Batman: Year One (2011)

Featured Audience Ratings

• 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.

• Kevin M

  
  Skillfully animated from a tightly-minimalistic graphic novel (circa '86) and carefully detailed for a larger modern thrill-seeking audience. The plotline focuses on Detective Gordon's struggle as he overcomes his crooked peers while the Dark Knight ascends beyond his… More
  Skillfully animated from a tightly-minimalistic graphic novel (circa '86) and carefully detailed for a larger modern thrill-seeking audience. The plotline focuses on Detective Gordon's struggle as he overcomes his crooked peers while the Dark Knight ascends beyond his rookie mantle. In anticipation of the upcoming 2012 film, I dug deeper into this feature seeking more Batman material - this cartoon adventure didn't disappoint. The characters we encounter are easy to recognize, as several key players (Wayne, Gordon, Loeb, Kyle and Falconi) are well-represented with excellent voice-acting talent. I was expecting Conroy to reappear as Batman, however McKenzie serves well as the co-lead. Bryan Cranston (Jim Gordon) deserves recognition for his standout performance as he's written (credit to Miller/Kane) more prominently into this storyline. Instead of a playfully cheerful romp through a child's cartoon perspective, these acts are brutally mature - violent, dramatic and unyielding. My favourite scene occurs just after a key criminal witness is urged not to divulge factual testimony by Falconi's lawyer - when Batman later appears and shares his encouraging words: "... I know pain ... Oh I know pain ... And sometimes I share it ... with someone like you." Anyone who's taken an interest in the Batman universe will appreciate this graphic novel adaptation. I can't ignore the impressive and appealing nature of this icon. Well worth the 64-minute playthrough.