Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall Film Review

Believe it or it's been TWO years since we last got an American direct to DVD DC animated movie with the last ones being released being Watchmen Chapters 1 and 2. Believe it or not its actually been longer then that since we last got an American direct to the DVD Batman movie as the last one of those came out THREE years ago and while we did get Aztec Batman that's a Spanish film not an American one and well now we have a new direct to DVD DC film and well you all just know that  had to check this film out the very chance that I got and so then join me as i review the film that is the first of a three part story with the film in question being called simply just "Batman Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall" enjoy.

The plot of this film is when Arkham Asylum is blown up and every criminal escapes Batman and Robin have to round up every one of them whilst also working out who blew it up and to what end. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. To be frank here whilst this films plot is indeed really good as the plot of the film is one that is really fun to watch and is one that could very easily please alot of people due to the fact that it does feel like a plot that would be done in Batman: The Animated Series. However tho it should be noted that the films plot is rather thin and while this is something that does make alot of sense as the film is telling one story across three films there should have been more of an effort into giving us a more tighter and a more focused plot as alot of the time it is hard to make out just what the main plot of this even meant to be alot of the time as while sure we have the basic premise of Batman and Robin trying to recapture all of these past villains and that is a good premise to have but that's not enough to carry the plot for a movie and while this film does have the excuse of there being two other parts to be released hopefully this year there should have been an effort to give alot of the films plot some focus and not spend alot of time on scenes that might add something to either parts 2 or 3 but add nothing to the plot of this film as a whole with the plot of this films also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in this film is Inhumans star Anson Mount as Bruce Wayne / Batman and Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Brand New Day star Michael Mando as Bane. Also starring in this film is Orange Is The New Black star Pablo Schreiber as Jean-Paul Valley / Azrael ,  Jack Giffin as Tim Drake / Robin , Bruce Boxleitner as Commissioner Gordon , Late Night With The Devil star David Dastmalchian as Edward Nygma / The Riddler and James Bond Jr. star Simon Templeman as Alfred Pennyworth.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. The fact that this films acting is as good as it is in the first place really isn't all that shocking due to the fact that the film does have alot of really good actors in it and granted all of these actors that well known with perhaps the most well know at the very least to main stream audiences being David Dastmalchian and that's really it but even so if you've seen these actors in anything then you'll know how good tat they can be and all of them really do bring it in this film. With the best actor in this film being Michael Mando as Bane as he does get more of a chance to show off just good he is at being evil more so then what he does in any of the Spider-Man films that he's in and he really does nail it as this character so much so that you actively look forward to seeing him on screen as as an actor he is just a force of nature as this character so much so that I really would be happy if he became the official voice actor for this character as he is just so good to watch in this film with him having this natural nact for being evil that really does shine through in his performance in this film. With the acting that's in this very film really being helped by the fact that this films script is just so good that all this films actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will com out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality f the acting that's in this very film.

Doing the animation for this film is the legend and the really greats that really are currently over at Studio Mir. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. To be frank it was both shocking and at the same time not all that shocking to find out that we have some really good animation in this film as direct to DVD DC animated films do typically have some really good looking animation in them but it was still shocking as alot of the more recent films had animation that whilst it was still really good was also quite lackluster and to be frank uninspired. Yet here with this film you can tell that there was a lot of genuine thought and effort put into this films animation with the animation at times looking like the comic books brought to life only with there own unique touch with the thing that helps to make the animation in this film be as good as it is being the fact the characters d have these really cool looking designs to them with Batman looking like how he did in the nineties only now he's got a cape that at times has spikes that look like bats and while he does look a bit to muscular that was also true for the comic books as well with it being made clear as day that the makers of this film are taking inspiration for the comic books, with the thing that does let the films animation down being the fact that the characters do have a lot of shadows on them which is something that does always look off putting as it takes your eye away from where it should be that being the film as now your looking at something that's hideous to look at.

This film is based on the thirst part of the Knightfall arc with the entire arc being published between April 1993 and August 1994. With the arc itself being one of the more famous comic book arc that Batman has been in due to the fact that in part one of that arc we do see Batman getting his back broken by Bane something which we had never seen before then and might not have seen since then as that moment is so iconic that there is no way to do it again without drawing comparisons to how it was done in this comic book arc with it even forcing Batman to grow as a character as now he has to learn to trust someone else something which due to the fact that he had just lost Jason Todd he wasn't able to do due to the fact that he was scared of loosing not just another Robin but another friend. While it is hard to say if this film is a good representation of the first part of the Knightfall arc what can be said is that just by going off of a very qu9ick read from the books Wikipedia page it does seem as if this film is just covering up until the part where Batman does get his back broken as there are more things that does happen in the first book that isn't in this film which is quite fair enough as these films don't typically last all that long but if your going to be doing three films in the first place and have all three films adapt each of three parts of the arc then why not adapt all of it as you have more then enough room to do so and it's something that the die hard comic book fans would love to see as the whole point of doing films based on these comic books is to give us the same stories but done in animation. Granted alot of what happens in the rest of book 1 might not have work in a film format which is a fair case to make but then why not just find away around that and only adapt the parts from book 1 that would work in a film format.

This film does carry on the trend of them adapting the comic book as multi-part films which in all fairness is a really good way of giving the comics in a new format. However this film does end suffering thanks to that approach as for a long portion of the films running time there is nothing of interest happening as all we are seeing is Batman work himself into the ground as he spends two nights without sleep chasing every single criminal that escaped from Arkham which is fine for a scene or two as that gets across the state of mind that Batman is in right now but the film barely does anything with it and while the film doesn't really set up all that much for the other two films it doesn't also pay off anything that it sets up in this film either. This is kind of double edges sword when it comes to doing films in more then one part as of course you want to give your audience a reason to come back and watch part 2 but you also want to make part 1 feel as close to a complete film as it possibly could be and in some ways this film does that as you do get the iconic moment in this film that will force Batman to change as a character but due to the fact that we only see Batman acting out twice in the film and don't really get any hints of him loosing his edge at any other point in the film only when it's for other characters to call it out which does make the idea of Batman starting to loose it feel wasted as of course with the comic book they can and did do more of that by showing Batman getting weaker and weaker with every passing issue this is of course something that you really can't do with a film this is despite the fact that the idea of Batman going nights without rest without sleeping and without food and water is a good idea and it is a good way to show us that much like with GCPD in this film Batman is spreading himself far to thin and does need to take a step back.

This films main villain is of course Bane with the character looking like he just stepped right out of the comic books. Heck even how the character is presented in this film is so good as unlike in Batman & Robin this version of the character is always the smartest person in a room full of villains with him having this inner strength and desire to survive something that was tought to him by his mother and it is something that we see him use in the film as he refuses to let his captures from when he was a kid get the better of them and stays alive for years just to spite them and when he gets injected with the venom he lasts longer then anyone else that has taken it and with this ne found power he goes nuts killing everyone. The character is also quite smart as without first meeting either Bruce Wayne or Batman he deduces that the two of them are one in the same and because of that he is able to draw out Batman and his allies alot more easily with him letting Batman weaken himself for Bane which is such a smart move and it is something that does make this character be one of the more easier characters to adapt for a film or whatever as this is a character that you can use as this unstoppable force of nature and yet there's only been ne film live action film thus far that has gotten this part right about the character that being The Dark Knight Rises, with the villains plan in this film being to fix Gotham by removing all of the things that he deems to be wrong with it and given the fact that Batman doesn't kill anyone he's deemed as being one of the things that's wrong with Gotham as according to Bane he's allowed it to get into the state that it's in with this being plan that whilst yes it is a simple plan but it's also one thats affective due to how simple it is.

Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and eighteen minuets and thirty seven seconds. This was kind of running time that to be frank I wasn't expecting this film to have as alot of the direct to DVD DC animated films usually run for around about one hour and ten minuets and this film is almost ten minuets longer then that and it really didn't need to be as you very easily could have cut down ALOT of the pointless Bane origin story at the tart of the film to just it's bare essentials as we didn't need to see his mother giving birth to him and then showing her being put in jail as that's just pointless filler that would have been better of being left out of the film with the film having more then enough plot thee to really cover that amount of running time. The film really doesn't use it's running time all that wisely due to the fact that the film really doesn't take the time to fully develop what little plot that it ha this is something that this film really should have done or layed the groundworks for the other two films to do and yet this film does neither one and therefor should the other films develop the plot it would feel out of place as the groundwork hadn't been layed this is something that could easily have been done just by cutting down on the pointless flashback origin for Bane and using the time freed up from that to add things to the films plot with it being made clear as day that the makers of this film put alot more thought and effort into showing us Bane's full origin story then they did into giving the plot some actual plot development. The same thing is also kind of true for the films character development as while it is understandable as to why the characters in this film don't et any character development and they do lay the groundworks for Batman to get the same character development that he always gets it would have been really nice to see one of the smaller known characters get some character development in this film with the makers of this film instead putting more thought and effort into showing us alot villain cameos then they di into giving its characters some character development but I really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho.

So now then as this is an action film that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. With there being alot of good looking action scenes in this film all of which are helped by the fact that the animation in this film does help to sell you on the action as the animation makes all of the kicks and punches land harder and it makes all of the action cool to watch with the film giving us alot of cool moments with really all of the heroes and villains in this film with them all getting a time to shine which was a nice touch. With the best action scene in the whole entire film being of course the fight between Batman and Bane at the end of the film as we get to see a weakened Batman who has several injuries at this point in the film struggle to even land a decent hit on Bane with Bane just beating the heck out of him and destroying huge parts of Wayne Manor with Bane even destroying a huge part of the Batcave and while that moment would have been better save for part 2 it was still effective in this film as it does lead to the most iconic moment in recent Batman history as Bane taunts a near death Batman and lifts him up into the back his back over his knee with that whole action serving to show us the audience just how strong that this version of Bane is and how easily he could and in this case does break Batman with the rest of the films action being just as good as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Overall whilst this film really is the first American direct to DVD DC animated film since Watchmen Chapters 1 and 2 this film does show that when it comes down to it DC really does still know how to make a really good animated direct to DVD film as while this film isn't as good as other solo Batman films it's also alot more better then what it really had any right to be in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 7 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in his very review from Amazon . Co . Uk , IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very post being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay Film Review

While DC is mainly known for producing animated shows and movies for at best teenagers they sometimes venture into doing adult animated movies and shows. With a good example of this being the film that i'm going to be talking to you all about today as while Task Force X haven't had the best of runs when it comes to live action when it comes to there animated output and in the case of Suicide Squad: Isekai there anime out put they are usually done alot more better and I wanted to give you guys a good example of this film with the film that i'm going to be talking to you all about today so then join me as I review the film that really should have been what the 2016 Suicide Squad movie should have been with the film in question being called simply just "Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay" enjoy.

The plot of this film is Task Force X is tasked with finding a card that grants it's holder the ability to get out of hell the only issue being alot of other people including both Zoom and Vandal Savage also want the card for their devious ends. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. With this films plot being the perfect plot for these characters to be in as at it's heart this films plot is a road trip movie only it's a road trip movie where all of the characters are villains and could turn on each other at any moment with that being the thing that does drive the plot of this film forward and it's something that does work in this film as these are characters that would turn on each other the first chance that they get and while the plot of this film is one that could be considered very weak due to the fact that the film doesn't really focus on it's plot all that much which is something that would be fair case to make you could also make that claim about several other better DC animated movies as well with the thing that sets this films plot apart from all of the other direct to DVD DC animated movies being the fact that it's plot is one that is a really fun plot with the plot really having as much fun as it could possibly don given the fact that all of the characters in this film are characters that you would normally hate with the plot of this film also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in this film is Christian Slater as Floyd Lawton / Deadshot and Vanessa Williams as Amanda Waller. Also starring in this film is Billy Brown as Ben Turner / Bronze Tiger , Liam McIntyre as George Harkness / Captain Boomerang , Tara Strong as Harleen Quinzel / Harley Quinn , Kristin Bauer Van Straten as Crystal Frost / Killer Frost , Gideon Emery as Sameer Park / Copperhead , C. Thomas Howell as Eobard Thawne / Professor Zoom / Reverse-Flash , Jim Pirri as Vandal Savage and Werner Zytle / Count Vertigo , Dania Ramirez as Scandal Savage , Dave Fennoy as Blockbuster ,  Tobias Whale , Black Manta and A Police Officer , Greg Grunberg as Steel Maxum / Doctor Fate , Dave Boat as Harvey Dent / Two-Face and Punk 2 , Trevor Devall as Punch and Punk 1 , Cissy Jones as Knockout and Female Announcer , Julie Nathanson as Siobhan Smythe / Silver Banshee and Jewelee , James Urbaniak as Lazlo Valentin / Professor Pyg , Natalie Lander as Dharma and Matthew Mercer as A Savage Gunman , A Argus Scientist and A Belle Reve Doctor.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. The fact that this films acting is as good as it is isn't really something that's shouldn't be all that surprising as the film does have a alot of really good voice actors in this film and heck even Tara Strong had been playing Harley Quinn for quite literally years at this point in time with her being the official voice actor for the character and yet at the same time given the fact alot of this films actors are either not really that well known or have very spotty records at best when it comes to there acting it was still surprising to see alot of really good performances in this film with even the likes of Christian Slater who wouldn't be in anyone's top ten to play the role of Deadshot is pretty decent as the character. With the best actor in the whole entire film being Billy Brown as Ben Turner / Bronze Tiger as while alot of the films other actors can be these goofy characters and have these more goofy moments he has to play every straight and it is something that does work as it does allow him to turn in a really good performance due to the fact that his character is one of the most serious characters in the team with that being something that does shine through in his performance with the acting that's in this film really being helped but the fact that this films script is just so good that all this films actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them actually which is something that really does harm the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film. 

Doing the animation for this film is the legends and the really greats that are currently over at DR Movie. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad. With the films animation not being up the standard that DR Movie had when they were doing say for example the animated Hellboy movies or the Guardians Of The Galaxy TV show as here everything from an animation point of view did look a little flat with all of the colors in thew day time shots being really blown out and over exaggerated alot of the time this is despite the fact that the characters do have some really nice fluid movements to them that help the action in this film really feel more alive. Yet at the same time tho the film does make great of CGI animation as well with the only thing that's really done in this format being the teams camper van which is understandable as it would be hard to do that in any other form of animation with it being something that is blended in really well as you can't really tell that's CGI animated alot of the time and when the film does want to have good quality animation like for example on the films gore then it is something that does stand out and it's something that makes you wonder why the rest of the film doesn't look that good and yet the few frames of gore that we get in every single action scene looks as surely the makers of this film would want it to be the other around.

As was said near the start of this review this film is everything that that 2016 film should have been as that film so desperate to be DC's answer to Guardians Of The Galaxy that it forgot to be a movie about Task Force X. With that film straight up making all of the characters that are bad guys into good people when that's not who these people are with the only one who you could argue is a good person being Harley Quinn and that's really it with things not really being helped by the fact that the plot of that film was just s bad as it didn't feel like a Suicide Squad plot rather it felt like a generic superhero plot thankfully these are things that both this film and it's sequel The Suicide Squad went out of there to fix as this film does feel like the kind of the film that you want to see this group in with the characters being how you would want them to be as they do spend alot of the time trying to backstab and double cross each other. As there bad guys it's what they do and yet in the 2016 film there's none of that with them spending alot of that film acting as friends to each other which would be fine if they were heroes as then it's kind of expected for them to act that way around other heroes but these are meant to be villains so there not going to spend alot of the time working as a team there rather going to be spending alot of the tike looking out for number one and while yes this film does have moments where they are working as team but it's only when they have no other choice but to work together or when there fighting a literal immortal person that they then work together as then it would make sense for them to do something like that.

This film is something that alot of the films that have Task Force X as the main characters should be and that's fun. With the character cracking alot of jokes all of which feel very true to there characters and yet few of them are actually funny when given that this film is essentially an action comedy not in the vain of Batman And Harley Quinn was for example where that film was an actin comedy but it was enough to make you wonder why the makers of this film didn't make this a full blown action comedy as they could have gotten some good mileage out of the more straight laced Bronze Tiger dealing with the more wacky and looney Copperhead for example as the two of them could have made for a great comedic duo and while we know that Harley Quinn can be funny due to her appearances in Batman: The Animated Series it would have been interesting to see her try and bounce of someone like Killer Frost as we've already seen try and fail to bounce off Deadshot in the 2016 and yet it felt like the makers of this film only went half way with the main idea of making this film a road trip movie. With that main idea feeling underbaked and wasted as there is room for a lot of jokes there and while the film does milk the jokes it could make when the characters an adult club with Harley Quinn going nuts at every male that she sees so much so that Killer Frost quite literally has to cool her down which is a funny idea and is a good idea of just how well that those characters could work in a more comedic film and while the fact that this film isn't as comedic as it should have been doesn't stop the film from being any less it is something that does hold the film from being as completely nuts and balls to the wall as these characters really should be.

While the film does explain why Zoom wants to get this card as he wants it to prevent his death in another timeline from happening. The film never really explains why both Vandal Savage and Amanda Waller want it with the film only hinting that Vandal wants it as a way to keep himself alive they never really say why Amanda wants it as outside of one scene at the start of the film where we see her getting some kind of treatment we get nothing from her which makes it odd that she would force Task Force X onto going on this mission as she gains nothing from it either way whereas if the film explained that she wanted this card because of the fact that she was dying and was fearful of what will happen to her then it would make sense for her to get the team to get the card for her as that is something that she would do. With this film involving three teams all trying to get this card it then makes that whole idea start to fall in on itself when one of three leaders doesn't have a motive that's explained to us in the film and while both Zoom and Savage basically have the same motive for wanting to get this card with the film even hinting that something is wrong with Zoom due to the fact that he's not moving as fast as Deadshot knows that he can which is a really good way to tell us that the character is dying without actually telling us that he's dying and heck it could even be argued that he's the most thought out villain in the film as we get several scenes with him all of which show us just how far he's willing to go to get this card and yet with Savage he doesn't really play that big of a role in the film until the films third act which does make it a bit to late for him to make any real impact on the film as a whole whereas Zoom is in the film from the very beginning.

Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and twenty six minuets and three seconds. Which is pretty much the bogstanderd running time for these direct to DVD DC animated films and to be fair to this film this film really does have the right amount of plot there to cover that amount of running time in the first place and yet even with this in mind this film really doesn't use it's running time all that wisely as the film really doesn't take the time to fully develop its plot as the films plot as good as it is is one that does feel like it's quite underbaked almost as if the film had spend a bit more longer on its running time rather hitting home the fact that it's an adult animated comic book film then it would have been a much more better film that would have been able to be one of the more better recently released direct to DVD DC animated. With the same thing also being true for the films characters as well as none of them get any kind of character development whatsoever as while the films characters do act like how you expect them to act like from the comic books we don't get to find anything about this films characters as we the audience know as much about all of this films characters coming out of the film then we do coming into the film whereas if the film did spend some time of developing both it's plot and characters not always in major ways but in smaller ways as well then the film could have ended up being alot more better then what it already is as the idea alone is more the enough to make the film it just needed to be more thought and developed and that's it but I really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho. 

So now then as this is an action film that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad. With this being where the 2016 film actually tops this film as the action in that film is alot more better then the actin in this film even tho you can barely see the action in that film what little you can see tho is more then enough to make you know that the action in that film is the best of the film. With the things that makes the action in this film really good being the fact that the animation really does come alive in those scenes with each hit and kick leaping of the screen with us even getting some unique looking location at least for Task Force X films with the the best action scene in the whole entire film being the films third act fight as we get to see Task Force X take on Vandal Savage and his guards plus Zoom and all of his followers as well in an epic three way fight with all of the members of the team getting to showcase just what it is that they bring to the team and while the films main character is Deadshot with him getting alot of the cool moments during the action scenes that doesn't stop any of the films other characters from having moments that are for  lack of a better word cool to watch. The film even gives us a decent amount of gore in all of it's action scenes with us outright seeing the characters really getting there heads blown of and blood go everywhere which is a small thing but it is something that really does make the action in this film feel alot more real with all of this films action being as good as it could have possibly been in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. 

Overall while it's debatable on if this is the best Suicide Squad film one this is for sure tho and that's the fact that this film is the best animate Suicide Squad project as it does get the team down perfectly whilst also being a fun fill film that more then holds almost ten years later in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are this film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 7.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from IMP Awards . Com and Google images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very film that I used in this very post being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very film with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Batman And Harley Quinn Film Review

When we think of Batman we usually think of a character that's super serious and that isn't that much of a goofy character. Yet every so often we would get an animated film that really does remind us of just how really goofy that this character could be alot of the time with the film that i'm going to be talking to you all about today being one such a film and so then join me I review the film that sees the dark knight team up with Harley Quinn with the film in question being called simply just "Batman And Harley Quinn" enjoy.

The plot of this film is when Poison Ivy and Floronic Man embark on a scheme to change the entire human race into plants and so it's up Batman, Nightwing and Harley Quinn and track her down and stop them before it's far to late. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad as the films plot is goofy enough that it does somehow work and yet at the time it's also serious enough that we the audience to end up kind of buying into this films plot as out there as it does seem but in saying that tho this film plot does feel like it's a little bit on the weak side as while the film does give it's plot alot of screen time it doesn't spend alot of time in fully developing it's plot as alot of it is just spent with Batman , Nightwing and Harley going from one location to the next while getting into various scrapes which is fine for a scene or two but when that's the vast majority of the film with very little of those scenes actually adding anything to the plot of the film it does make you wonder why the makers of this film put those scenes in the film as they very easily could have filled the screen time just by developing the plot of the film which in turn would make this films plot feel all the more stronger then what it already is since as things stand this films plot feels more like the plot to bad episode of either the Harley Quinn animated show or Batman: The Animated Series with the plot of this film being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in this film is Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne / Batman and Melissa Rauch as Dr. Harleen Quinzel / Harley Quinn. Also starring in this film is Loren Lester as Dick Grayson / Nightwing , Paget Brewster as Pamela Isley / Poison Ivy , Kevin Michael Richardson as Jason Woodrue / Floronic Man , John DiMaggio as Sarge Steel , Alec Holland / Swamp Thing , Eric Bauza as Wesley , Robin Atkin Downes as Charles "Rhino" Daly , Trevor Devall as Bobby Liebowitz , Rob Paulsen as Dr. Harold Goldblum , Min and Max and Anderson , Mindy Sterling as A Project Supervisor and this film co-writer and producer Bruce Timm as Michael J. Carter / Booster Gold.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. With all of this films actors turning in some really good performances which is something that does make alot of sense as alot of them have been playing their respective characters for quite literally decades at this point so much so that they are the voice of these characters for alot of people myself included and so it really does make alot of sense that they would nail their characters perfectly as they would know what kind of performance would best suit there respective characters and while she does turn in a good performance is Harley Quinn it's hard not to hear her character from The Big Bang Theory every single time that Melissa Rauch as even tho she puts on a voice for The Big Bang Theory it still does sound fairly similar to the voice that she uses for Harley Quinn in this film only more lower down and less high pitched with the best actor in the whole entire film of course being Kevin Conroy as the man just simply IS Batman with him proving in this film that he can play the character not only seriously like he did in Batman: The Animated Series but also play him so seriously that you do manage to get a few laughs out of him in the process and yet it oddly doesn't feel out of character either as he's still just that good as the character and while Loren Lester does very easily step back into the role of Dick Grayson Kevin is just pitch perfect as Batman with the acting that's in this very film really being helped by he fact that this films script is just so good that all this films actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film. 

Doing the animation for this film is the legends and the really greats that are currently over at DR Movie. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty i inn all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good which is not really all that surprising as DR Movie do usually do some pretty solid work and are usually pretty reliable the issue is tho is that there trying replicate the style of Batman: The Animated Series and that's just something that doesn't work this film as while they are a solid animation company and are a good choice to animate this film there usually better when there not just straight up copying somebody else's style but there zippy and zany animation does at times help to make the film alot more funnier then what it really had any right to be with the films backgrounds looking oddly simplistic for a direct to DVD movie so much so that you'd be forgiven for thinking that they were backgrounds from episodes of Batman: The Animated Series but there this films animation really does truly begin to shine is in the films action as the animation really does help to make the actin that's in this film really come alive and make it look like that each punch does hurt with this main being done through the characters facial expressions all of which do feel really on point in this film when by all rights the characters facial expressions could have been left unaltered and the animation would work just as well with even the animation team finding ways to have Batman show emotion through the use of his eyes in his mask which again worked really well to sell both the films comedy and the films action as well.

For some reason both this film and The Killing Joke both came out when Bruce Timm was trying to prove that Batman can be for adults as well as little kids. The issue is tho is that he already proved that back in the nineties with Batman: The Animated Series and where as that show told mature stories that had these very mature themes running through them and both The Killing Joke and this film the only things that was mature about them is the fact that characters hooked up with each other and that that they swore like sailors and that's it which is the more childish way to tell a mature as by all rights this film should have been a more adult tale telling the story of how hard it is for a criminal like Harley Quinn to even find work with her trying to go straight with there being one or two jokes thrown in there but the film instead chose to go the opposite way and instead have it so that Harley has already found a job which yes granted she's not that happy with as it is below her interms of her intelligence but there's nothing mature being said in this film as even Poison Ivy's scheme of trying to turn the human race into plants isn't saying anything mature as it instead feels like a scheme that she would come up with in a show that's aimed at kids whereas alot of scheme in Batman: The Animated Series had these more mature themes to them and while the only thing that was holding back The Killing Joke from being an actual mature take on Batman was THAT gross scene with Batgirl and Batman it was otherwise a really mature story where as here it felt like that the makers of the film forgot how to tell a mature story and instead just made a more mature kids film bottom line if you want a more mature Batman story watch the episode of Batman: The Animated Series called Heart Of Ice as that one twenty two minuet episode is more mature then this whole movie is.

This films co-writer Jim Krieg himself has said that he considers this film to be the strange red haired nephew to Batman: The Animated series. Which doesn't really make sense as not only do that show and this movie share the same two leading actors but the designs of all the characters are very similar to how they were in The New Batman Adventures as well with the only thing that separates that show from this film being the fact that the show was made for kids and that's really it with this film basically serving as the next episode of that show but at the same time tho this could also be because of the fact that the film was just using Bruce Timm's own art style and the fact that the show and this movie shared very similar looking character designs was just coincidental but if that is the case that Harley's fourth wall break when she mentions Nightwings mullet now makes no sense however this was to just be a nostalgia grab for the people that grew up watching that show then fair enough but at least have the courage to set it in the same continuity as it would have been more fun to see more of the world that we knew and loved thank to Batman: The Animated Series but thanks to the makers of this films own comments it does mean that this film both is and is not apart of that main series continuity which given that they have Harley dress up in her classic outfit throughout the whole film should be more then enough to make this part of the main series continuity however it does seem like Bruce Timm is ashamed of Batman: The Animated Series as he refuses to do anything related to Batman in that world despite the fact that there tons of stories in a feature film that could be told in that world.

While he is meant to be a main character in this film Floronic Man actually doesn't actually do all that much in the film. With him instead being more of a bodyguard to Poison Ivy and heck it's even hinted at that it's she that came up with there plan in this film with her being more a driving force when it comes to getting there plan down with Floronic Man only really doing something that's relevant to the plot when Harley in the most Harley way possible manages to convince Ivy not to go through with it as it could possibly mean that all of the human race could die if things are off by even a fraction but for alot of the time it's Ivy that's doing alot of the heavy lifting and for a plan that's this average really doesn't do her character any kind of favors as this films plan just feels like a waste of both characters as the plan really does hinge on Ivy acting out of the character as while she would want plants to rule the world she wouldn't want it at the expense of the human race as she would want herself to remain alive with Jason Woodrue coming more across as the typical high school bully type of character which fair enough does work well enough for his character but given that the two characters hated each other in Batman & Robin it does feel weird seeing them team up in this film and while there plan does work well with each others character it still doesn't change the fact that the plan as goofy as it is does work oddly well enough for this film as it is a goofy plan but it's also one that could have been alot more better then what it is in this film which to be fair having a more a goofy plan does work for this more goofy film but it would have worked even more f there scheme was a bit more well thought out.

Now then his films has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and fourteen minuets and thirteen seconds. Which to be fair to this film is pretty much the exact running time that you'd expect this kind of film to have with this film even having the right amount of plot there cover that amount of running time however tho this film really doesn't use it's running time all that wisely tho as the plot of this film isn't that well developed and the plot moves at a really fast pace as well with the only thing that could gave helped this films plot out quite alot was if the fact that the film actually took the time that it really did need to fully develop it's plot instead of having things happen in the film that don't really effect the plot of the film as then the films plot would be allowed to be developed more and have alot more thought and effort put into it as well with this even effecting the films characters as well as none of them are given that much time to get across what there personality is meant to be apart from oddly enough Harley Quinn who comes across as bein the best written character in the film where as characters like Nightwing for example doesn't really get anything this is despite the fact that the character did appear in The New Batman Adventures and while it's understand as to why Batman didn't get all that much either as he's the most well known character in this film at the same time tho it still would have been nice if the film did showcase just what it is that made him a great character in the first place but for whatever reason the makers of this film thought that having more comedy was better then having actual character development but I really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho. 

So now then as this is an action film that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. With alot of this films action being alot more better then what you'd expect from a film that's abasically an action comedy where the film puts alot more focus on it's comedy aspect then it does it's action aspect but even so this films action is more better then what it should have been as by all rights this films action should have been really bad but for whatever reason the action in this film came out alot more better then what it should have been with the films best action being when Batman , Nightwing and Harley Quinn first attack Floronic Man and Poison Ivy as we get to see just what it is that all three heroes bring to the team and how they all act together in a fight which is something that will always be a cool thing to see but the film does also have another really good action scene as well with that being the fight between Harley and Nightwing as we get to see just how smart Harley is when it comes to being in a fight with her using her environment to her advantage which is something that does make her a more smarter character then what people really do give her credit for with this film having alot of really fun filled action scenes all of which really do come alive thanks to this films animation with this film being a perfect example of the animation actually helping the action come across as being alot more better then what it really should have been in it in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. 

Overall this film is not alot of people seem to loo back on really fondly and for good reason as the film does gave alot of bad things in it but in saying that tho this film does have just as many good things working for it as well all of which do make this film a really fun film to watch in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 6 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from the official DC Movies fandom wiki page , the official Batman: The Animated Series fandom wiki page and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very film that I used in this very review being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very film with alot of them being better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Batman: Gotham Knight Film Review

When you think of The Dark Knight trilogy you usually think of it as just being Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. Yet the one film that not alot of people know about is the very film that i'm going to be reviewing for you all today as there is a fourth film in The Dark Knight trilogy with this film being set inbetween the events of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight and so then join me as I review the film that is Batman's first ever anime film with the film in question being called simply just "Batman: Gotham Knight" enjoy.

The plots of this film is in "Have I Got A Story For You" four kids each tell a story of how they met Batman whilst in "Crossfire" Crispus Allen must overcome his prejudices towards Batman when his partners life is threatened in "Field Test" Bruce Wayne tests out a powerful new gadget that works a little two well while in "In Darkness Dwells" Batman searches for the missing Cardinal O'Fallon when he is taken in the middle of a public speech he was giving in "Working Through Pain" Bruce Wayne flashes back to an earlier point in time where he learns to control any form of psychical pain and in "Deadshot" when The Mayor is assassinated it's up to Batman to find out who killed before it's far two late. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plots that are actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plots that are actually actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad with some plots being alot more better then others which is something that was always going to be case given the fact that this is an anthology film with there only being a few plot strands that carry over from each short film with the best plot going to "Deadshot" just because of the fact that it was something that saw Bruce try to deal with the pain of loosing his parents which was interesting to say the least with the plots in this film also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in this film is Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne / Batman and Jason Marsden as A Cop , A Doctor , Youth 2 and Thomas Wayne. Also starring in this film is Scott Menville as B-Devil and A Cop , George Newbern as Jacob Feely / Man in Black , Guido , A Man and Youth 3 , Corey Padnos as Porkchop , Crystal Scales as Meesh , Alanna Ubach as Dander , Hynden Walch as A Woman , Young Cassandra , Female Campaign Worker and Young Bruce Wayne , Jim Meskimen as James Gordon and Floyd Lawton / Deadshot , Ana Ortiz as Anna Ramirez , Corey Burton as Yuri Dimitrov , Ronald Marshall and Dr. Jonathan Crane / The Scarecrow , Gary Dourdan as Crispus Allen , Jason Marsden as Doctor , Pat Musick as News Anchor , Rob Paulsen as Sal Maroni , Mole Man and Youth 4 , Andrea Romano as The Police Dispatcher and Martha Wayne , Will Friedle as Anton , A Cultist and Youth 1 , Kevin Michael Richardson as Lucius Fox ,  Avery , A Wounded Man and Bulky Man , Brian George as O'Fallon , Arman and A Scruffy Man , Parminder Nagra as Cassandra and David McCallum as Alfred Pennyworth.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad. Which given just who is starring in this film and the fact that alot of this films actors are not only voice acting legends in there own but in the case of Kevin Conroy is well known for playing Batman that he could play the character in his sleep if he really wanted to with alot of this films other actors also having major roles in other Dc Animated projects and while this might sound like a cliche thing to say at this point in time but the actor in this whole film is quite easily Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne / Batman as the man just simply is Batman so much so that he is who many people hear when they read the Batman comic books and it's who they think of when they think of Batman as he's just that good and while his young Bruce Wayne voice does sound a little bit weird just because of the fact that it doesn't sound as youthful as the character design makes him look the performance on the whole is really good with the same thing also being true for alot of this films actors as well as they all turn in some really good performance in this film with the acting that's in this very film really being helped by the fact that the scripts for this film are just so good that all this films actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.

Doing the animation for this film is Studio 4°C , the legends and the greats that are currently over at Production I.G , Bee Train and Madhouse. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad with this films animation really being a whole lot more better then what it really had any right to be as by all rights the animation to standalone Batman anthology film that is basically a tie in for The Dark Knight really should have that good animation to it and yet for the most part this film has a exactly that with all of the films shorts having some really well done animation with the only real issue when it comes to the animation being the fact that during the two Madhouse produced segments all of the characters have alot of shadows on them which is very distracting and seems to be there style as they did the exact same thing in one of the Marvel anime films that they worked on and it didn't work then and it doesn't work now and while the Production I.G segment "Crossfire" does look really good it's not there best work not that it's bad because it's not it's just that they've done better animation in other films but when they get it right in this film they really do get it right as the action scene in that segment really does come alive thanks to the animation with the animation in this film as a whole having alot of detail in the backgrounds that anime is known for so much so that it feels like that you can read any of the signs that are in the backgrounds of this film as that's just how detailed this films backgrounds are alot of the time.

As was mentioned at the very start of this review this film is set inbetween the events of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. With this film openly referencing the events of Batman Begins in the segments "Crossfire" and "In Darkness Dwells" the latter of which was actually written by the co-writer of the entire Dark Knight trilogy David S. Goyer but even so this film doesn't really tie into The Dark Knight as nothing that this film does or that happens in this film is mentioned at all in The Dark Knight it would there for be truly understandable if alot of people just straight up didn't know that this film is meant to be in the same world as the Christopher Nolan films and heck none of the designs for Batman match up with how the character looks in those films with the closest one being in "Field Test" which even then isn't exactly how the Batsuit looked in either Batman Begins or The Dark Knight for that matter but this film does carry the same realistic approach to the characters and to the world of Batman and the same tone of those films only now it's done in animation and that's really it and yet given the fact that one of the shorts was written by the co-writer of the Christopher Nolan Batman movies you'd think that he at the very least would make sure that the film connects to The Dark Knight and have more then just a reference to the finale in Batman Begins but nope and heck even having a character from those films come in would have been more then enough to tie the films together but we don't even get that which then makes this film feel like the black sheep of the family when compared to the rest of the Christopher Nolan Batman films.

Out of all six segments here in this film the best one overall is quite easily the last one "Deadshot" as it not only gives you a good villain in Deadshot but it also sees Bruce Wayne trying to come to terms with the death of his parents. Which is always going to make for a good segment as it does allow to do a deep character study on the character the issue is tho is that this film doesn't do that at all not only during that short film but in any of the others either which would be fine if they did that in the main live action films but they don't do it there either which is odd as that is something that does lead to some really good scenes when it's done well if you want proof of that watch Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm as that film has a scene where Bruce breaks down at his parents grave telling them that he might be able to continue to do his promise for them because he's happy and that is something that this film could have done as well as that Batman in these Christopher Nolan films really hasn't had the time to take stock and look at what it is that's making him happy and that is something that this film could have die either in "Deadshot" or "Working Through Pain" either on of those shorts would worked really well as they both feature flashbacks to a younger Bruce Wayne and seeing Bruce reflect on those moments could have caused him to wonder if he can continue on being Batman because he's found someone or something that does make him truly happy in the first place and yet by not doing that it makes the character of Bruce Wayne feel like a two dimensional character as he doesn't have those moments where he can reflect even if it's private on the death of his parents when that is something that a character like this one should have done in this film as this film does have two segments that would allow him to do so.

This film is made of six segments with not all of them being that good and even the film the first segment "Have I Got A Story For You" basically uses the exact same idea from an episode of Batman: the Animated Series. AS in that show there was an episode titled "Almost Got 'Im" which has a very similar set up to this films first segment where as instead of four kids each telling how they met Batman that day it's four of the dark knights foes each saying how they almost caught him and where is in the kids stories Batman's design changes depending on which kid is telling the story in "Almost Got 'Im" the design stays the exact same and that's really it which makes that whole first segment feel pointless as it's story that we've seen been played out before in a much more better piece of media and while the ending itself is also changed as instead of it being Batman tracking down this one recurring villain in "Almost Got 'Im" it's about Batman trying to find and rescue Catwoman an while the rest of the film isn't made up of stories that have been told more better in Batman: The Animated Series it is odd that the film does contain a story that was done alot more better in that show and part of that might be cause of the fact that the shows version of the story had a longer running time then what this segment had and because of that this type of story could have was told in much more better way then what it was done in this film with the rest of this film being made up of wholly original stories with one of the more unique ones being "Crossfire" as it's very rare that we get to see a Batman story told from the point of view of the police and having one of the police be distrusting of the caped crusader does make sense given that Batman has only just arrived on the scene.

Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and fifteen minuets and fifty nine seconds. Which is pretty much the exact grand total running time for alot of these direct to DVD Batman films with the film really having the right amount of stories there needed to cover that running time but at the same time this is a film that really could have been a bit more longer n certain segments as alot of the films segments just end when they feel like that there just getting going with a prime example of this being both "Crossfire" and "Working Through Pain" as both the stories just end right when there picking up steam thus making there ending feel unnatural and out of place and while the rest of the film does have the same problem for alot of it's stories it's those two segments where you really do notice it as the plot of each segment does suffer because of it were as with say "In Darkness Dwells" you can kind of forgive it for just ending because the very next segment is a direct continuation of it and yet that one just ends with none of the films plots really getting the time that they really did need to be fully developed plots and as a result of that is the fact that while alot of this films plots could have been some really interesting Batman stories in their own right none of them are given the time to do so because of the fact that they have to rush along to get to the next plot beat when lasting alot more longer would have helped this film out in the long run but I really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho.

So now then as this is a action film that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad. As alot of of this films segments do have some really good action in them with it being hard to say which one has the best action scene in it as that all depends on the segment because if your looking for a more realistic type of action scene then "Have I Got A Story To Tell You" has that but if your looking for something that's more inline with Batman Begins then "Crossfire" has that with it being that segment that does have the best action scene in the whole movie as it's just Batman fighting Deadshot on top of a moving train with what makes it good being the fact that we have to see Batman try to use his wits to outwit Deadshot as if he takes his eyes of him for a second then he could get knocked of the train or worse when is something that does add to the tension of the scene and seeing Batman just beat up Deadshot almost to the point of the death but the struggle not to deliver the killing blow does remind us of the very narrow line that the character tows as if he goes that one step to far in any action scene then he's no better then the villains that he fights with it being helped by the fact that its in that action scene where the animation for that segment looks it's best and where the characters having alot of distracting shadows on them does make sense given that there fighting in a tunnel which is something that does help to sell you on just how good the action in not only that segment but the film as a whole really is in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Overall this wasn't a bad anthology film as it was great to see this classic character be seen through the airs of various anime studios for the first time but at the same time tho whole main selling point of this film was to see how it connects to The Dark Knight and that is some where where this film fails as to be put bluntly it doesn't connect to the The Dark Knight at all which makes this film feel pointless in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad ting that are in this very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does ern itself a grand old score of exactly a 6.5 out 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and a swell as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from the official Batman fandom wiki page , IMP Awards . Com and google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very film that I used in this very review being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very film with alot of them being better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.