Batman: Gotham By Gaslight Animated Movie Review

[Deffinition]

I’ll preface this review by saying that on the whole, I dislike the DC Animated Movies. There are some absolute classics such as The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One and Flashpoint, however, the quality of these can often be credited with being straight adaptations of the source material. When DC play loosely with their smaller screen works such as The Killing Joke and the string of Universe Movies, I find these far inferior in quality. Naturally I was cautious when I saw the announcement of Gotham By Gaslight. Standing tall as one of my favourite Batman Graphic Novels I was disappointed to discover that the piece would take elements from the original work but massively subvert them. Upon seeing initial reviewers site their disappointment for the piece I felt like it would be another crushing blow to the declining DC animated work. However, I’m happy to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Have you seen the film yet?

What did you think?

Let me know.

Cheers

[millernumber1]

I thought the twist, while truly twisty, wasn't very satisfying (but that could be because of my personal fandom loves and hatreds). The animation seemed really low budget to me.

[Barbatos666]

Copied from the other thread

The first 2/3 of the film were awsome the final third however was bleh. It was built up to be a cool detective story for the most it but then the whole thing collapsed imo. The frameup was rushed, the reveal was forced and we never even got detective work for the reveal. Characters just stumbled on to it and then boom huge non sensical action piece and then conclusion without any resolution or aftermath. The final phase just killed it.

Solid movie overall but that's what I feel about most of these barring TKJ and the Harley film. It didn't reach the heights of TDKR and UTRH which I admit is incredibly hard but this story I thought would have done it.
Looking forward to the Superman 2 part film, meh on Suicide Squad.

[millernumber1]

The first 2/3 of the film were awsome the final third however was bleh. It was built up to be a cool detective story for the most it but then the whole thing collapsed imo. The frameup was rushed, the reveal was forced and we never even got detective work for the reveal. Characters just stumbled on to it and then boom huge non sensical action piece and then conclusion without any resolution or aftermath. The final phase just killed it.

Yeah. I think that there's a serious lack of understanding of how to write mysteries today. Even on cop shows. I think it's related the way we don't really have the Enlightenment dream of the world as comprehensible through reason and deduction. If everything is just narrative, then how you reach the end of that narrative is irrelevant - but that's very contrary to the historical reality of the detective story, and I think detrimental to the enjoyment of that genre.

[Deffinition]

Yeah, it's quite crazy that they actually went through with who they did, Im surprised DC allowed it but it definitely made for a talking point of this film. There wasn't really a mystery or suspects put forward which was a shame as they easily could have teased who it could be. The ripper just seemed like a random person to me till the reveal. Thanks for checking the video

[Rac7d*]

Copied from the other thread

The first 2/3 of the film were awsome the final third however was bleh. It was built up to be a cool detective story for the most it but then the whole thing collapsed imo. The frameup was rushed, the reveal was forced and we never even got detective work for the reveal. Characters just stumbled on to it and then boom huge non sensical action piece and then conclusion without any resolution or aftermath. The final phase just killed it.

Solid movie overall but that's what I feel about most of these barring TKJ and the Harley film. It didn't reach the heights of TDKR and UTRH which I admit is incredibly hard but this story I thought would have done it.
Looking forward to the Superman 2 part film, meh on Suicide Squad.

He tried, but then they basicly said doing any kind of criminology and analysis woulndt count in the victorian era

Then the ending, I dont know how to fix it, after he was arrested, thier are no witnesses, no cameras nothing to exonerate him the only witness to Gordon death is Selna who is compromised due to her infatuation

[millernumber1]

He tried, but then they basicly said doing any kind of criminology and analysis woulndt count in the victorian era

Then the ending, I dont know how to fix it, after he was arrested, thier are no witnesses, no cameras nothing to exonerate him the only witness to Gordon death is Selna who is compromised due to her infatuation

If they really think that, they weren't paying attention to the Sherlock Holmes stories they referenced. Holmes created clear logical links from beginning to end. It's very satisfying.

[Amadeus Arkham]

Not much interest in seeing this as I find the animation style to be a totally lackluster translation of Mignola's style.

This is what the film should've looked like if they were to faithfully recreate Mignola's style for animation.

[godisawesome]

...I actually really liked it.

Yes, the animation is limited and the art style clashes with the gothic nature of the original story.

But it's a good enough noir-steampunk story to keep me very happy with its ensemble cast. The film relies on crime thriller logic for its mystery, so yeah, there's very little material deduction to unveil the killer, but plenty of theatrical foreshadowing and a decent use of a believable red herring in a familiar Batman character to preserve the surprise, and I'm willing to role with its twist on another character's alignment. Jack's real identity's biggest issue lies with the character chosen for it if you're unwilling to accept it, since the film still keeps him on the suspect list via the knowledge required for the killer, especially as Jack starts to target Bruce and those around him more specifically.

It still emphasizes character and cleverness over the pure action of the DC N52 films; Bruce and Selina have a well developed interaction based largely off of correctly deducing each other's true nature and gauging their trustworthiness. And I love the usage of all the tropes and setting elements in reinterpreting Gotham. Victorian Era Arkham is just as worse as it should be, the social period's attitudes and flaws shine throughout, and seeing Dick, Jason, and Tim all in one movie is worth the price alone to me.

Plus, the film structurally acts as a send-up to Mask of the Phantasm, which is another plus to me.

[GamerSlyRatchet]

I was pretty okay with who they revealed as the killer, but yeah, the clues that were provided didn't really connect to any one of the characters until after the reveal is made. Fair-play mysteries are supposed to give the reader/viewer a chance to put it together before the detective does. As is, it's impossible to do, and that's honestly kinda cheap. The Scooby-Doo/Batman: The Brave and the Bold team-up movie from a couple of weeks ago did a better (but not perfect) job at it than this movie.

I think the short runtime also probably made the mystery weaker than it had to be. There's way less time to flesh out the characters and setting, and develop an actual mystery. I will never understand why they insist on doing these really short runtimes for the DC animated movie, but it's always a detriment.

Then the ending, I dont know how to fix it, after he was arrested, thier are no witnesses, no cameras nothing to exonerate him the only witness to Gordon death is Selna who is compromised due to her infatuation

They could always call the police to investigate Jack's hideout, but yeah, the ending is very rushed and abrupt.

Not much interest in seeing this as I find the animation style to be a totally lackluster translation of Mignola's style.

This is what the film should've looked like if they were to faithfully recreate Mignola's style for animation.

Besides being incredibly expensive to do an entire movie like that, Mignola actually forbids people from recreating his style, especially in adaptations of his work. He doesn't enjoy it when people mess up details, and would just prefer that they did something unique and comfortable to them.

[Rac7d*]

They could always call the police to investigate Jack's hideout, but yeah, the ending is very rushed and abrupt.


.

I am certain that crazy barbar set her house on fire with her in it, I didnt trust for her to jsut sit and cry

[Ten_to_Three]

He tried, but then they basicly said doing any kind of criminology and analysis woulndt count in the victorian era

Not really. As soon as Bruce discovers the membership pin, he should go to the Dionysian club and ask for a list of current members. Cross out those who don't fit the physical discription of the Ripper (6'3", 250lb, fit, reasonably young, experienced in combat), and I'd wager there'd be only a couple of names left, with Gordon being one of them--it's entirely possible that Gordon's would be the only name left, seeing how rare men this big (both in the sense of height and weight) were at that time.

[CryNotWolf]

Pretty decent movie. I liked it at least, and I usually don't like these animated films at all.

[godisawesome]

Not really. As soon as Bruce discovers the membership pin, he should go to the Dionysian club and ask for a list of current members. Cross out those who don't fit the physical discription of the Ripper (6'3", 250lb, fit, reasonably young, experienced in combat), and I'd wager there'd be only a couple of names left, with Gordon being one of them--it's entirely possible that Gordon's would be the only name left, seeing how rare men this big (both in the sense of height and weight) were at that time.

There is some suggestion that Bruce is narrowing the suspect list down to Harvey and Gordon towards the end; once he is arrested and framed for the murders, it follows logically that only Harvey Dent and James Gordon have access to all the information needed to pull off the frame-up, know about Strange, and have a membership in the Dionysian club while fitting the killer's profile. And Bruce outright says he figures its one of his friends, and then makes sure he's got his gear before going to Gordon's home and almost immediately snooping around.

The issue is that this process of elimination is never really shown as being what Bruce is doing. You can read it that way, as I do, but the film clearly has limited time to tell its story thanks to the economy of the DTV films, and wants to surprise the audience as much as possible.

[Amadeus Arkham]

Besides being incredibly expensive to do an entire movie like that, Mignola actually forbids people from recreating his style, especially in adaptations of his work. He doesn't enjoy it when people mess up details, and would just prefer that they did something unique and comfortable to them.

Well at the very at least try to have a style that's as dynamic as Mignola's visual style. You don't have to match the style exactly but the animation they used just doesn't do the Mignola's haunting, Gothic visuals justice. It just looks super-uninspired.