Monday, September 29, 2008

NMR: Double feature

Batman: Gotham Knight: If you're unfamiliar with this, it's a collection of six animated shorts that were released earlier this year. The shorts are meant to be a bridge between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Although I will say that the bridge is more thematic than plot driven. Nothing in these shorts will help you understand the plots of either film. These six shorts vary in their quality. Some are really neat stories that feature some of the lesser known Batman villains, while others are a real bore. The other irksome thing for me was the animation. It's well done, just not in a style that I particularly enjoy. If you're a true Batman fan, you'll probably enjoy this. Otherwise, you can skip this. Rating: ***

88 Minutes: I didn't want to believe the reviews. I couldn't accept that a thriller with an interesting hook starring Al Pacino could be as awful as they said. But it's all true. This is a sloppy, incomprehensible piece of film and it makes me wonder how it got greenlit in the first place. Apparently, some people did have reservations. The film was set in 2006, indicating it's been sitting on the shelf for a while. This thing just keep piling on the plot twists and you quickly just want the film to end so that they can try and explain everything, even though it's impossible. Avoid this one at all costs. Rating: *

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

As a Batman fan, I did watch the animations. I agree that there's no bridge between the films, but I honestly hadn't heard that when I watched it. I simply watched it as a stand-alone series of takes on Batman. That said, it was ok. I wasn't jazzed about it and wouldn't necessarily recommend it to anyone. That is, don't see it because you liked the films. See it because you're a fan of the comics. -- Good reviews, Adam. Keep 'em coming.