Batman: Year One

Okay I admit that I am not just a Movie Geek but a Comic Book Geek as well…Okay I am also a Die Hard Gamer as well… okay I am an all-around geek, but I don’t consider that to be a problem because as they say on G4 “It’s a Nerd’s World”.

It is also no secret that I am a huge Batman geek. I admit that I am the man that spent all of my time a couple of weeks ago playing Arkham City which is awesome by the way.

Well one DVD/Blu-Ray that recently came out is Batman: Year One.

I know what you are thinking. Isn’t that Batman Begins? Well, not really.

You see the things about these flicks is simply Warner Premiere releases a line of Direct to DVD flicks in the DC Universe. They are primarily animated movies based on popular comic storylines. Some are flat out taken from the pages and placed on the screen while others are loosely based on the original work.

Now what I like about these are that they not only include the flick but they also are loaded with special features that are a present for many and all DC Comics fans.
These features include special documentaries on not just the story and the making of the flick but in-depth documentaries on the original work detailing the process from inception to the market reaction and the legacy of the work.

Some releases also include biographies on writers and Artists and profiles of the villains as well as the behind the scenes origins of certain characters such as Robin, Supergirl or the Darkseid.

Other features include Animated Shorts that follow smaller characters in the DC Universe. Not to mention selected episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, and Justice League.

These Features alone are worth the purchase of the Disc.
Batman: Year One is no Exception.

The main movie features outstanding animation telling the story of both Bruce Wayne and Jim Gordon as they arrive in Gotham City for different reasons.

Wayne is returning to Gotham after traveling the world for thirteen years learning the skills to make him a crime fighter, and coming to Gotham to begin his mission.
Gordon is coming to Gotham to accept a job as a Police Lieutenant for the corrupt GCPD.

The story follows the characters as they narrate their story “Dexter Style” as is in the original Comic.

Other Characters featured in the story are Selena Kyle following her origin to become Catwoman as well as her young protégé Holly.

The flick will keep you entertained if you can forget the fact that you saw the whole story before in Batman Begins.

Now let us get on to the Special Features.

The documentary Heart of vengeance tells the story of how the writers and artists of DC Comics’ journey of taking Batman from his campy 1960’s image to his Dark Roots and the origins of the Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller and his return for Batman: Year One and the direction that the franchise to the Dark Knight Rises.

Other Features include a round table discussion with the heads of Batman at DC discussing the directions of the character and where he is going in the future.
What I mainly want to talk about here is the Catwoman short film that first off is HOT in some parts. Catwoman voiced by Eliza Dushku pursues a criminal across Gotham to uncover the truth behind his smuggling ring.

The short is awesome.

There is very much a Catwoman theme to this release. Could Dark Knight Rises have something to do with it?

Anyway this release is definitely a Buy for all Batman fans.

5 Dead Bodies
0 Breasts (close in the Catwoman short)
3 Beasts
4 Car Chases
3 explosions

3 Stars

Comic Fans Check it out!

Green Lantern

“In brightest day, in blackest night, No evil shall escape my sight Let those who worship evil's might, Beware my power... Green Lantern's light!”

Those are words that I have waited 25 years to hear on the big screen. It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Batman and you can’t be a fan of the Caped Crusader without being a fan of the Justice League, one of the staples of the League is the Green Lantern. Be it Alan Scott, Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, or Kyle Rayner The Green Lantern Corps have always been one of the more popular titles in the DC Universe.

That being said I am surprised that we are just now seeing the Green Lantern on the big screen. There has been many incarnations of him on the small screen but rarely in a non-support role as a member of the League.

Finally Hal Jordan has come to the big screen and it was well worth the wait.
Now for those of you that aren’t comic fans here is the basic story. Hal Jordan is a test pilot that is chosen by a dying member of the corps and he then gives him his power ring and Lantern that turns him into a superhero that has the ability of flight as well as the ring can make anything that he wants to aid him in his duties. He then joins the Green Lantern Corps which is basically an intergalactic police force.

In the movie Hal has to take on the Evil Paralax the Destroyer of worlds Now I have some Issue with him in the fact that he did remind me much of the antagonist in Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer and the planet Appacloypse that we saw in the series Finale of Smallville you want to ask the difference here, Well The Damn thing Talks. It ,also as well as the various Aliens that make up the corps speak perfect English.

The Special Effects are awesome the outer space sequences are excellent and I do recommend if 3D is an option go for it and pay the extra amount but it is not needed to enjoy the flick IMAX is also recommended.

Fans of the Comics will love this flick as for the mainstream audiences you will enjoy it but be warned that it is your basic superhero origin story but it is a fresh perspective to the common mythology.

87 Dead Humans
8 Dead Aliens
0 Breasts
5 Beasts
3 Explosions
Lantern Fu
Human Fu

4 Stars Check it out