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Batman: Gotham Knight DVD movie
Picked this up yesterday, and I really enjoyed it. Not a big fan of anime, but I can appreciate the form, so the varying animation styles didn't bother me. As you've probably read, there are 6 distinct stories, each one in a different style by a different anime director, and written by a different writer. But they all connect in some way. The first story is heavily based on "The Batman Nobody Knows" from an old Detective Comics by Frank Robbins and Dick Giordano. You may remember that concept being adapted into the classic TNBA episode "Legends of the Dark Knight". The new version can't match that one for me, since there is no Dick Sprang or Frank Miller segments, but it's still fun. The animation style on this one is the one I liked the least, but I can admire the craft.
In fact I liked all of them, but my least favorite was one penned by Greg Rucka, whose comic work never did much for me. He always seems to wallow in artificial grittiness and tough dialog, and he does the same here, with two Gotham cops caught in a gang war shootout and then you-know-who shows up. Lots of tough posturing and a couple of random, time-wasting dialog exchanges. Sounds a lot like modern comics, don't it? Still it has that nice "Batman as an elemental force" feel to it that works for the character, so not a total loss.
The rest of the segments really click though. We see Batman as the gadget-dependent crime fighter, the impossibly powerful warrior, and the fear-inducing creature of the night. All the bases are covered. And Batman is portrayed throughout by none other than THE voice of Batman, Kevin Conroy. He goes back to his BTAS Bruce Wayne voice here, or one closer to it, and his Batman is dead-on perfection as always. Having him do the voice made it more legit to me.
Scarecrow, Killer Croc, and Deadshot also make appearances. It's well worth it to any Batman fan, I would think. I didn't spring for the two disc set, since the majority of extras were just bonus BTAS/TNBA episodes I already have on DVD. Oh and there is some fluff piece on Bob Kane. Probably full of lies, so I skipped it.
There's also a sneak peek at the next DC Universe animated movie, Wonder Woman. Looks to be the origin story with a really strong cast, and some nice, updated Timm-style animation. Looking really good.
Chris
In fact I liked all of them, but my least favorite was one penned by Greg Rucka, whose comic work never did much for me. He always seems to wallow in artificial grittiness and tough dialog, and he does the same here, with two Gotham cops caught in a gang war shootout and then you-know-who shows up. Lots of tough posturing and a couple of random, time-wasting dialog exchanges. Sounds a lot like modern comics, don't it? Still it has that nice "Batman as an elemental force" feel to it that works for the character, so not a total loss.
The rest of the segments really click though. We see Batman as the gadget-dependent crime fighter, the impossibly powerful warrior, and the fear-inducing creature of the night. All the bases are covered. And Batman is portrayed throughout by none other than THE voice of Batman, Kevin Conroy. He goes back to his BTAS Bruce Wayne voice here, or one closer to it, and his Batman is dead-on perfection as always. Having him do the voice made it more legit to me.
Scarecrow, Killer Croc, and Deadshot also make appearances. It's well worth it to any Batman fan, I would think. I didn't spring for the two disc set, since the majority of extras were just bonus BTAS/TNBA episodes I already have on DVD. Oh and there is some fluff piece on Bob Kane. Probably full of lies, so I skipped it.
There's also a sneak peek at the next DC Universe animated movie, Wonder Woman. Looks to be the origin story with a really strong cast, and some nice, updated Timm-style animation. Looking really good.
Chris
British by birth....English by the grace of God. 
Yes Jamie...it is big isn't it....
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