NOTE: This is my first article for CBM. I realise Part 1 was released a while ago but Part 2 isn't available in Australia yet. I'd love some feedback on this review, too, so feel free to comment.
Director Jay Olivia Starring Peter Weller, Ariel Winter, David Selby Rating PG-13/ M
Ask a comic book expert and they’ll tell you that in the 1980s, Frank Miller changed comics. His groundbreaking limited series
The Dark Knight Returns portrayed Batman in such a dark, realistic and brutal fashion that nobody had ever seen before. It’s now considered by many to be the greatest comic ever made - save for maybe Miller’s tale of origin,
Batman: Year One - and it’s so big that Warner Bros. Animation have split it into a two-part adaption.
Fans of the source material will be happy to hear it’s an extremely faithful screen translation; in a bleak future, a 55-year-old Bruce Wayne (played by former RoboCop Peter Weller) emerges from a lengthy retirement to face a savage new threat, the Mutants.
The film completely captures the feel of Miller’s dreary Gotham - the streets are just oozing with dingy, dirty acts of crime. It’s anything but a kid-friendly affair, with Batman’s town being overrun by murder, abduction and suicide. They don’t call it
The Dark Knight Returns for nothing.
It doesn’t quite look like Miller’s Gotham, but the characters and set-pieces ring true to the comic. The atmosphere is spot-on, too - portraying Batman as a horrifying creature of the night, lurking through the shadows and terrorising ne’er-do-wellers. Weller’s delivery isn’t always spot-on, occasionally hamming it up, but he does a fantastic job as a brooding, aging Dark Knight. Much of the monologuing has been removed, as the filmmakers have assumed it doesn’t translate well from comic to film, but some of the best lines from the book have been omitted. Newcomers won’t notice, but fans will miss it.
The action is very well choreographed and polished, and thanks to the simple fact that it is a film, it’s easier to tell what’s going on than it was in Miller’s
Dark Knight Returns. The violence is brutal and bloody, with some serious bone-crunching and bad-guy brawling. The rest of the animation is vibrant (when it’s not murky).
Modern Family’s Ariel Winter adds some much-needed heart as 13-year-old Carrie Kelly, a new female Robin. The rest of the voice cast is pretty solid, with David Selby’s Commissioner Gordon feeling fuzzy and worn out, Gary Anthony Williams as the savage Mutant Leader, and Michael McKean in his short but very good turn as Dr. Wolper.
It’s a dream come true for any fan of the comic, or any fan of Batman in general. Warner have nailed the tone and feel, the voice acting is of a high quality, and the animation is eye-popping.
Part 2 arrives shortly.
VERDICT: ★★★★