Broken Frontier

It's safe to say that for many comic book fans, the Emmy Award-winning Batman: The Animated Series is one of the best interpretations of the Dark Knight outside of the printed page. The series appealed to children and adults alike, with writing rivaling that of even the most popular prime-time dramas. A hard act to follow, indeed. Batman’s animated legacy lived on in the futuristic Batman Beyond, the fan-favorite  Justice League and the kid-friendly Saturday morning series, The Batman. Released on July 8, Warner Bros.’ highly anticipated straight-to-DVD feature Batman: Gotham Knight takes the character in a different direction entirely, bringing fans an anime-inspired PG-13 anthology.

Set in-between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, Gotham Knight is comprised of six interconnecting stories directed by some of Japan’s most acclaimed animation luminaries with screenplays  penned by writers such as Alan Burnett (Batman: TAS), David S. Goyer (Batman Begins) and Josh Olson (A History of Violence). Its structure is similar to that of another straight-to-video Warner Bros. feature, The Animatrix, which bridged the first and second films in the Matrix trilogy.

A cynical viewer would call Batman’s anime overhaul a gimmicky marketing ploy to cash in The Dark Knight’s impending release on July 18. That person would be partly right. Gotham Knight’s segments run at approximately 12 minutes each, allowing for precious little time to tell a worthwhile story. Giving each writer/director a chance to tell a small piece of an overall story is a novel concept, but one wonders if the end result might be more engaging if each segment were given more of a chance to grow. As is, Gotham Knight looks phenomenal, but its format hardly inspires repeat viewings.

In the first segment, “Have I Got a Story for You,” written by Olson and directed by Shojiro Nishimi, three Gotham City youths describe their impressions of Batman based on their brief encounters with him in the past. We see Batman envisioned as a mysterious living shadow, a snarling monster and, my favorite, a giant robot. Its near-ethereal animation style is the most distinct compared to the other segments, and it would have been far more engaging with a longer running time. Aside from the kids’ inane dialogue throughout, this portion of the film is a visual treat.

The only segment that truly benefits from the anthology treatment is “Working Through Pain,” directed by Toshiyuki Kubooka with a screenplay by comic book scribe Brian Azzarello. In it, a wounded Batman /Bruce Wayne flashes back to his earlier years, where he learns to conquer both physical and spiritual pain. It’s a character piece exposing Batman’s vulnerability, a quality that makes his story so worthy of retelling in the first place.

While the segmented format may not be ideal in terms of telling the most compelling stories, its action scenes are exceptional. From Batman’s thrilling rescue of two Gotham police officers in “Crossfire” to his gadget-heavy mob pursuit in “Field Test” to his showdown with a cunning assassin in “Deadshot,” the action in Gotham Knight seldom disappoints.  And because each segment has a style all its own, even the quieter moments provide fresh, exciting visuals.

Fans of Christopher Nolan’s movie universe born out of Batman Begins will appreciate the references to that film throughout, particularly those in the segment “In Darkness Dwells,” directed by Yasuhiro Aoki with a screenplay by Goyer. In it, Batman pursues the monstrous Killer Croc through Gotham’s sewer system where he runs into the Scarecrow, who has been on the run since the end of Nolan’s first film. While Gotham Knight can surely be looked at as a standalone experiment in animation, the film connections are fun to watch for.

Also fun is the return of Kevin Conroy to Batman animation, who has voiced the character fairly consistently since 1992. Not only is his inclusion in this feature a nod to longtime fans, but it also helps make each of the film’s segments more cohesive.

Batman: Gotham Knight is not a definitive, or necessary, animated version of the character, but it’s an intriguing, visually arresting take on the mythos despite the storytelling flaws inherent in an anthology format. Nevertheless, Gotham Knight should appease Bat-fans before the Caped Crusader makes his long-awaited return to theaters.