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I'm not really a comic book fan, but I absolutely love Batman TAS. I just found out about this today (it was released late last year) and I was wondering if anyone had seen it and if it was worth taking a look at.
The voice cast looks pretty sweet. Bryan Cranston, Katee Sackhoff, Eliza Dushku, Ben McKenzie, all good.
I'm not going to judge it based on how closely it hewed to the original graphic novel, since I've never read it, but if the story is good and the animation well done, I'd like to take a look. I still wish they'd bring back TAS, it really was quite excellent.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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It's actually pretty much a shot for shot recreation of the original comics. It's a pretty darn good story and delves pretty deeply into the history of Commissioner Gordon. It was a question that always bugged me about Batman. Why would a police officer come to trust a vigilante?
I would say that as a movie the pacing is a little off putting because of how closely it follows the narrative of the comics. There are quite a few internal monologues and it isn't that heavy on the action. But the animation is pretty great and the story, while presented a little clunkily, is one of my favorites. I thought it was definitely worth the watch and bought it after having merely rented it.
ETA: Another animated Batman flick I'd recommend is Under the Red Hood. It came out a couple years ago. The voice acting was mediocre and the writing had some issues at the beginning, but the action is incredible, the animation was astounding, and the climax was one of the best endings I've seen in a Batman related movie.
Posts: 1831 | Registered: Jan 2003
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Couple of decent actors in there that I've never heard voice work from before like Jensen Ackles (who has a very distinctive voice) and Bruce Greenwood.
Disappointing to see the Joker not played by Mark Hamill.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: I'll take a look at that one too.
Couple of decent actors in there that I've never heard voice work from before like Jensen Ackles (who has a very distinctive voice) and Bruce Greenwood.
Disappointing to see the Joker not played by Mark Hamill.
There were some great performances in the movie, don't get me wrong. But some things didn't click with me. For example, I loved Neil Patrick Harris as the Music Meister in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, but he didn't do it for me as Nightwing in Year One.
Jensen Ackles was all right and so was Bruce Greenwood. I love John DiMaggio, but his Joker was just a little bit too reserved for my liking. Until the climax. The last five minutes of the movie won me over on most of the actors listed so far.
Wade Williams and Jason Isaacs did a great job in the movie though.
As for Batman: Year One, I really enjoyed Bryan Cranston's work as Gordon. Otherwise, the actors seemed to just fit the rolls. No complaints.
Posts: 1831 | Registered: Jan 2003
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Batman: Year One is fantastic, in both forms. But I would vehemently suggest the trade paper back if nothing else, I find it is more intimate between the reader and the small number of artists who tell you the story with your own mind moving through the action. Plus you can supplement any voice you want when you read the comic yourself, for instance Ed Wynn could play The Joker.
Posts: 2302 | Registered: Aug 2008
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I recall that I wasn't happy with the voice acting, but the comic and movie were both excellent.
Posts: 2705 | Registered: Sep 2006
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Under The Red Hood was just excellent work. Mark Hamill would have been the cherry on top but it was simply great animation, the story was sharp and affecting, and the action really was on a level of it's own.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Honestly, if you want some awesome Batman stuff, I'd go and watch the Justice League cartoon. All these animated movies are nice, but none of them beat that cartoon. So many good episodes.
Posts: 1324 | Registered: Feb 2011
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It's funny that so much Hamill love is being showed here right now, Kevin Smith has a new weekly podcast called Fatman on Batman where he talks to power-house names of the Batman world. The first episode was with Paul Dini (producer and head writer for Batman: TAS) and episodes two and three are with Mark Hamill telling the story that is his career and then all about The Joker and the voice acting business. It is broken up into two episodes because Hamill cannot stop talking, for over three hours Smith can't get a word in edgewise.
Kevin Smith was out-talked by Mark Hamill. On the subject of comics. It is fantastic.Posts: 2302 | Registered: Aug 2008
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