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Showing posts with label DC Universe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DC Universe. Show all posts

Monday, 21 April 2025

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.

Thursday, 5 December 2024

My SPOILER FILLED Short First Impressions Of The Creature Commandos TV Series


We are now in a new era of DC Comics as the DCEU is now officially dead and buried and with the start of this new show the DCU has just started. With James Gunn writing every single episode of this show it does give this new universe a good start and so then join me as I give you my SPOILER FILLED first impressions of the show that kick starts the DC Universe with the show in question being called simply just "Creature Commandos" enjoy.

The plot of these first two episodes is Rick Flagg Sr is charged with leading a team of monsters to stop the villain Circe from trying to take over the world. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in these first two episodes well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in these first two episodes was in all honesty not that bad altho the setup for the show is strikingly similar to The Suicide Squad which is something that really does make the shows plot really feel less creative then what it actually is as the plot of the show can be really fun when it really wants to be with the plot of these first two episodes also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.


Starring in these first two episodes is Indira Varma as The Bride Of Frankenstein and Sean Gunn as G.I. Robot and Weasel. Also starring in these furst two episodes is Alan Tudyk as Doctor Phosphorus and Tanner , Zoë Chao as Nina Mazursky , David Harbour as Eric Frankenstein , Frank Grillo as General Rick Flag, Sr. , Maria Bakalova as Princess Ilana Rostovic and Old Woman , Viola Davis as Amanda Waller , Jake Tapper as A Reporter , Julian Kostov as Alexi and A Knight   Nikolai Stoilov as Cabbie and Server , Tony Cavalero as Incel Son and Anya Chalotra as Circe.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in these first two episodes well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in these first two episodes was in all honesty really good with all of the shows characters being perfectly cast even if alot of them are just the same actors that have appeared in other James Gunn projects and are basically playing the same characters here that they've played in other James Gunn projects they are still some really good actors that are turning in some really good performances with the acting that's in these first two episodes really being helped by the fact that the script for these first two episodes is just so good that all these episodes actors really have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance really will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in these first two episodes.


Doing the animation for these first two episodes is the legends and the greats that are currently over at Bobbypills. With the animation in both of these first two episodes being the highlight of both episodes as it's just that good with both episodes having some really highly detailed backgrounds and the show as a whole having a look that's highly similar style and look to the DC animated films of the mid to late 2010s which is a look that looked really well for those films and it works here as it makes the ship stand out from all of the other animated shows that are out there with the episodes having some really good looking pieces of animation in them.

SPOILERS START HERE !!!!!!!!!!




In what was a really shocking move the show especially in its first episode makes a reference to Wonder Woman and more understandably to The Suicide Squad. With it being revelled in quite literally the opening minutes of the first episode that Circe is leading a group promising that if they help her take over this small country then she'll take them to Themyscira which they call by name with that very same episode also confirming that this show takes place just a few weeks after the events of The Suicide Squad with Rick Flagg Sr still processing the loss of his son which does confirm that at least that film and that film portrayal of certain characters are indeed canon to this new DCU which means that there is a small chance that we could see Margot Robbie come back as Harley Quinn at somepoint as well.

Without giving away two much of what happens in both if these episodes there is a certain plot point in episode two that might not work all that well. As it's something that could creep out some people if you've seen the Killing Joke movie with the second episode really going all in on the adult stuff by also showing us just how The Bride was created and how she was meant to fall in love with Frankensteins monster but ended up falling in love with Victor Frankenstein himself something that is an interesting plot point as the character of The Bride who is quite literally based off of the character of the same name has never really been given much media attention and as a result of that is the fact that it is possible that she could have fallen in love with her creator with there romance in this episode being really sweet to watch play out.


Now then episode one of this show has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly twenty two minuets and thirty three seconds whilst episode two has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly twenty two minuets and five seconds. With episode one having the better running time of the two episodes just because of the fact that that episode makes the best use of it's running time by setting up all of it's characters and the overall plot and feel of the show where as whilst the second episode of the show is really good in its own right it doesn't advance the plot of the show with the plot taking a backseat just so they can give us The Brides origin story when the two could have been tied together in someway shape or form but I really will admit that these episodes really do have some really good pacing to them tho.

So now then as this is an action show that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in these first two episodes well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in these first two episodes was in all honesty not that bad as the show does indeed show us some really impressive looking action scenes in the second the issue is tho us that it only has two action scenes and that's really it with both them just featuring at least one member of the team either fighting another member of the team of Circe one on one with there not being a balls to the wall insane action scene featuring every single member of the team but to be fair tho it's during the action scenes that the animation really dies come alive in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

SPOILERS END HERE!!!!!!!!!!


Overall these first two episodes where I really good bunch of episodes and while they don't set the DCU off with its best foot forward its far to early to tell if the DCU will be any good or not 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 these first two episodes in this very post and since this is only my first impressions I won't be giving this show a rating however if this post does decently well and if you guys want me to check out another episode then I will do it and that post would then be a review of that episode and that episode only and not a review of the show as a whole.

Now then interms of where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very post 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 post from the official DC Universe fandom wiki page , the official DC Extended Universe fandom wiki page 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 the official DC Universe fandom wiki page really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from these very episodes with alot of them being better quality then what'd think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on the official DC Universe fandom wiki page are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.


Monday, 18 May 2020

My First Impressions Of The Stargirl TV Series


Ladies and gents DC is back with a new live action TV show which depending on how your going to watch the show will either have just been released or is about to air. Well this is a show that I was honestly intrigued about since I knew nothing of the characters as such I was honestly interested in seeing the show since it's also the last new DC live action show that we might be getting this year I thought that it was at least worth taking a look at and so here are my first impressions of "Stargirl" not to be confused with the Disney+ movie of the exact same name.

The plot of the episode is teenager Courtney Whitmore and her mother move from California to Nebraska with her step dad and brother and when they get there Courtney discovers something that will change her life forever. Yeah this is your basic superhero origin story with nothing new really thrown in but I do have to say that it does work for this show mostly because from what I can tell the origin is being done over two episodes instead of just one which means we'll get more time to fully develop Courtney as a character.


Starring in this episode and thus the rest of the series is Brec Bassinger as Courtney Whitmore and Yvette Monrealas Yolanda as Montez/Wildcat. Also in this episode and the rest of the series is Anjelika Washington as Beth Chapel , Cameron Gellman as Rick Tyler , Trae Romano as Mike Dugan , Jake Austin Walker as Henry King Jr. , Hunter Sansone as Cameron Mahkent , Christopher James Baker as Dr. Henry King Sr. , Amy Smart as Barbara Whitmore , Joel McHale as Sylvester Pemberton and Luke Wilson as Pat Dugan.

In terms of what I thought about the acting in this episode for a pilot episode the acting was about on par as what I was expecting it to be. In that it's not that good but it's not that bad either all of the actors are still trying to find there characters but you honestly expect fairly average acting in a pilot anyways so no one should hold that against this episode since most pilot episodes have bad acting in them anyways.


I will say that if your expecting Courtney to be wearing the costume at the end of this episode then get ready to be disappointed. Since she doesn't wear it at all in this episode hell they don't even show her making a costume which is honestly really refreshing since it would have been super easy to have her appear in a few sexy alternative costumes before settling on the one she wears but the most we get is her wearing a hoodie and bandanna and that's it.

They do actually kind of set up a mystery which I hope lasts the whole season because if it does it will make things really interesting. If you can't tell i'm trying to keep things as spoiler free as possible since alot of people will be watching this show when it airs on The CW and so it's not fair to them if I spoil the episode , if the mystery goes they way that I think it's going then it's going to make things really interesting in later episodes of the show should it go that way of course but I could be wrong but I hope that i'm not tho.


Now how this show is being released is to me really interesting because it's airing on both the DC Universe streaming service and The CW but on different days. Why they couldn't just stick to on platform to release this show on is beyond me but I guess it gives people more reasons to subscribe to DC Universe since there's new content on there now but if that's the case then why have it air the next day on The CW and why when the series has finished airing are hey going to have all the episodes available on The CW website for all to stream it really makes no sense to me whatsoever but that's just my opinion on the matter tho.


I admit I got a little bit worried that this show would go super woke on us with it's first episode like what Batwoman did. and i'm pleased to say that that honest'y isn't the case at least with this episode. That to me is a very good thing since hitting you over the head with being woke at the expense of telling a good story is never a good thing but here it looks like there telling a good story first and and having a female superhero be second which is a good thing because it makes Courtney seem more like an interesting character.

I will say that this episode really did fly by for me this episode is nearly an hour long and it really didn't feel like it at all. Which is honestly a pretty rare thing for me to say since most shows that are exactly an hour long very often feel like there an hour long where as this one felt more like it was forty to forty five minuets long and alot of that time is spent developing the characters so we actually get a chance to care about them which is something that most shows don't do which to be fair isn't a bad thing since you have an entire series to develop them and care for them but it's nice to see the pilot episode take it's time to develop the characters.


I'm just going to come right out and say it this show looks like a freaking movie it's that stunning to look at. Hell there were several times where I thought that this could very easily be turned into a movie because it looked that beautiful even the effects which i'm not really going to comment on since there's not that many of them in this episode looked like the kind of effects that you'd expect to see in a movie and not a TV show.


Overall I honestly really did enjoy this episode and I can honestly see myself enjoying the over twelve episodes of this show. There is a reason why i've not mentioned the action sadly it's kind of a spoiler but if you've seen the episode you'll know why but let's just say for a superhero action show it's a bad thing but I will say that so far this show is of to good start it has interesting and likeable characters and it gives you a hint as to where the story could be going as such this episode even tho it's not perfect gets an 8 out of 10 from me and only time will tell if I watch this on a weekly basis or not but so far so freaking good.