Comments on: Batman: Year One

By: zeppelinrox

zeppelinrox — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:26:33 +0000

I enjoyed this edit but it could have been better.
It’s been years since I have read Batman Year One but I remember that one of the great things about it was seeing Batman make mistakes and learn from them. He wasn’t always a pro at crime fighting and it showed him growing into that role through trial and error.
This edit shows some of this but snipped a little too much of Batman/Bruce being injured. The effects of Scarecrow’s fear gas on him was cut short after Batman crashed to the pavement. It would have been good too see that he was laid up in bed for a couple of days and that he developed an antidote for the toxin. Instead, he is suddenly well and has the antidote handy shortly thereafter.

I actually like it that Ra’s was cut from the movie, even though this does indeed sacrifice coherency.
Even better, I actually like Rachel Dawes in this version. Which is surprising because I always hated her existence on the sole principle that she was made up for the movie and not a “real” Batman character. When I first saw Batman Begins at the theatre, I was like.. “Who the f*** is Rachel Dawes?”
Anyway, the whole Bruce/Rachel saga is toast and Batman is simply out to save somebody who also wants to make Gotham a better city. It could just as easily have been James Gordon that he was trying to save and it would play out the same way. The Batman/Rachel interaction is drastically better in this edit than the official movie.

Generally, I enjoyed this faster paced Batman edit but too much was cut.
Although it is 61 minutes, the last 10 are the end credits and that is way too long. So the edit is actually a mere 50 minutes of movie time.
Which is good in a way, when all you want is meat without any potatoes or gravy.

7/10

By: JCPRuckus

JCPRuckus — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:43:33 +0000

I’d like to offer a bit of a counterpoint to the first review. While admittedly, there isn’t much effort put into tying everything together in a neat little package, that’s kind of the point. We all know the batman origin story. We don’t really need all the little details. While I wouldn’t suggest anyone try this with a character that is less well known, Batman is a cultural icon. The audience is completely capable of filling in any blanks on their own. While I do think that a little more back story would be welcome, I think that as a separate work (i.e., if not in comparison to the original) that this is very successful. Now obviously, this edit would never make it as a Hollywood blockbuster, but I think it would be great as the pilot for a Batman TV series, or perhaps the first part of a mini-series (because I must admit the end doesn’t really feel like an ending).

Honestly, I only have two real complaints. First, there should be fades between each new date, to make it feel like time has passed. Second, I don’t really feel that the way the climax is resolved makes sense. How does shooting down the monorail near Wayne Towers blowup the microwave gun that would have to have been somewhere in the narrows (since that’s where the water mains started bursting)? I understand that this was done as a way to still keep the train crash while eliminating Ra’s A Ghul, but I would rather see him left in. Overall though, I give this entry 4 Stars.

By: N2x

N2x — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 20:53:38 +0000

As a series of scenes united by the pretense of being inspired by Year One, this edit has something going for it. But if you don’t have an acute memory of everything that happens in the comic, it feels as hollow as Tim Burton’s attempts. Like the other adaptations, we see no true relationship between the Batman and Bruce Wayne character. If you don’t know who either one is, this cut does not show how one could plausibly be the other, one of many elements which separated Begins from the dreck.

Perhaps the greatest misstep is the absence of a first act. What PaulisDead mistakes as “needless explanation” to be excised actually acts as the backbone to Bruce Wayne’s story. Without introducing the principal players, giving Wayne qualities with which we can identify, and showing exactly how he pursues his goals (even in the midst of his mistakes), the editor leaves us with a cardboard do-gooder fighting crime for reasons up to the audience to interpret. He gives us who and what, but not why and how.

Missing is the cause and effect dynamic that made the plot in Begins so engaging. Instead of a sounder sequence like “Bruce is attacked by bats > He develops a fear for them > Gets scared by bat-like images at the opera > Asks to leave > Man guns down his parents in the alleyway > Bruce grows up wanting revenge > Falcone snatches that opportunity from him, et al;” the editor presents us with sharp jumps starting with “Bruce gets scared of the Opera for some reason > Asks to leave > Parents gunned down > 20 years later, Surveils an assistant D.A.” The logic here makes about as much sense as, “Could you spare a dime for a cup of coffee because I like to read the newspaper?”

That Batman lacks the gravity and social impact which a vigilante crime-fighter should have is worth mention. The scope of Gotham’s urban decay and the simultaneous sense of terror and awe its citizens felt for a caped warrior watching over them was apparently “too cheesy.” But what truly leaves the viewer cold is the complete lack of catharsis. The editor chooses not to show Batman struggling to save Gotham, rather presents the hero’s final test as another day at the office. By the end, the character does not gain or learn anything. In lieu of a conclusion, the story terminates.

This edit is first and foremost a technical exercise, though. On that level it has some value. The last third sacrifices coherency (especially during the Narrows riot) in favor of satisfying the editor’s agenda, but considering the limited footage available, he manages a decent product. Those intrigued by the concept of a stricter Year One translation or a “Tim Burton approach” might option for download. However, be wary of the difference between mystery and muddle.