wearetheborg

http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Dark-Kn.../dp/B008RV5K5E

The score for this was really good.
Some very brutal action.

Not thrilled with the animation style though.

Dragon Tattoo

Never read the comic or something?

Spottedfeather

The story may be a good one, but the style is just horrible. Not to mention, the voice they got for Batman, Peter Weller (who I love in Robocop), just doesn't fit the character. It would be like having Christian Bale to do it. Wait. They did that. And look at how well those movies turned out. The style is just too blocky. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if they had Kevin Conroy for the voice. At least it would be watchable. And I don't care if it was in the comic or not, but having a female Robin is just weird.

OldBoy

um...this Batman was old. KC has done the younger Batman for years. they needed a well-oiled vet and they got one and it worked in spades!

Solid Snake

....Christian Bale as Batman? Turned out pretty well. Questionable on TDK w/ the voice. Balanced it out better on TDKR though.

Weird having a girl as Robin? I guess it can be. Different and actually makes it more interesting for the story.

And...after watching a bit of it...Weller seems to do fine. Conroy wouldn't be appropriate. It isn't that Batman. This one went through so much. Worse and god knows what else he went through.

Horrible voice acting for some of the characters though. The Mutant gang leader has a shit voice. Not intimidating or scary at all.

Dr. DVD

Agree on point one but not point two. As someone who has read the GN many times over, that was pretty dang close to the voice I always "heard" when I read it. I am still skeptical about how Michael Emerson will do as Joker in the second one, but from the sneak peak he seems to have it going well.

Let me say that I watched this with low expectations but high hopes given the lack of Conroy and Hamill, and I was VERY impressed. One really needs to have read the GN to fully appreciate how well they adapted Miller's work. For people complaining about the animation style, it's definitely reflective of the one used in the GN. When I read it originally I wasn't too big a fan of all the shapes and stuff for people, but it grew on me with time. I am anxiously awaiting part II.

Also, I too was surprised at the level of violence. They admitted in one of the special features that this being animated was the only reason it got a PG-13 instead of an R.

Solid Snake

See I dunno. That voice comes off weak. Practically generic. It means well but it just doesn't hold power. I hate comparing it to it but the one they had off of TAS was better.

Dr. DVD

^ I'll agree that I prefer Conroy, and he has done the older Wayne before with Batman Beyond. But I think Weller's voice worked, especially given his backgrounds as Robocop and Miller contributing to the Robocop movies in some capacity.

mrhan

I think it's been toned down compared to the one used in TAS; which I think is more like Miller's art.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoZLPwRCjcQ

Solid Snake

That can be agreed on. But even that still had it's flatter/edged TAS style.

Mike86

I thought this was one of the better DC animated movies thus far to be honest. The story was adapted really well and I liked the actors they used for the most part. Peter Weller was surprisingly better than I thought, I wasn't sure from early clips if I'd like him or not but he did good. I can see how some people who haven't read the graphic novel might be a bit thrown off by how the animation looks but it's fairly accurate to the graphic novel. The biggest gripe I had with it is that Warner/DC split it into two parts instead of just making the feature longer. I'm not sure why they're so dead set on making these only around 75 minutes or whatever.

Mondo Kane

Michael Ironside

Dr. DVD

$$$$

Solid Snake

Money? Noooooooooooooo.

brayzie

It's not bad but for some reason I don't like Weller as Batman.


I agree. The very raw inking of Klaus Jansen combined with Miller's then evolving style helped to make the comic feel more "adult" somehow. The animation here seems to clean. The character designs match Miller's but not the style.


That was one of the many aspects of what made the graphic novel great and a good contrast to the mainstreams perception of Batman.

This animated movie reminds me of Watchmen by Snyder. Stays true to the source material but so far, it doesn't capture the feeling of the source material. What also hurts is the timing.

Back in '86 no Robin had yet been killed, the only live action Batman was the campy Adam West version, and DC Comics was still upholding the Comics Code. So TDKR was pretty shocking when it first came out.

Up till now though, we've already seen more mature portrayals of Batman in the comics, cartoons and in film, so now, aspects of The Dark Knight Returns which once pushed the envelope now seem like more of the same.

Supermallet

I liked it, but didn't love it. Weller was the wrong choice for Wayne. I kept hearing Robocop.

Loved the girl who did Robin, though (the actress who plays Alex in Modern Family, blanking on her name).

Mike86

I'm sure that's part of it but this is the first time they've split a release into two features. I suppose though since Batman is one of their more marketable characters they know it'll have a pretty good shot at selling whether it's split into two parts or not.

Crocker Jarmen

Looks like the title is stirring up some trouble.

Spottedfeather

Exactly. Peter Weller's voice just isn't gravelly and low enough to sound like a proper Batman. I'm not saying it has to be horrible like Christian Bale does, but somewhere between Michael Keaton and Kevin Conroy would have been better. I thought that Michael Ironside was perfect as Darkseid. Andre Braugher's voice was just too soft and not as menacing. Kevin Conroy definately could have played the part again. His voice sounds so much older now, seeing as the cartoon was 20 years ago.

Mike86

I too think that Conroy could've pulled off the part. Like mentioned aboved the fact that Batman: The Animated Series first aired twenty years ago and the fact that he already played an older Wayne in Batman Beyond I don't think it would've been much of a stretch for him to have played an older version of the character. I still thought Weller did a decent job though. Not a definitive Batman but fine for this at least.

Solid Snake

no. Not even Conroy can rock this Batman when you have as comparison...Michael fucking Ironside as Old Man Bats. He's probably the best one could get for it. Conroy would be fine and comfortable, Weller is fine too...but...Ironside. C'mon..not even Conroy could pull off that kind of shit that Ironside's voice had for Bats.

wearetheborg

I thought Peter Weller's voice was fine, I actually preferred it to Conroys, for this movie, seeing as they are portraying an older, weaker Batman.

I just read the comic. Not a fan of the ending there. But I guess for 1986, it was a great comic book. It just doesnt work as well now, given the current immense popularity of comic book films.
Wonder if things will be changed in the 2nd part of the animated movie.

The joker ending was great! And I LOVED the musical score. I also lover Christopher Drake's score
on Batman: Gotham Knight, and on Batman: Under the Red Hood.

Mike86

To be truthful as a Batman fan I realize that this story is one of the big ones and gets recommended by a lot of people, but I always have found The Dark Knight Returns a bit on the overrated side myself. It isn't bad but not the best Batman story ever told or anything. I think Year One is a better Miller Batman story personally.

MBoyd

It's not all that it could have been, but it's good enough for these DC direct to DVDs. I'd rather have had a motion comic. I suppose the Reagan stuff is gone. Funny stuff in the comics with him and Superman. It was pretty biting in 1986. I was there reading it when it came out. Not so original now.

Supermallet

I think the ending of the comic is one of the great Batman moments.