Related
The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 is a must-buy for any Batman fan - including those who swear by the comic version of the story.
TheBatmanthat many people know ( and sexual love ) today was spawn not in the 1930s , when the Caped Crusader first appeared in comic books - but rather in the 1980s , under the revisionary design of writer / creative person Frank Miller , creator ofSin Cityand300 . Miller ’s seminal Batman tale arcs -Batman : Year OneandThe Dark Knight Returns- have at once influenced every iteration of the superhero thereafter , including Chris Nolan’sBatman BeginsandThe Dark Knight Rises(respectively ) . In short , it was Miller who put the " dark " into The Dark Knight .
DC Universe has already pay off court to Miller ’s employment with aBatman : Year Oneanimated picture show , but withThe Dark Knight Returns , director Jay Oliva and screenwriter Bob Goodman are take on what might be the most challenging ( read : potentially calamitous ) DCU labor , ever . Does the animated rendering live up to its legendary comic book source material ? Or is Miller ’s pictorial novel too complex and twist for the cartoon world ?
Skeptics should remain gentle , asBatman : The Dark Knight Returns , Part 1is a rousing success in many ways , and easily conquers its own faults by turn in a Batman movie experience that is unlike any other . Note that I say " Batmanmovieexperience , " because to limitDark Knight Returns , Part 1to just being a greatanimated movieexperience would be trade it unforesightful .
The news report centers on a fifty - five - twelvemonth - old Bruce Wayne , now forcibly retired from Batman duty as the result of a national crackdown on superhero vigilantes . Disgruntled and swimming in booze , Wayne floats through Gotham ’s streets , watching complacently as the city falls to brutality and crime - thanks in large part to a gang of psychotic untried toughie who call themselves The Mutants .
As Gotham City darkens , Bruce lead off to experience an old mien rise from the depths inside him - and when one of his sometime foe returns to trust a brazen string of crimes , Batman can be abated no longer . Before he fully knows it , Bruce is back in costume and unleashing penalize Department of Justice to the criminal lot of Gotham ; but the Mutants and their ferocious leader are a young breed of felon - one that even Batman may not be capable to scoop .
Oliva and Goodman stick like gum to Miller ’s comedian , which is probably the smart move they could make . Most ofThe Dark Knight Returnsfrom the page is replicated in this film , include the shifts between Batman ’s fib and ongoing news program that render larger thematic and expository context - a welcome inclusion for those of us who were ( needlessly ) worried that the animated film would sacrifice the layered complexity of Miller ’s tale . That complexness reamins intact , as do many of the comedic moments that follow from transition between the natural action of the principal characters and the often - satiric comment of the news broadcast .
Most of the supporting characters and personalities from the comic Word word broadcasts are also in the motion-picture show : various lampoon news anchor personalities , ' on the street ' commentators and " babble out heads " such as an heavy Lana Lang ( from Superman ) advocating Batman ’s return , and Dr. Bartholomew Wolper ( Michael McKean ) , the psychiatrist who preaches that Batman is a menace who inspires supervillain psychosis . Like in the strip , these peripheral characters and present moment flourish the scope of the story , transforming it into a enceinte rumination on Batman as an icon and symbol , rather of it just being a tale about an aging Batman trying to get his groove back . The programme also couch the write up and pacing of the plastic film , allowing Oliva and Goodman to delve into of import view , while using broadcast expounding to move us through new development well and understandably . Although the mirthful version relied a with child deal on Batman ’s internal soliloquy , the filmmakers avoid that path and fill any gap in understanding through the use of visual import or supporting characters putting certain thing to voice .
The atmosphere of Miller ’s humans is translated perfectly to the screen , makingThe Dark Knight Returns , Part 1one of the darkest and most disturbing Batman movies in any mass medium . This is a story in which we first got a truly dreaded mental image of Batman as a violent , obsessional , semi - psychotic vigilante , and that ’s exactly what we get in this animated film . Scenes of Batman breaking criminals ' os ( or literally beating their faces to a bloody pulp ) are fantastic for the crowd that prefers a grittier and more grownup edition of the fictional character ; however , the picture show is definitelytoo intense for children under two-fold - digitage .
A bounteous point of contention with this particular project will be the flavour of it : Miller ’s graphic novel was illustrated in his distinctly dirty , chaotic , scribbly fashion , which does n’t lend itself well to modernistic vivification . Out of loyalty , Oliva sticks with the overall design and conception of Miller ’s artwork , but marries it to the more precise style of high-pitched - quality anime films . This make a unique and gorgeous visual pallette , in which we still get Miller’sBTDKRdesigns ( a big , blocky , bruiser Batman being the most iconic ) ; we still get the shadow , grit , filth and hyper-’80s feel of future Gotham City , but here it all looks cautiously and expertly animize . Iconic moments from the comics are fondly recreated in the movie , and in ecumenical , the Blu - ray visuals alone are deserving the terms of purchase .
Being a film , Dark Knight Returns , Part 1also has a chance to lucubrate on some of the more still images and moments in the comics , which bring a level of intrigue to the cinema even for longtime fans . Such moments include Batman ’s confrontation with a tainted military official , as well as the action succession and set piece , which are staged in exciting , often unrelenting , and whole Batman - esque manner by Oliva . Dark Knight Returnsunequivocally delivers a satisfying activeness quotient and some classic fight shot , to the boot .
The voice acting is , for the most part , tell apart on . Peter Weller ( Robocop ) is not necessarily the first name you think of when opine a voice for Batman ; but then again , Miller ’s negotiation inBTDKRisn’t like any other Batman story before or after it . While fan will always clamour for representative doer Kevin Conroy to be handed every animate Batman role , Weller ’s strong and stiff monotone is ( in my public opinion ) the perfect delivery method acting for the teetotal , sardonic Batman negotiation Miller intended . A nice casting selection .
Modern Familystar Ariel Winter is gutsy enough to voice Carrie Kelley , the new girl who takes up the mantle of Robin , while various voice actor Gary Anthony Williams ( The Boondocks ) uses his theme song growl to make the Mutant leader strait like a horrendous foeman . The only tangible fail in cast is David Selby ( Social internet ) , whose light , airy tones voice totally wrong coming out of Commissioner Gordon .
Story - smart , Part 1covers the first two installments of Miller ’s four - part story ( " Dark Knight Returns " and " Dark Knight Triumphant " ) , open with Bruce Wayne becoming Batman again so as to stop Two - facial expression , and end with his warfare against the Mutants ( which has an ominous side - effect).Part 2will pass over an heroic confrontation between Batman and The Joker , and the radioactive dust of that conflict , which see Batman marked as a fugitive with Superman assigned to institute him in .
Dark , gritty timber , iconic type blueprint and imagination , electrifying Batman - expressive style natural process and all the subtext , social - relevancy and multi - faceted tale pieces from Miller ’s comic strip ? Yep , it ’s all accounted for . The Dark Knight Returns , Part 1is a must - buy for any Batman fan - including those who swear by the comic reading of the story . yield everything it get right , this may be DC Universe ’s most cinematic and satisfy body of work to date .
Blu-ray Combo Pack Special Features
-
Batman : TheDark Knight Returns , Part 1will be available on DVD , Blu - ray and digital download on September 25th . Look forPart 2on DVD / Blu - ray sometime early next year . It is Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of ferocity and action at law
Based on the dark and gritty vivid novel , The Dark Knight rejoinder Part One is an animated natural action film put in the same humankind as Batman : Year One . The film follows a retired Batman following the demise of the last Robin ever taken under his backstage , Jason Todd . Two - Face , having been released and supposedly reformed , and a sudden wave of major crimes forces Bruce Wayne to wear the cowl once more as an aged and far more brutal Batman , but even lease on a new Robin protege named Carrie Kelley .
The Mutant Leader broadcasts his threats.
The Mutant Leader broadcasts his threats.
Based on the dark and gritty graphic novel, The Dark Knight Returns Part One is an animated action film set in the same world as Batman: Year One. The film follows a retired Batman following the death of the last Robin ever taken under his wing, Jason Todd. Two-Face, having been released and supposedly reformed, and a sudden wave of major crimes forces Bruce Wayne to don the cowl once more as an aged and far more brutal Batman, but even takes on a new Robin protege named Carrie Kelley.
