Stealthily making its way into stores and video rental houses is the “Animatrix” inspired take on Batman. Not too much hype, as Batman’s bigger cousin, “The Dark Knight” is getting all the attention. But hey, don’t forget this interesting though imperfect stepchild. It’s worth your time. Supposedly bridging the gap between Christopher Nolan’s two Batman movies, it is a series of six loosely connected stories directed by very, very talented anime directors. There are gang wars, but Gotham is slowly getting under control, thanks to the Batman. This doesn’t sit too well with the criminals and even a few cops. Some of the stories are MUCH better than others and it’s no surprise that the best two are last. “Working through the Pain” and “Deadshot” stand out in both storytelling and visual style. While visually incredibly stylized, sometimes it just feels… awkward. Like being on a date with your college roommate’s hot sister. You wanna like her, but yet you know it’s just not quite right. Batman is such a… western creation. It’s tough to shoehorn it into an eastern style. Since the Matrix was ripped off from …. Excuse me… “influenced” by Japanese anime, then it was a perfect fit to actually have anime directors tell the stories. With “Gotham Knight”, ultimately what you have is a very bold experimental culture clash which sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. The last two work the best, and the one where Bruce Wayne looks like he just stepped off the Argo from “Star Blazers” does not. Is it worth your time? Yes. Like I said, the last two stories are worth the price of admission alone. Yes, I know it’s straight to DVD and there is no admission, but stay with me here, folks. It’s a good companion piece to “The Dark Knight” and will satisfy you if you want more Batman after seeing “The Dark Knight” in the theater at 6:00 am. And who can blame you?
Chris Mancini
