Featured Audience Ratings

• UUd I

  
  Gotham: Jim Gordon Jim Gordon Rises

• Melvin W

  
  Batman: Ladies, gentlemen, you've eaten well. You've eaten Gotham's wealth. Its spirit. But your feast is nearly over. From this moment on, none of you are safe.  "A merciless crime- turns a man into an outlaw." Batman: Year One is the sort of animated… More
  Batman: Ladies, gentlemen, you've eaten well. You've eaten Gotham's wealth. Its spirit. But your feast is nearly over. From this moment on, none of you are safe.  "A merciless crime- turns a man into an outlaw." Batman: Year One is the sort of animated superhero movie I enjoy. It's not a movie that is made for little kids, but for adults. The film is gritty, dark, and surprisingly real; obviously taking the Christopher Nolan theme of darkness and helplessness. This is a movie that was made for the Batman fans out there and as it is, it's a wonderful addition to the Batman filmography. Sure it has its problems and I didn't fall in love with it like I had hoped, but it is still a great addition.  This follows, well you guessed it, the first year of Batman. In the beginning we see Bruce Wayne returning home to Gotham after being away for twelve years. We also see Lieutenant Gordon arriving at his new job, as a Gotham police officer. Gotham is ruins fundamentally. The streets are filled with criminals and the police are as corrupt as our government. It takes awhile for Wayne to get ready to fight the criminals and the police. When he does, the police go after him because they are losing money as the criminals do as Batman cleans up the streets. The story has a great, gritty feel to it, but it also feels rushed. The movie was way too short in my opinion. I would have loved an additional 20 to 30 minutes of this, but as is, it's a good, if short, film. The movie respects the source material, looks good enough, and has a variety of scenes that make it worth a look. We also see how Catwoman starts and there's some nice adult humor thrown in as well. Like I said, this isn't really a movie for the little ones who love Batman, but for the older ones who love Batman. 

• Matt G

  
  Wow.

• Josh L

  
  Not as good as "Under the Red Hood", but certainly not bad either. I'm kind of indifferent on this one. It clearly continues the darker, more mature look and feel of the Batman series, but it was disjointed and boring at the same time. The story is pretty bare bones and… More
  Not as good as "Under the Red Hood", but certainly not bad either. I'm kind of indifferent on this one. It clearly continues the darker, more mature look and feel of the Batman series, but it was disjointed and boring at the same time. The story is pretty bare bones and doesn't really show how Bruce Wayne became the masked crusader. It's more about how Jim Gordon got his start, which really isn't that interesting. There's a reason he wasn't the main character originally. The animation also isn't nearly as good as "Under the Red Hood" or the voice acting. Year One clearly has its fans and it is something different for the long-running series, but I'm not among those that enjoyed it.

• Lorenzo v

  
  <i>"Gotham City. Clean shafts of concrete and snowy rooftops. The work of men who died generations ago. From here, it looks like an achievement. From here, you can't see the enemy."</i> A wealthy playboy and a Chicago cop both return to Gotham City where… More
  <i>"Gotham City. Clean shafts of concrete and snowy rooftops. The work of men who died generations ago. From here, it looks like an achievement. From here, you can't see the enemy."</i> A wealthy playboy and a Chicago cop both return to Gotham City where their lives will intersect in unexpected ways. <center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center> Two men come to Gotham City. Jim Gordon comes to join the police for a fresh start, having been labelled as a rat for getting convictions against dirty colleagues. Millionaire Bruce Wayne returns from overseas, with a keen sense of justice and a need to take action. Both men want to clean up Gotham and both men find the system to be failing, however, although they want the same thing, both men face threats from criminals and the police alike, as Commissioner Loeb may be the most corrupt of all of them. In this film we take the story right back to the origins (again) but the focus is very much on the parallel fates of Gordon and Wayne and the roots of their working relationship. There are no master villains, not much in the way of elaborate gadgets or excess but instead crime families and corrupt cops terrorising the city. This plot gives the film an accessible and realistic feel that I quite liked even if the downside is that it does rather lack colour and OTT excitement. On the flipside to that though it was fun to enjoy the story set in a semi-real world with the focus on the person rather than the extravagant character - there is a reason why this is as much Gordon's story as it is Wayne's. Being incredibly faithful to the source material means that one need not be familiar with the graphic novel to appreciate this show. If anything, this film allows those who would normally be averse to reading a comic book appreciate a timeless tale, integral to Batman lore. It is the same book, just a different way of reading it.

• Drake T

  
  Atrocious voice acting from Mckenzie and numerous support characters completely ruins the experience. Also I've read the books, the film chose to draw out scenes that weren't meant to be drawn out making the pacing quite odd. After watching this... bland reproduction of… More
  Atrocious voice acting from Mckenzie and numerous support characters completely ruins the experience. Also I've read the books, the film chose to draw out scenes that weren't meant to be drawn out making the pacing quite odd. After watching this... bland reproduction of mediocrity I had to go back and read the books to remind myself why it's one of the greatest Batman stories ever told. I don't get how they can mess up something so badly when the template is ALL there to work from.

• Lewis C

  
  A pretty solid adaptation of the Batman: Year One graphic novel that covers the rocky first year after Bruce Wayne's return to Gotham and the birth of Batman, as well as the arrival of Jim Gordon and the first appearances of Catwoman. It's a short movie, but the slick… More
  A pretty solid adaptation of the Batman: Year One graphic novel that covers the rocky first year after Bruce Wayne's return to Gotham and the birth of Batman, as well as the arrival of Jim Gordon and the first appearances of Catwoman. It's a short movie, but the slick animation and quality voice acting make it worth any Batman fan's time. Be sure to watch the Catwoman short that accompanies the movie, as well. It's awesome, action-packed, and could have easily been expanded into its own feature.

• Luke B

  
  Many credit writers such as Alan Moore and Frank Miller for making comics geared towards adults in the 80s. While I agree with the credit given to Moore, Miller writes an "adult" story from a child's perspective. He just adds violence, gore, and whores. What we have… More
  Many credit writers such as Alan Moore and Frank Miller for making comics geared towards adults in the 80s. While I agree with the credit given to Moore, Miller writes an "adult" story from a child's perspective. He just adds violence, gore, and whores. What we have here is almost a direct adaptation of his Year One story. That means it's pretty great, but being a direct adaptation it's exactly the same, warts and all. So the problems I have with this movie are the same as with the comic. Catwoman is here for no specific reason, and yes she's a prostitute. This still confuses me as to why Miller did this, and I have no idea why they kept it for this film. It's unnecessary. In fact, Batman Begins is pretty much an adaptation of Year One, and a much better one. The best scenes in this movie were done in Begins, such as the SWAT team/horde of bats. All the voice work was competent, but very restrained and monotone. McKenzie does well to capture Wayne's fake arseholeness. Other areas could have been developed further, such as Gordon cheating on his wife. Decent, certainly, but should have actually handled the material as a separate entity.

• Everett J

  
  "Batman Year One" is an animated movie about the first year Bruce Wayne is batman(caption obvious over here). As many times as there has been a Batman origin movie(live action or animated), this is a pretty different take on it. This movie really deals with the first year… More
  "Batman Year One" is an animated movie about the first year Bruce Wayne is batman(caption obvious over here). As many times as there has been a Batman origin movie(live action or animated), this is a pretty different take on it. This movie really deals with the first year of Lt. James Gordon(Bryan Cranston) on his way to becoming commissioner. Just moved to Gotham City, Gordon has to deal with corrupt cops, criminals, and now a masked vigilante called Batman. This really should have been called "Gordon: Year One", but I doubt that would have sold very well. The animated is just ok, and the story is kind of just "meh, ok". Cranston's voice work as Gordon is the best thing about the movie. I could listen to him read the phone book, he just has this intensity that transcends to animation very well. Gordon, as far as I can remember, has never been portrayed like this. Here he is a badass, who commits adultery, and can handle himself against the hardest of criminals. Running at 64 minutes, this feels more like an episode of a cartoon series, rather than a stand alone movie. Fans of Batman will think it's good, non fans will probably side with me, on expecting/wanting more. Not the worst animated movie, but nowhere near the best.

• Manu G

  
  A merciless crime - turns a man into an outlaw. Very good! Great animation and very good story. This film is really the beginning of the legend of batman and it's really excellent. If you are a batman fan you gotta see this. Two men come to Gotham City: Bruce Wayne after years… More
  A merciless crime - turns a man into an outlaw. Very good! Great animation and very good story. This film is really the beginning of the legend of batman and it's really excellent. If you are a batman fan you gotta see this. Two men come to Gotham City: Bruce Wayne after years abroad feeding his lifelong obsession for justice and Jim Gordon after being too honest a cop with the wrong people elsewhere. After learning painful lessons about the city's corruption on its streets and police department respectively, this pair learn how to fight back their own way. With that, Gotham's evildoers from top to bottom are terrorized by the mysterious Batman and the equally heroic Gordon is assigned to catch him by comrades who both hate and fear him themselves. In the ensuing manhunt, both find much in common as the seeds of an unexpected friendship are laid with additional friends and rivals helping to start the legend.

• Jason V

  
  First things first: this is not a Batman story. This is about Jim Gordon and guest stars Batman, almost like Batman Returns is the story of Catwoman and Penguin and Batman makes the occasional appearance. That being said, the story adapted here runs too fast, as is usually the case… More
  First things first: this is not a Batman story. This is about Jim Gordon and guest stars Batman, almost like Batman Returns is the story of Catwoman and Penguin and Batman makes the occasional appearance. That being said, the story adapted here runs too fast, as is usually the case in the DC animated films, lacking a lot of depth and connective tissue from one scene to another. That's not to say the story doesn't hold together or make sense; it does, but a great many side stories are simply glanced over in favor the Gordon arc. Appropriately dark, dingy and cast in shadows, the film does run quickly, for the most part, with references to other DC and Warner Brothers characters. The big misstep here is Ben McKenzie as Bruce Wayne/Batman. He seems to be channeling the Christian Bale version instead of making the character his own; there's no oomph to the characterization. Bryan Cranston as Gordon is better, but comes across as being entirely too weary to generate any emotion. It makes sense for the story, though his character is a bit too bland for this story.

• Philip P

  
  What we have here is basically a condensed version of the Frank Miller comic that almost plays like "Batman Begins" with the focus more on Gordon and throwing in an unnecessary Catwoman storyline. The hour long piece is entertaining and never dull, but it is stuff we have… More
  What we have here is basically a condensed version of the Frank Miller comic that almost plays like "Batman Begins" with the focus more on Gordon and throwing in an unnecessary Catwoman storyline. The hour long piece is entertaining and never dull, but it is stuff we have all seen before. We get the scene where Bruce's parents are killed and he decides to become the masked vigilante and goes out to do good but is instead accused of being a criminal. It is interesting to see a more personal look at the life of Jim Gordon a character who has become more complex with Chris Nolan's series and that is the one perk of checking out this DC animated movie. Not to mention Gordon is voiced by Bryan Cranston and is supported with a good voice cast. This is interesting stuff for any real Batman fan, but for those in passing it probably isn't of much interest or worth your time.

• Jim W

  
  The animation is a step in the wrong direction and we didn't need another Batman origins story either. The movie is okay though, just not the best Batman animated film or even close.

• Remi L

  
  Good stuff. Though I always walk in with high hopes for a straight-to-DVD animated comic book movie. I was a little thrown off by Ben "Ryan Atwood" McKenzie as Batman but in the end it was a good fit. I actually have a bigger critique of the animators for making a… More
  Good stuff. Though I always walk in with high hopes for a straight-to-DVD animated comic book movie. I was a little thrown off by Ben "Ryan Atwood" McKenzie as Batman but in the end it was a good fit. I actually have a bigger critique of the animators for making a 25-year-old Bruce look MUCH older than he actually is. Then again, maybe all that thirst for vengeance wore on him. It was actually more fascinating to see Commissioner Gordon's rise through the ranks of Gotham PD than watching young Bruce battle his demons. Not that it wasn't awesome seeing him don the suit and dispense with the bad guys. Bryan Cranston was excellent as Gordon. I'm usually incredibly picky about voice actors for my favorite cartoons, but everyone did a good job. And Eliza Dushku as Catwoman? I'm willing to bet money she fought for that role. I know I would've. The other thing I really love about these straight-to-DVD flicks is that they straddle the line of adult content without falling over to the other side. Certain things are implied, certain content is clearly meant for teenage eyes, but you can put two and two together. The Batman I grew up with managed to be this grown-up with even MORE subtlety but I love both versions. All-in-all a good film, can't wait for the next DVD.

• Marion R

  
  The second best Batman film ever made! It's such a faithful adaptation of the comic and it just really good. I was on the fence with the voice casting, but everyone really pulled it off. I had fun watching the film, because it's a really good story. Everything was pulled… More
  The second best Batman film ever made! It's such a faithful adaptation of the comic and it just really good. I was on the fence with the voice casting, but everyone really pulled it off. I had fun watching the film, because it's a really good story. Everything was pulled together nicely, I felt that they captured the mood of the comic. It was just really good and you should watch this.

• Sean S

  
  You can't lose with WB animation they seem incapable of producing an inferior product. This movie is a little more moody and dramatic then a lot of their other movies but has enough action to keep the movie moving. Only 2 things keep it from being perfect for me 1)I didn't… More
  You can't lose with WB animation they seem incapable of producing an inferior product. This movie is a little more moody and dramatic then a lot of their other movies but has enough action to keep the movie moving. Only 2 things keep it from being perfect for me 1)I didn't love the animation it was good but I have seen them do better 2)While it is mostly about James Gordon's origin they also run through Batman's origin again and that has been done to death. Still good movie.

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