I just watched Batman: Year One and as I was watching it I found myself feeling a sense of relief that FINALLY an animated Batman got it right. I am a fan of all the previous incarnations, even "The Batman" with its highly stylized and simple plots that wrap themselves up in 22 minutes.
In Detective Comics #27, the very first frame of the story of Batman has Gordon and Bruce sitting together talking. Gordon is an often overlooked character, usually bland and boring. This go-round Gordon is front and center, possibly more than Bruce/Batman. This is more his story and it's about time it was told with so much love and devotion.
Frank Miller is the first person to take Batman back to his roots. Batman was a killer in the beginning. He was no campy Batman with a Boy Wonder sidekick. This film is faithful to Miller's vision of our beloved Detective. He is untested and vulnerable. He is theatrical and vicious. He may not save you because he is not all powerful.
The only complaint I have is the origin story of Selena Kyle and her G.I. Jane haircut. Selena was not sexy at all and her character was sorely out of place. She served absolutely no purpose in this film to advance the plot. She was bratty and self-absorbed which is very Selena- like but *SPOILER ALERT* she may or may not have been a prostitute. If gives no back story to her other than showing up out of nowhere to kick a disguised Bruce Wayne's butt when he confronts her pimp. Then, for no apparent reason, she later kicks the pimp's butt herself and becomes a cat burglar. Because of this side story I cannot give this my highest rating. If this was a television show I might let it slide to give it more time to develop her character. However, there was precious little screen time in this hour long film and she deserved not one minute of it.
Overall, this outing was very well done. If you're looking for "Holy rusted metal Batman" then you're in for a disappointment. This is a dark story and Gotham needs a hero. Lucky for Gothamites, it gets two.
In Detective Comics #27, the very first frame of the story of Batman has Gordon and Bruce sitting together talking. Gordon is an often overlooked character, usually bland and boring. This go-round Gordon is front and center, possibly more than Bruce/Batman. This is more his story and it's about time it was told with so much love and devotion.
Frank Miller is the first person to take Batman back to his roots. Batman was a killer in the beginning. He was no campy Batman with a Boy Wonder sidekick. This film is faithful to Miller's vision of our beloved Detective. He is untested and vulnerable. He is theatrical and vicious. He may not save you because he is not all powerful.
The only complaint I have is the origin story of Selena Kyle and her G.I. Jane haircut. Selena was not sexy at all and her character was sorely out of place. She served absolutely no purpose in this film to advance the plot. She was bratty and self-absorbed which is very Selena- like but *SPOILER ALERT* she may or may not have been a prostitute. If gives no back story to her other than showing up out of nowhere to kick a disguised Bruce Wayne's butt when he confronts her pimp. Then, for no apparent reason, she later kicks the pimp's butt herself and becomes a cat burglar. Because of this side story I cannot give this my highest rating. If this was a television show I might let it slide to give it more time to develop her character. However, there was precious little screen time in this hour long film and she deserved not one minute of it.
Overall, this outing was very well done. If you're looking for "Holy rusted metal Batman" then you're in for a disappointment. This is a dark story and Gotham needs a hero. Lucky for Gothamites, it gets two.