Batman: Year One DVD
Reviewed by Brant W. Fowler
Directed by: Sam Liu
Written by: Tab Murphy
Original Graphic Novel by: Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli
Stars (Voice): Bryan Cranston (Jim Gordon), Ben McKenzie (Batman), Eliza Dushku (Catwoman), Jon Polito (Commissioner Loeb), Alex Rocco (Carmine Falcone), Katie Sackoff (Sarah Essen), and more.
Produced by: Lauren Montgomery and Alan Burnett
Studio: Warner Home Video
Run Time: 64 Minutes
Price: $24.98 (list price for Blu-Ray/DVD Combo with Digital Copy)
Promotional Blurb:
A wealthy playboy and a Chicago cop both return to Gotham City where their lives will intersect in unexpected ways.
Reviewer's Comments:
I was fortunate enough to receive an advance copy of the Batman: Year One Blu-Ray/DVD combo for review. Every time one of these comes in the mail I honestly get very excited as they always come unexpectedly and I get to check it out before all my friends and get them pumped up for it when it releases.
It's no secret that I (and many others) feel that Warner's DC animated features are top notch and lead the pack in terms of feature-length animated superhero tales. Marvel tries, but they have a long way to go to reach the quality that Warner seems to achieve at least 9 times out of 10. This offering was no different in that it was another very well done animation, and an excellent adaptation of the source material.
For anyone that's not familiar with said source material, this feature is based on the 1987 graphic novel by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli of the same name. The story is told from two perspectives, one being Jim Gordon's, the other being Bruce Wayne/Batman's. It's a slightly different take on the origins of these characters and how they each got their start in Gotham City, and the graphic novel has gone down as one of the great classic must-reads.
The animated version, like all of DC's animated projects, was extremely faithful to the graphic novel, even down to the art style. In the book, Frank Miller provided a two-page introduction, the second page of which was a narrative describing Gotham City as his young mind saw it when he first discovered Batman as a child. The animated feature opens with part of that narrative as Bruce Wayne's plane descends into Gotham. It was a really nice touch that they used this introduction to kick things off because it really added to the overall experience. Even if you haven't read the book, the narrative here is very fitting and was meshed into the story seamlessly.
From there, much of the dialogue was taken straight out of the book. One thing that impressed me, after going back and comparing the book to the feature, was the way they translated the material. We have all seen plenty of poor adaptations to film, be it from novels, comics or toy-based cartoons. What the production team managed to do here was take the most important elements; the most important lines and scenes, and toss away any extra exposition that wasn't completely necessary to the story.
Now don't be afraid when I say this, because trust me, it enhances the story. Reading the graphic novel back after seeing the film, you realize that while sure, it's ok to have the extra little bits Miller threw in, they are completely unnecessary for the overall story. And I'm not talking about leaving chunks of the book out, I'm talking about leaving a few words out of a caption or dialogue clip, or eliminating a couple of narrative captions that added nothing extra to the scene. The way they structured the story only increased the drama that Miller intended.
I mentioned the art style being faithful as well, and I can't state that enough. Case in point, when you first see Flass show up on screen, you'll swear he jumped right out of the comic. From the hairstyle to the square jaw, he looks identical to his 2-D counterpart. The style of the feature is gritty and subdued just like the graphic novel, but obviously a little more polished being an animated film.
The way the scenes are cut is also very reminiscent of the graphic novel. In the graphic novel, the scenes jump from date to date chronicling the first year for Gordon and Wayne in Gotham. The film is done the same way, with text overlays showing the date, and then the scenes shift. It's almost like we're watching snapshots of these men's lives, hearing and seeing things from their perspective throughout, as is intended.
The voice acting, I thought was also superb. Cranston's Gordon was subdued, but strong. He felt like a father and just man through the inflections and tone of his voice. Dushku (Dollhouse) was surprisingly very good at playing Selina Kyle/Catwoman, so much so that I almost wished she was replacing Hathaway in the upcoming film. Then again, I'm not a fan of her actual acting, so I'll be satisfied with her voice acting here.
Really, the only concern with the voice casting I had was the choice of Ben McKenzie (The O.C., Southland) as Bruce Wayne/Batman. He is certainly no Kevin Conroy as he has a slightly higher pitched tone, but still has that gravelly quality to it. Having been a fan of The O.C. at first it was hard for me to not see Ryan from that show every time I heard the voice. But it grew on me, and in retrospect, I feel that he was a great choice to play a younger version of the character. If you compared the two, McKenzie and Conroy, you could almost imagine one transforming into the other with age and experience. The edge that comes from dealing with a city like Gotham and all its threats wouldn't necessarily be present in year one either. So he was a fitting choice when all was said and done.
Like the graphic novel, some of the content may not be suitable for kids, so keep that in mind. There is a measure of violence and blood, and some mature situations. The rating is PG-13.
As for the extras, I could only watch the ones on the DVD as I don't have a Blu-Ray player. But what I got to see included the Catwoman Showcase Short, and the sneak preview of the next animated feature, Justice League: Doom.
The Catwoman short was equally impressive, and a fitting short to include here, specifically because they pulled it straight out of Year One. This was the Catwoman we were introduced to in Year One, down the road on her own adventures. And we also see another familiar face from Year One before it ends. It's a nice little side-story to the main film, which made for an unexpected addition. Dushku's voice acting wasn't quite as good here as in the main feature, but it was still decent enough.
The sneak peek for Justice League: Doom didn't really contain any actual footage, but rather sketches and stills, and interviews with the cast and crew talking about the reasoning behind it. Basically, they are taking two concepts and meshing them together. The first is Tower of Babel, in which Batman has contingency plans for all the members of the Justice League. He knows their weaknesses and has a way to take each of them out if they ever get out of hand. We all remember the Kryptonite ring punch to Superman after all. But they've married this story to a modern incarnation of the Legion of Doom from the old Superfriends cartoon. This time out, however, the LOD is led by Vandal Savage, and of course is still comprised of counterparts for each member of the Justice League. For example, we have Star Sapphire to counter Green Lantern, and Mirror Master to counter The Flash.
For the voice acting, they were able to get almost the entire cast from the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited animated series. So those familiar voices will be returning for the next feature. The only one they were unable to get was the guy who voiced Green Lantern. But in his stead, they tasked Nathan Fillion (Castle, Firefly) with the role as he voiced GL in Green Lantern: Emerald Knights.
So, with the feature film and these excellent extras, I count this one as a buy. Whether you're a fan of the original graphic novel or not, you should pick this one up. It's another great offering from Warner and DC that brings these characters and the city of Gotham to life in a dark and gritty way, showing us perfectly the need for men like Jim Gordon and Bruce Wayne.
As this review posts, today, October 11th, for a limited time only, Batman: Year One will be available for download through iTunes, Xbox Live, Zune, VUDU HD Movies and Video Unlimited on the PlayStation Network & Sony Entertainment Network.
This combo pack I have will go on sale in one week, on October 18, 2011. So go out and grab a copy and let me know what you think!
Reviewer Bio
Brant W. Fowler / Writer, Letterer, Reviewer, Columnist, Podcaster
Brant W. Fowler has been a professional comic book writer, editor, letterer and logo designer for several years, and has been a freelance editor for the past five years. He is one of the cast members of the Zone 4 podcast here at Comic Related, and he letters most of the webcomics on the site. You can learn all about what he's up to by visiting Gonzogoose
Design. Brant is also a member of the core
operations team at Comic Related.
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