Batman: Year One

I've always been a fan of the Batman series. Something about having an entirely mortal man fighting crime in a city with chemically, magically, and cosmically enhanced heroes and villains. However, it's easy to look over the fact that as a human, Batman didn't always kick as much butt as he does now. He's come a long way from his first days as a crime fighter. Batman: Year One is an animated movie that shows exactly that, his first year of being Batman in Gotham.

In a style of production that reminds me a lot of the Sin City movies, Year One is supported by a large amount of narrative. Bruce Wayne covers a fair amount of it but surprisingly, this movie focuses more on James Gordon. It shows a lot of James' struggle with the corrupt police force and his first interactions with Batman. It also is an interesting view of Gotham, pre-Batman. It looks incredibly dirty, shady, and sad. 

She knows that long hair is how you get dead

The movie tweaks a lot of details that are different than what I know about the Batman universe (HUGE disclaimer: I haven't read the comic books, so I don't know that mythos. Don't rip into me for this please). One example is that the idea for using a bat as his symbol comes to Bruce when a bat literally crashes through his window instead of from a traumatic interaction as a child. Another small detail (That could be comic-accurate, I don't know) is that Batman trusts Harvey Dent before he trusts James Gordon, or the fact that Catwoman is a prostitute before becoming a master thief.

From his humble days of getting solidly decked by a hooker, to dodging the unavoidable death beams from Darkseid, Batman has certainly come a long way.

Look at that hook! Not like she just jumped out of a two story building...

Story: I'm a sucker for Batman stuff, so getting a larger view of what Gotham was like before Batman cleaned it up was a great time for me. It's also somehow satisfying to see Batman get his butt kicked in a street fight, no super villains involved.

- 5 out of 5

Visual: Some of the scenes are a little disorientating because of the older style animation getting crossed with more modern movement animations for backgrounds. It does do a very good job of emulating the old style of animation.

- 4 out of 5

Overall: It's a nice addition to the Batman universe, and worth the time to get a little more background on just how cool James Gordon is.

- 5 out of 5

He holsters the gun and gives the other guy the bat. Because he's awesome.

Toodles!