Tuesday, July 22, 2008

DVD Review: Batman: Gotham Knight

This short film, produced by the same crew that brought us Batman Begins and the current runaway hit The Dark Knight, is a series of six interlocking stories which give different interpretations of the Caped Crusader. Here are complete synopses of the six stories (WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!)

Have I Got A Story For You (Studio 4°C)

Written by Josh Olson. A street kid meets with three of his friends at a skate park. All three of them claim to have seen Batman earlier that day. Batman's battle with the Man in Black, a high-tech criminal, is told in reverse chronological order, with three very different interpretations of Batman's form and abilities: one describes him as a living shadow that can melt away and reappear at will (similar to Vampire Batman), another describes him as a half-bat, half-man creature (similar to Man-Bat), and one describes him as a combat robot called RoBat. At the end, Batman pursues the Man in Black to the skatepark, and captures him with the help of the fourth street kid. The fourth kid is able to see what Batman truly is after seeing him sustain injuries from the battle: a warrior in a Batsuit. He proceeded to tell his experience to his friends after Batman disappeared. Though the film credits give "story by" acknowledgment to first-time writer Jordan Goldberg, Josh Olsen acknowledged it was actually based on a very similar story by Frank Robbins called "The Batman Nobody Knows"[5]. The story was first printed in Batman #250 in 1973, and subsequently adapted as "Legends of the Dark Knight" in the original Batman: The Animated Series. According to Olsen: "The first time it's stealing, the second time it's borrowing, the third time you're creating a genre,".[6]

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[edit] Crossfire (Production I.G.)

Written by Greg Rucka. Crispus Allen and Anna Ramirez are partners and members of the Major Crimes Unit that have been hand-picked by James Gordon. The two are assigned to take the recently captured Man in Black (captured during Have I Got A Story For You), revealed to be Jacob Feely, an escaped inmate from Arkham Asylum with an expertise in advanced electronics and explosives, to the Narrows to be incarcerated. On their way, they argue over whether Batman can be trusted, with Allen saying that they're just running errands for a vigilante, while Ramirez replies that Batman has changed Gotham for the better. As they are heading back, Allen declares his intention to leave the MCU, and Ramirez pulls into a vacant lot to confront Allen. However, the two get caught in a confrontation between gangs, The Russian and Sal Maroni. Maroni's men are gunned down, and Maroni takes refuge behind Allen and Ramirez's patrol car, which The Russian subsequently destroys with a rocket launcher. Ramirez and Maroni manage to get clear in time, while Allen is rescued by Batman, who proceeds to take out The Russian and his men. Maroni then threatens to kill Ramirez, but he, too, is dispatched by Batman. Batman recognizes Allen and Ramirez as Gordon's hand-picked officers, remarks that Gordon is a good judge of character, and disappears.

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[edit] Field Test (Bee Train)

Written by Jordan Goldberg. An accident involving a new WayneCom satellite's gyroscopic electromagnetic guidance system gives Lucius Fox an idea for a device that will electromagnetically deflect small-arms fire. Bruce Wayne takes the device and attends a charity golf tournament being held by developer Ronald Marshall, with whom he discusses the mysterious death of a woman, Teresa Williams, who had opposed some of Marshall's plans. During the tournament, Wayne secretly takes Marshall's PDA device. Later that night, as Batman, he hijacks a boat owned by Sal Maroni and drives it alongside a boat owned by rival gang leader The Russian and proceeds to attack both gangs at once, with assistance from his new device. He attempts to force a truce between the two gang leaders until he can get evidence against them, but is disrupted when one of Maroni's men fires at him. The bullet deflects and instead hits one of The Russian's men. Distressed, Batman takes the injured man to the hospital. Later, he returns the device to Fox, stating that the device works too well, and that he is willing to put his life on the line, but no one else's.

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[edit] In Darkness Dwells (Madhouse)

Written by David S. Goyer. The police respond to a riot in a cathedral where Cardinal O'Fallon was giving a sermon. According to eyewitness testimony, the Cardinal was abducted by a large lizard-monster and taken down into the crypts below the cathedral. Lieutenant Gordon, Crispus Allen, and Anna Ramirez investigate; Gordon has a brief conversation with Batman, who agrees with Gordon's theory that the Scarecrow's fear toxin is behind the riot as the doctor has been at large since the riot at the Narrows (during the event of Batman Begins). Batman gives Gordon an earpiece that will allow them to stay in contact and descends below ground, trying to find Cardinal O'Fallon and his abductor. A homeless man living in an abandoned subway station identifies the abductor as Killer Croc. Batman and Gordon briefly discuss the villain's past, but are cut off when Killer Croc himself shows up, under the influence of the fear toxin, and attacks Batman. Batman defeats him, but not before sustaining a bite that transfers some of the toxin to him. He then finds Cardinal O'Fallon being put on trial and sentenced to death by the Scarecrow, who is unhappy with O'Fallon's efforts to help the homeless. Batman leaps in to defend the Cardinal. Using the methane already present in the room, he sparks an explosion that destroys several water pipes, flooding the area and allowing him to escape with the Cardinal. Gordon appears in a helicopter to retrieve the Cardinal and offers to help Batman as well, but Batman refuses, saying, "Maybe next time."

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[edit] Working Through Pain (Studio 4°C)

Written by Brian Azzarello. Continuing on from In Darkness Dwells, Batman is shot in the stomach by a man hallucinating in the sewers of Gotham. He cauterizes the wound and attempts to get out from underground, reflecting on his experiences with managing pain as he does so. First, he remembers volunteering with a relief effort and assisting a doctor in performing surgery without anesthesia. Next, he reflects on the lessons he learned from a woman named Cassandra, who was cast out of her community for disguising herself as a boy in an attempt to join a religious sect. Over several months, she teaches him to minimize his pain to the point where he can control it, sleeping on a bed of needles or standing on hot coals without reacting. One night, several young men appear to harass Cassandra, who takes their blows without seeming to feel them. Bruce steps in to defend her, not only demonstrating his ability to withstand their attacks, but defeating them all with his martial arts skills. Cassandra then tells him to leave, saying that he has learned what he came to learn. She then comments on how Bruce's pain was beyond her, or possibly even his, ability to handle, but how it also appeared to be leading him down a path he desired. Back in the present, Batman ends up in a gutter, where he discovers a cache of guns buried in the garbage. Alfred arrives to assist him and tells Batman to give him his hand so he can pull him out of the gutter, but Batman, arms full of guns, replies that he can't.

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[edit] Deadshot (Madhouse)

Written by Alan Burnett. Bruce Wayne has a flashback to the murder of his parents. In his penthouse, he examinines the firearms he took from the underground tunnel's gutter (during the event of Working Through Pain) which he intends to turn in to the police. Wayne admits to Alfred that even though he vowed never to use them in the memory of his parents, he can still understand the temptation to use one. Meanwhile, in another city, an assassin known as Deadshot carries out an assassination on a local mayor and returns to his tropical base. There, one of his associates hires him to carry out a hit in Gotham. It is revealed that The Russian has put out a hit on Lieutenant Gordon, and Batman is called in to protect him. Batman gives Crispus Allen Ronald Marshall's handheld PDA device (which he stole as Bruce Wayne in Field Test), containing a link to encrypted e-mails proving that Ronald Marshall hired Deadshot in the past. He then follows Gordon's motorcade, with Alfred providing satellite-imagery assistance using the new WayneCom satellites. Deadshot attempts to shoot Gordon from a moving train, but Batman deflects the bullet. Deadshot then gleefully reveals that Batman was his real target the entire time, and that the threat against Gordon was merely a ruse to draw him out. He opens fire as the train enters a tunnel, and as Batman attempts to charge Deadshot, he is injured, falling off the train. Deadshot advances to where he saw Batman fall, gloating, but is ambushed from behind and disarmed. He and Ronald Marshall are arrested. Wayne confides to Alfred about how similar the fight in the tunnel seemed to the night his parents were murdered, and comments that "I've been trying to stop those two bullets all these years." He expresses discouragement, and Alfred agrees, but adds that he thinks Bruce has a higher purpose. Wayne looks up at the sky and sees the Bat-Signal.

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Kevin Conroy, the iconic voice behind the Darkknight Detective in the '90's, returns to give voice to Gotham's protector for this project. Not only are there the six interlocking stories on Disc 1 of the special-edition set, but there are more goodies on Disc 2. A Mirror For The Bat gives us a look at the Batman's greatest villains in a 35-minute presentation which explores how without the villains, the hero would not be as strong, with some of the producers of the project, as well as DC Comics editors and artists and writers. Batman And Me: The Bob Kane Story is a revealing look at the creator of The Dark Knight and the early days of the comic-book incarnation and a biography on Kane, as told by his biographer and by family and friends, a terrific tribute to Kane, who passed away in 1998. Finally, as an extra-special bonus feature, four episodes of the iconic Batman: The Animated Series are presented by producer Bruce Timm-Heart Of Ice, I Am The Night, Legends Of The Dark Knight and Over The Edge. This DVD set is terrific, and the short 73-minute movie is a great bridge between the two Christopher Nolan feature films, which is what it is intended to be. I highly recommend this DVD set for all Bat-fans as well as movie fans, though it is very bloody in parts and skirts an R-rating (the film is rated PG-13). I don't recommend that kids watch the feature (let them watch the less-violent episodes of the Animated Series instead).
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