Review of Batman: Year One (2011) by Vejay B — 12 Jul 2012

Probably the best Batman movie ever made...Despite being marred by Ben McKenzie's monotone, audio book-style performance.

There are very few liberties taken with the original source material. With the exception of edits made to remove smoking, drug use, and S&M references, almost nothing was discarded from Frank Miller's dialogue and plot (surprisingly, Child prostitution was left intact, and "swears" that didn't make it into the comic are added to the movie). Much of the point-of-view narration, provided by either Batman or James Gordon in the comic, is thrown away, but most of that narration is used to describe action that the cartoon has the space and time to depict. Also, a few minor changes are made in terms of scene order and streamlining character relationships.

(One of these changes actually creates a plot hole...Gordon, while listing the reasons Batman is not his enemy, mentions Batman saving two police officers. The problem is, Bruce Wayne, disguised as a scarred nobody, saved those officers before Batman had been created. I'm a nerd.).

Bryan Cranston gives a subtle performance, perfect for Gordon's weary, realistic outlook. Eliza Dushku was also admirable in her part as the cynical Catwoman, despite that character's minor role. Ben McKenzie, as already stated, added little.

The animation depicts the action very nicely, with clean, unfussy compositions and motion. However, the climactic scene (in which Bruce Wayne catches a baby) isn't timed or shot very well, and ends up looking more comedic than dramatic.