Batman: Gotham By Gaslight

image source

So, it’s been a while since I’ve gotten the chance to review one of the DC Animated movies. The conceit of Gotham By Gaslight is something akin to a ‘what if’ story. This one deals with the idea of what if Batman fought Jack the Ripper. This film really has fun with the idea. It was interesting to see the changes given to some of the characters within the Batman mythos. I can’t go into spoilers with those characters, really. After all, who wants to give away the twists in murder mystery? The animation is pretty solid. I don’t know if I see it as some DC’s best animation work, but the effort is still there, and it should be recognized for this reason. I’ll admit that I wasn’t actually aware going in that this movie carries an R rating. But, I think the movie is actually better for it. The voice cast is generally pretty solid. Bruce Greenwood is almost on par with Kevin Conroy in terms of voicing Batman. I also loved Anthony Head as Alfred in this film. It truly makes the dynamic between Bruce and Alfred feel timeless in my opinion. I was a bit surprised by Jennifer Carpenter as Selina Kyle. Don’t get me wrong, I think she’s a good actress. The last time I heard her lend her voice to a comic book character (Black Widow in Avengers Confidential: Black Widow/Punisher), it just wasn’t something that worked for me. But, she actually worked for me in this movie, and I have to respect that. I’m almost disappointed that there isn’t really a chance to fill out this world a little bit more. This movie is based off of a one-shot comic with the same name. The movie does take some liberties as an adaptation, and they don’t all sit right with me. Without giving too much away, the big thing that didn’t sit right with me—even before looking up the story of the graphic novel—was the reveal of Jack the Ripper. I didn’t necessarily hate it, and I did just kind of accept it. However, that doesn’t make it any less of a flaw in my eyes. This is especially true when I thought to myself “what if it was this character instead?” Overall, I enjoyed Batman: Gotham By Gaslight, despite some of its rockier moments. 

6 / 10