Movie Reviews: Batman- Year One
Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham City from several years abroad and decides to clean up the city by becoming the masked vigilante Batman. Meanwhile, former Chicago cop Jim Gordon joins the Gotham City Police Force and finds it a hive of corruption. When Batman pokes his nose into the business of powerful gangster Carmine Falcone, the Dark Knight finds himself targeted by crooked cops. Surely the one honest cop on the force has Batman's back, doesn't he?
Batman's name might be on the cover of the film, but this is Jim Gordon's story as well. As a matter of fact, Gordon's story gets more time than Bruce Wayne's decision to become Batman. As a result, this make Gordon's story much more interesting than that of Batman. Gordon has to struggle to be honest when the rest of the force are in the pockets of powerful gangsters. His wife is heavily pregnant and the bad guys aren't afraid to target Gordon's loved ones if he sticks his nose in where he shouldn't. My comparison, all Batman does is kick a few trees and have an encounter with a pre-Catwoman Selina Kyle.
There are quite a few famous voices in the film. Bryan Cranston provides the voice of Lt. Gordon. Eliza Dushku is the voice of Selina Kyle. Katee Sackhoff is the voice of Sarah Essen, Gordon's partner with who he ends up having an affair. There is also an appearance from a pre-Two-Face Harvey Dent back when he was still a promising lawyer, but he doesn't really get to do much. Gordon pays him a visit during his investigations over Batman's secret identity.
A pretty decent animated flick from DC, but don't go in expecting a lot of Batman. This is really Gordon's story. Three pointy hats.
Next time: Wonder Woman
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