Batman: Gotham Knight (2008) (V)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Directors:

Yasuhiro Aoki
Yuichiro Hayashi (co-director) (segment "In the Darkness Dwells")

Writers:

Bob Kane (creator: Batman)
Josh Olson (screenplay) (segment "Have I Got a Story For You")

Release Date:

8 July 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Crime | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Get Ready....To Rage Against Evil

Plot:

A collection of tales of The Dark Knight of Gotham City, as conceived by noted anime talents.

Plot Keywords:

Batman | Anthology | Anime | Based On Comic Book | Skateboarding

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Kevin Conroy	...	Batman / Bruce Wayne (voice)
Jason Marsden	...	Thomas Wayne / Doctor / Cop / Youth 2 (voice)
Scott Menville	...	B-Devil / Cop (voice)
George Newbern	...	Man in Black / Guido / Man / Youth 3 (voice)
Corey Padnos	...	Porkchop (voice)
Crystal Scales	...	Meesh (voice)
Alanna Ubach	...	Dander (voice)
Hynden Walch	...	Woman / Young Cassandra / Young Bruce Wayne (voice)
Corey Burton	...	Scarecrow / The Russian / Ronald Marshall (voice)
Gary Dourdan	...	Detective Crispus Allen (voice)
Jim Meskimen	...	Lt. James Gordon / Deadshot (voice)
Pat Musick	...	News Anchor (voice)
Ana Ortiz	...	Detective Anna Ramirez (voice)
Rob Paulsen	...	Sal Maroni / Mole Man / Youth #4 (voice)
Andrea Romano	...	Martha Wayne / Dispatcher (voice)

Also Known As:

Batman Anime (USA) (working title)
Battoman - Gossamu Naito (Japan)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for stylized violence, including some bloody images.

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA | Japan | South Korea

Language:

English | Japanese | Spanish | Portuguese | Thai

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | Brazil:14 | UK:15 | USA:TV-14 (cable rating) | Canada:14A (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (Nova Scotia/Ontario)

Company:

Warner Bros. Animation

Trivia:

On the DVD commentary, Kevin Conroy admits that he had never read about the Dark Knight until he originally auditioned for the part back in 1992 on Batman: the Animated Series. When he was told the back-story of murdered parents and a quest for revenge, Conroy, who was a trained Shakespearean actor, thought they were telling him the story of Hamlet.

Goofs:

Continuity: Even though this film is intended to act as a loose bridge between Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008), during the period when Wayne Manor is being rebuilt, the final segment, "Deadshot," shows Bruce Wayne and Alfred living in the manor.

Quotes:

Bruce Wayne: It was just like that night in the alley, Alfred...the closeness of the walls, the gunfire. It seems I've been trying to stop those two bullets all my life.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Troldspejlet: (#40.1)" (2008)

Loads of potential, mostly squandered

Batman: Gotham Knight is a lot like The Animatrix in that it bridges two movies with colorful and varied animation and innovative stories. Or at least that's what it should have been. While The Animatrix was fresh and exciting and superior to the live-action films Batman: Gotham Knight just seems to plod around familiar territory without ever getting too deep.

Averaging at about 11 minutes each the stories are just too short to really make an impression and a couple of them end abruptly much to the annoyance of the viewer.

Kevin Conroy returns as the voice of Batman (this will come as a great relief to fans who have had to put up with Rino Romano's voice in the new, inferior series) but there's none of the wild invention seen in the 90s TV series or any of the subsequent feature-length movies. Each story seems to have one idea and sticks with it to the bitter end whether it works or not. It would have been better if they connected the stories and built towards a better end.

As a movie it fails. As a sequence of quick adventures leading up to The Dark Knight it kinda works. The animation is pretty and I'd like to see more but give us more depth next time, Warner.