Batman: Gotham Knight DVD Review

Released in Blu-Ray and DVD on July 2008, Batman: Gotham Knight is a series of loosely related vignettes of the caped crusader as a prequel to the movie, The Dark Knight . The straight-to-DVD animation delves into Batman's relationship with Gotham City and each vignette shows a different aspect of the city as it relates to the need for a savior.

Although both The Dark Knight and Batman: Gotham Knight can be viewed as stand alone films, when viewed as a continuum, some answers are revealed. For example, in the movie, The Dark Knight , Bruce Wayne questions if he can continue as Batman. But in Batman: Gotham Knight , we already know the answer because the segment "Working Through Pain" shows us why Batman continues.

Additionally, Batman: Gotham Knight also introduces Officer Anna Ramirez and the full trust that her boss, James Gordon, affords her. We know that she plays a significant role in The Dark Knight . We are also introduced to mobster Sal Maroni. He is a lesser known villain from the initial years of Batman, but given a bigger role in both movies.

Although the animation for each segment is performed by different studios, when viewed as a whole, the animation is largely Japanese anime-ish. Perhaps done as a matter of style and since anime is rising in popularity, the execution could have been better.

In one segment, the fully grown adult Bruce Wayne looks dubiously very young, as he would be in his late teens. Not a major flaw, but the young look of Bruce Wayne can be disrupting. It is worth noting that the anime-style does work at times. In some scenes, the sharp, angular character images added poignantly to the darkness surrounding Gotham.

All in all, Batman Gotham Knight Blu-Ray or DVD is a collector's item that should be right next to your DVD or Blu-Ray of The Dark Knight when it comes out. One thing of note, BGK carries a PG-13 rating and shows more blood than TDK. The list of Batman Gotham Knight episodes is available on Wikipedia

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