Batman Year One - 2011 - Blu-Ray

Director: Sam Liu & Lauren Montgomery

Writer: Tab Murphy

Starring The Voices Of: Bryan Cranston (Jim Gordon), Ben McKenzie (Batman/Bruce Wayne), Eliza Dushku (Seluna/Catwoman), John Polito (Commisioner Loeb), Alex Rocco (Falcone), Jeff Bennett (Alfred), Steve Blum (Stan), Grey Delisle (Barbara Gordon) & Robin Atkin Downes (Harvey Dent).

Review: This instalment of Batman (cartoon) sees the start of Bruce Wayne’s journey in becoming the Caped Crusader, whilst the parallel story gives us the vital details which were missed out of the 2007 Batman: The Dark Knight movie. Telling us the story of Jim Gordon, his pregnant wife and the corrupt Commissioner Loeb, whose henchman Flask terrorises the city.

With a slight, if not moderate adult tone running within the film, it is the appealing gap-filler of information which will show both child and adult combined that through the art of comic strip cartoon anything can be achieved – and Batman: Year One is most certainly one of those features.

From unmasked vigilante, to the Batman we see on our big screens today, the rich billionaire Bruce Wayne leaves only a slight sniff of his mark over the numerous criminals that he has thwarted from carrying out their dirty deeds. While by day Bruce is the Rich Playboy heir, it is from the hours of Midnight and 4 AM that he dons the mask and tights to become the Super Hero which Gotham City longs for. In this placement of holding back the scourge of thugs, like the one that killed his parents twenty-five years previous, the keeping his identity secret is the most important thing next to ridding crime from the streets.

While Batman tackles the streets of Gotham, Jim Gordon is in a stale-mate position with Loeb, the police Commissioner who has eluded every possible charge and conviction for corruption.

Bringing three of the main characters together in one feature length cartoon movie has been one of the best ideas to date, while the loose ends left from previous Batman films have now been brought conclusively up to date and on track perfectly for the brand new Batman Movie due out later this year.

A much darker made carton-film opposed to the others, Batman: Year One will, without a doubt have many people talking for a while to its use of certain bad – but tolerable – and timely words such as “Bitch”, “Bastard” and “Slut”, may have a raised brow reaction, though the infrequent language use is merely an echo of the language that children are hearing more and more on the school playground, at home, on the TV in such programs as “Coronation Street”, “Eastenders”, “Hollyoaks” and even Doctor Who. And the reasons for mentioning these are to prove that a lot more reality of voice is entering the lives through the use of our televisions. Once over this short hurdle, however, the main feature is very comfortable on the eyes.

DVD Archive Rating: 8/10 (9/10 if the feature would have been a lot longer and the storyline extended more)

© Marcus De Storm 2011.