Disclaimer (I am not a comic otaku, but I will try my best to do research into as much Batman related lore as I can, since Batman is by far my favorite DC character)
Batman: Gotham Knight’s not exactly what I’d call a movie perse, since it’s just 6 segments blended together into a movie length feature. This was direct to DVD I think, so my complaints on that are pointless, but at least Superman: Doomsday and such were actually movies. Not that this is a bad film by any means. It’s good in that it takes different talents and puts them together in a mixing pot to create what promises to be a new, yet classic take on Batman and his effect on Gotham City. So onto each episode in some detail.
Have I Got a Story For You (Studio 4ºC)
This one begins with kids skating in a street area, graffiti scattered around a large warehouse with pools that promise much fun. Eventually four kids gather and start talking about why three of them were late. The first tells a story that eventually involves Batman, as all three of the stories do. This version describes him as a living shadow, slinking away from attacks and striking back just as quick, which I suppose is only evidence of Batman’s great training in martial arts. To any normal person not trained, he would move very much like he was immaterial and then material in the blink of an eye. The villain throughout this animation is a guy in a nondescript black/blue suit with red goggles of sorts. Progressively he reveals new tools, like a jetpack and two especially large guns. Eventually the baddie sneaks away and Batman leaves. The next story begins the conflicting accounts of Batman, the only female in the group insisting that Batman is like a winged bat demon creature of sorts, her explanation for how Batman seems to fly through the air. This is relevant since this is where the jetpack comes into play for the villain. But Batman stops him and in the exaggerated version he takes the guy’s head off. But in reality, the villain escapes again. And our final storyteller insists that Batman’s neither of the previous descriptions, but is a robotic/mechanical soldier almost, with arms that change into various weapons and plods along at a pace that seems unlike Batman, especially if you think he wears armor that heavy. But after the failed attempt at robbing people on top of a building, Batman chases the guy down again. And as the third story finishes, the villain and Batman crash into the skate warehouse and the reality sets in. The villain throws a smoke bomb and Batman is almost stabbed in the back with a shard of broken glass, but the first kid we see skating whacks the guy with his skateboard and stops him. Batman then thanks him and disappears into the smoke mysteriously. The other three somehow didn’t see him and the story ends with the fourth kid no doubt describing the Batman as real as he is in the flesh. However vulnerable Batman was, actually bleeding a bit and not exactly perfect, he still gave off that air of something that the kid respects and we’re already to a good start with giving a varied account of Batman’s adventures. Supposedly all these episodes are connected, similar to how each kid’s story in this particular animation is linked in a sequence that ends at the place it began. There are some interrelations, but each story could stand on its own quite well, which is the greatest appeal the movie has.
Crossfire (Production I.G.)
This one begins at the police headquarters and we’re introduced to Detectives Allen and Ramirez, part of Gotham’s Major Crimes Unit, headed by Commissioner Gordon. The two are sent to take a criminal back to what is presumably Arkham Asylum, or a similar facility, that is now the entire island, which reminds me of the recent release of the game by the same name, which has Arkham Asylum located on an island as well. The criminal seems like a no name guy, but his designs are supposedly based on the earlier forms of the Batman villain Firefly. Moving on, though, we get to the conflict within this short; Allen and Ramirez arguing about whether they can trust Batman. Allen sees him as a dangerous vigilante, while Ramirez sees him as the first person to really change Gotham for the better. A large theme that progresses through the 6 episodes is a war going on between the groups headed by Maroni (Salvatore Maroni possibly) and the Russian (no relation to the Marvel character by the same name). There’s an interesting thought by Allen that Gotham and the asylum are both abandoned to madness, which is somewhat true in that the gangs do have influence everywhere still, even with Batman’s help in the fight for justice. The detectives continue to argue about Batman, Ramirez saying that Batman is what keeps her going to be a cop and the whole incident cut short as they realize they are in the middle of the gang’s turf warfare. The two sides open fire, while the detectives are caught in the crossfire (omg title drop!). The Russian eventually pulls a rocket launcher and almost kills Allen, but he’s saved by Batman, who goes down and beats the heck out of most of the bad guys. Ramirez and Maroni survive the blast, but Maroni pulls a stray gun and threatens to kill Ramirez. Batman appears before this and as he walks closer we get a nice image with the flames licking at his costume, making the Dark Knight just look more intimidating as even fire doesn’t hurt his present Batsuit. He quickly rips the gun from Maroni’s hand and knocks him out. He then notes that Gordon picks his members well, indicating that both Allen and Ramirez are people he can trust. We’ll see more of both of them as well as Gordon in later episodes. This series overall does have links you can draw, as a sequence over a period of a week or so, but it can just as well stand as a set of episodes for a TV series, since we progressively introduce the various threats to Gotham and later start dropping more familiar names, making this seem more like the recent attempt in the 2000s to resurrect the Batman animation in the form of the show simply called The Batman.
Field Test (Bee Train)
The third episode introduces us to a figure little known except to older Batman fans or recent fans of the new series starting with Batman Begins, Lucius Fox, a member of Wayne Corp that helps Bruce with various gadgets and the like. This time, he’s experimenting with a device used to guide Wayne Corp satellites, an electromagnetic gyroscope. The aftermath pulls everything metal within a few feet of the initial experiment into the central area. Fox then reveals an application of the technology that involves a sound sensor attached to it. When it hears a sound around a certain decibel level, it releases a pulse from the electromagnet that’s able to deflect bullets, though only small arms. But Bruce is interested and so he brings it with him for a test as he tries to get info from Ronald Marshall, who’s holding a gold tournament for charity. Bruce inquires about the project and how a protestor was mysteriously killed a week or so before the opening of the area where Marshall plans to open up a new shelter for the homeless; along with the golf course as well. Marshall’s response is that it was tragic, but he’s naming the shelter in her honor. How nice. In the match, Bruce activates the EMP device, sending Marshall’s club flying into the woods through slipping a remote device into his golf bag and activating it with his watch. The two millionaires speak afterwards and Bruce rejects an offer for dinner since he’s going with a half Italian half Russian date, which Marshall whistles at in astonishment (since I guess he only gets Italians or Russians by themselves). Batman then interrupts an attempt at Maroni’s keeping out of the Russian’s sight by remote controlling (again) the boat they’re on, crashing it into the Russian’s in the same area. A firefight ensues and Batman kicks butt as usual, deciding the two gangs’ turfs for them until he can decide a better system in the future. He mentions Blackgate, which I think is part of Gotham’s prisons, but is probably unrelated to Arkham Asylum, since that’s for the criminally insane, not the merely criminal such as the gangs that Batman initially fought. Batman avoids getting shot from behind thanks to the EMP armor, but the ricochet hits one of the Russian’s men. Batman takes him to the hospital and forces him to accept the help, since the wound is dangerous enough to the guy’s health. And in the conclusion, Bruce gives the device back, saying it works too well. He’s quite willing to put his own life on the line, but not at the cost of putting others in the same amount of danger he puts himself in. And Fox just accepts it quietly, ending this 3rd of 6 episodes. Until next time, Namaste and Aloha.
