Batman: Year One 2011
This is a fairly early direct-to-video film in the DC animated universe. Generally about 75 minutes long, this one is only 64 minutes, but it has a strong pedigree, based on Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s 4 comic book arc Batman: Year One. The movie covers an origin story as a 20-something Bruce Wayne first starts fighting crime in Gotham City. Origin stories are always fun and we also are introduced to Lieutenant Gordon, a new hire at the Gotham City Police Department who has integrity and can beat up former Green Berets without breaking a sweat. Catwoman also shows up because how else are you going to make the movie last a whole hour? The live action feature movie, The Batman mined some of the same material in 2022, so it is interesting to see this take which probably follows the comic books more closely. I enjoyed seeing Batman’s early struggles as well as the beginning of cooperation with the future Commissioner Gordon. Catwoman doesn’t have much of a part, but does figure into the plot, while the main conflict involves corruption at the police department. One problem I have is that Batman will get hurt so badly that he can barely walk, but then is confronted by bad guys and fights like nothing is wrong with him. That’s a common part of bad movies and undermines the more serious tone of these movies. The movie benefits from Lt. Gordon being played by the very recognizable voice of Bryan Cranston and the character even looks like him here. Katee Sackhoff of Battlestar Galactica voices another character, but I only realized that when I saw the credits run at the end. This is one of the better movies in this expansive series of over 40 movies.
Written: 12 Jul 2022