2011
64 minutes
rated PG-13
Available for download on October 11th, available to purchase on October 18th from WHV
by Scott Mendelson
The ideas and concepts first found in Frank Miller's Batman: Year One have been so pilfered through and copied over the last 25 years that it feels a little strange to see this work adapted for film without any narrative alterations. It feels like less of a stand-alone movie and more of a time-capsule of sorts, a touchstone to one of the more important comic books of its generation. What works in the book still works in the movie, although this rigidly faithful adaptation exposes the problems of adapting a relatively literate comic book into an action picture. The film is so visually and narratively faithful that it often resembles a high-end motion comic. For those who have never read the original story, the film works as a rock-solid Batman origin story which remains one of the better Jim Gordon stories. And for those who have always wanted to see this tale translated to film (animated or live-action), you'll get what you paid for. Batman: Year One is a faithful adaptation of Frank Miller's four-part series, but its slavish devotion threatens to render it not particularly necessary.
