STUDIO: Warner Brothers
RELEASE DATE: July 8, 2008
STARRING: Kevin Conroy, Gary Dourdan, David McCallum, Parminder Nagra, and Ana Ortiz
WRITTEN BY: Brian Azzarello, Alan Burnett, Jordan Goldberg, David Goyer, Josh Olson, and Greg Rucka
DIRECTED BY: Yasuhiro Aoki, Futoshi Higashide, Toshiyuki Kubooka, Hiroshi Morioka, and Shoujirou Nishimi
FEATURES: "Batman and Me: The Bob Kane Story"
"A Mirror For the Bat"
Commentary by DC Comics Senior Vice President/Creative Affairs Gregory Noveck, Former Batman Editor Dennis O'Neill, and the Voice of Batman Kevin Conroy
Exclusive Sneak Peek at DC Universe's Wonder Woman
Bruce Timm Presents 4 Bonus Batman: The Animated Series Episodes

With the success of the PG-13 and straight-to-DVD takes on Superman (Doomsday) and Justice League (The New Frontier), it was only a matter of time before we got to Batman and, honestly, this is the one that I think most superhero fans were looking forward to the most. PG-13 animated Batman? Sign me up. Bruce Wayne has had the healthiest animated life of recent decades and the idea of A-list writers working with anime directors to provide a dark, multi-layered vision of the bat got anyone who has ever loved any incarnation of Batman excited. Six writers, six directors, six million or so happy fans. Like a collection of short stories, Batman: Gotham Knight is hit-and-miss, but the variations on the legend of the Dark Knight that work make it worth seeing on their own. Let's look at each section, one-by-one...

"Have I Got a Story For You"

With no exaggeration, "Have I Got A Story For You", the first of six short films by different anime directors that comprise Gotham Knight, justifies the purchase price on its own. Written by A History of Violence's Josh Olson and directed by Shoujirou Nishimi (an inbetween animator on Akira), this is a brilliant short film that focuses on the "myth" of Batman. Four skateboarding kids share their stories of encounters with Batman that very night. The idea that Batman is a shadow and something almost inhuman to the people who cross his path has always been one of the most fascinating aspects of the Dark Knight legend and this short is a must-see for fans of Bruce Wayne.

"Crossfire"

Written by Greg Rucka and directed by Futoshi Higashide, "Crossfire" has an immediately different feel from "Have I Got a Story For You". If the first film is about Batman as legend, "Crossfire" is more about Batman as hero. Two cops get caught in a horrible gang shoot-out. The bullets are flying through their car after they end up at the very wrong place at the very wrong time. Any concerns that the six films of Gotham Knight will all blend together into a too-similar mess falls apart here. Even Rucka and Higadishe's design of Batman are drastically different. If you have a friend who thinks that all anime looks alike, show them just the first third of Gotham Knight and prove them wrong. "Crossfire" isn't as much as fun as "Have I Got a Story For You" but there is an image of Batman surrounded by flames that would make even Christopher Nolan drool.

"Field Test"

Here's where the world of Nolan's Batman and Gotham Knight truly intersect. The associate producer of The Dark Knight and assistant on Batman Begins, Jordan Goldberg, earns his first writing credit with "Field Test", directed by Hiroshi Morioka (Tsubasa Chronicle). For the first time in GK, we get some quality time with the man behind the mask, Bruce Wayne. It's interesting that Goldberg would be the writer to focus significant screen time on Wayne, considering that the movies he's made with Nolan have done such a brilliant job of balancing both sides of the man in black. Sadly, "Field Test" is the first time in Gotham Knight where boredom starts to set in. Perhaps it's because of the perfection of the first short film and the quick pace of the second, but pulling back in the third might not have been the best plan.

"In Darkness Dwells"

The speed picks up again with "In Darkness Dwells", which features everyone's favorite secondary Bat-baddie, Killer Croc. The legendary David Goyer (Blade) writes and Yasuhiro Aoki directs. Not only do you get Croc action but the scaly supervillain teams up with one of the best things about the new world of Batman, the emergence of Scarecrow as a major player. Goyer weaves a great little story that completely reimagines Killer Croc as a demented test subject of The Scarecrow. Great idea. Goyer's ear for dialogue is still a little too cheesy ("Are you in pain?" "I work through pain.") but the foundation of "Darkness Dwells", which includes what a Batman on fear toxin would look like, is riveting.

"Working Through Pain"

Here's where Gotham Knight lost me the most. Do you remember the training scenes with Liam Neeson in Batman Begins? Were those your favorite parts? Me neither. "Working Through Pain" is about how Bruce Wayne became nearly superhuman in his tolerance for pain. We watch Batman trying to get out of a horrible situation after he has been wounded very badly and we see flashbacks of how he learned to work through pain being taught by the mystical Cassandra. It would be interesting as a part of a larger piece, which you could argue that it is in Gotham Knight, but it doesn't stand on its own like the other five short films.

"Deadshot"

Gotham Knight goes out in a blaze of glory with "Deadshot", the second-best short film in the set. (Think it's a coincidence that the best two are the book-ends? Me neither. If you start and end strong, a little sag in the middle is much easier to forgive.) "Deadshot" was penned by the legendary Alan Burnett, a writer on Batman Beyond, Superman, Batman: The Animated Series, and the awesome Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. This one is straight-up, bat-balls-to-the-wall action and it completely works. It ends the movie on a visceral high and not an overly intellectual one, featuring a great battle between Batman and one of his best villains, Deadshot.

The Disc

On Blu-Ray, Gotham Knight is surprisingly average. The colors aren't nearly as bright and defined as I expected them to be, but that is probably by design. Just don't expect this to be a title that you'll use to show off your PS3. It looks and sounds good, but never great. It's all a bit too washed-out and the sound never truly impresses. The special feature are more remarkable. There's a half-hour doc on the villains of Gotham city that's a must-see for comic book fans. Two-Face, The Joker, The Riddler, Mr. Freeze, and many more get great screen time with analysis about how the bad guys helped define Batman as much as anything. Whomever is producing the featurettes on these DC Universe DVDs deserves a raise. They've all been fascinating. Each DC Universe DVD has given fans a sneak peek at what they're working on next and this time it's Wonder Woman, which looks like it will be the most star-heavy piece yet. Keri Russell, Rosario Dawson, Alfred Molina, Nathan Fillion, Virginia Madsen, and more are all contributing voice work. I was never a big Wonder Woman fan, but it looks fun. Next to the featurettes and preview, fans will find a good commentary on the film itself and four episodes of Batman: The Animated Series that, technically, as a whole, run even longer than Gotham Knight itself. It's like two movies for the price of one.

Conclusion

Actually, it's way more than two movies. Gotham Knight has its ups and downs but when it works, it's a must-see. As a whole, it doesn't stand up to the perfection of Justice League: The New Frontier, but it is a more accomplished piece than Superman: Doomsday. Comic book and superhero movie fans should definitely buy it and even casual fans are likely to find something to enjoy in Gotham Knight. At least enough to tide them over until the Dark one invades theaters next week.