, though, this is a wonderful execution of a great story. I eagerly look forward to Part 2!!

The Dark Knight Returns, is for me, the best Batman film of the year. The animation is superb, especially when the action kicks off. It sees Bruce Wayne return to crime fighting after a 10 year absence. Unlike his Nolan counterpart however, he was Batman for a damn sight longer than just a year. His return is depicted as an obsession that finally grabs control and pulls him in. He barely even notices it when he shaves off his mustache as it just becomes a natural part of the process. A new threat, called The Mutants, rises in Gotham, and Batman has to sort them out. His age becomes his weakness as he must go up against the leader of The Mutants. he film is littered with cuts to TV shows and newscasts discussing whether or not Batman is a help or a hindrance. Peter Weller does a great job as the voice of Batman, and it's nice to see a Batman with a dark and dangerous sense of humour. As an adaptation it remains fairly close to the source material, but manages to capture the ferocity of the violence without being too graphic. Gotham looked and felt exactly how I remember it when I was growing up. This is great stuff, and is a huge tease for Part 2, where we will see The Joker once again.

1. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Hollywood picked this story for a major live action release. Message received.

2. Lots of talk about the best Batman voice. Weller nailed it. Oscar worthy and yes Virginia they do give Oscars for voice actors.

3. Omigawd. Whatta script. Seen this 2-parter three times, each time I find new social commentary in the dialog. After the Joker segment you think to yourself, this can't get any better. And then you get the "schoolboy" segment. And it does.

4. I am running out of adjectives. If you have not seen it already, see it now.

5. Finally a note for the IMDb archive. Hollywood loves to do films about getting old. Hundreds at least. Comedies, dramas, everything in-between. I believe that over the years to come, this gem will be recognized as the greatest film about getting old ever done. They took the iconic characters that an entire generation grew up with and then imagined what things would be like at the end of life's run. Watch it with that in mind and you will see things you did not see first time around.

I'll be short. I'm an 90-ties kid (now 21) and I watched a lot of batman cartoons and movies, and even read the comic on which this movie is based on. The movie shocked me how good it was made, the animation, the acting (even though batman isn't voiced by Kevin Conroy), even the sound is simply great.

If you are a batman fan, and watched the cartoon series, and movies, and even better if you read the comics you are absolutely going to LOVE this movie.

It's definitely worth watching it in theaters / or blue ray.

A+