Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 [Blu-ray]

[...]Over the past half decade or so, Bruce Timm and company have done an amazing job of creating these DTVs. Ranging from completely original stories to adaptions of popular story, so it was no surprise that The Dark Knight Returns was one of the most highly requested films for the group. With much joy, and a little reservation, we finally get The Dark Knight Returns. A story so dense that it becomes the first film adaption to warrant two separate DTVs!The Dark Knight Returns retains the style of the comic book fairly well. Which is both a blessing and a curse. The style loans itself to animation well as we've seen in both Batman: The Animated Series and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, but it's also not a style I'm personally too keen on. Well that is a bit strong, I really don't care for the overly bulky Batman design that this book used. It's just not a style that makes sense, and not many characters actually retain it. It really stands out when Batman is interacting with the new Robin in this film. His hands are also as large as her body!My dislike for the art-style aside, the film does animate and look fantastic in motion. Some of the more memorable moments, and especially some of the fights, look extremely wonderful when animated. Some of the shots for shots from the comics feel a little forced in motion, but it was cool to see that they included all of the iconic moments (from the first half at least) while building around them.I'd be honest, I haven't read the actual source material in nearly a decade so when I tell you it follows the story pretty straight-forward, I'm only going off of what I remembered. I'm sure there was stuff cut, but I couldn't point you to exact moments or pieces of dialog off the top of my head. I have read enough Frank Miller stuff to know that almost all of Batman's internal monologues had been cut from the film. Though, as a rule, a character speaking in their head isn't as easy to convey in animation. It's really a comic book thing.The writing on the other hand is a bit of a mixed bag. Some of it, I will chalk up to the source material. Frank Miller is a lot of things, but the most elegant writer he is not. A lot of the dialogue comes off as a bit hokey or stilted not only in their delivery, but just how they are phrased. Granted, I'm sure some of it is a product of the era. Slang from the 80s probably hasn't carried over well nearly 30 years later!On the bright side, the voice cast they got for this film is top-notch. While I have already expressed my love for Kevin Conroy as Batman, Peter Weller (Robocop!) as an elderly Batman/Bruce Wayne though knocks the performance out of the park. He just works so well for me, and he has a voice that is kind of serious and gravely without coming off as a bit of parody (still love you Bale!). And it's not just Weller who shines in this cast, David Selby as Commissioner Gordon and Michael Jackson as Bruce's loyal butler, Alfred, are perhaps have some of the best parts in the movie for me. Alfred is his usual dry self, but he does it with such charm that it is endearing. Selby brings a nice warmth, but toughness to Gordon, who is now up there in age, but dealing with a more reformed Gotham.The rest of the cast does a decent job, but aren't giving as much screen-time to work with aside from Ariel Winter as Carrie Kelley, the new Robin. I think she does a great job in the role, but there's nothing in this film that makes me believe that she should have been Robin. The whole idea of Robin has always been a bit of a stretch since Batman deals with really bad people. When Carrie first dons the costume, which is just a Halloween costume, we see her come off a bit clumsy and reckless to the point where you fear she may get herself killed. The fact that she is able to take down the Mutant Leader, or at least distract him long enough for Batman to do his thing, seems a bit contrived from what little we had seen of her up until that point. Yes, much like any Robin, she eventually does get training from Batman, but she hadn't earned much up to that point!Which brings us to the final point, the actual story in the movie. If you've read the comic, you pretty much know all the beats. We're about a decade out from the last sighting of the Batman. Gotham is in relative peace aside from a new gang calling themselves The Mutants, and Bruce is dealing with his life beyond the cape. Slowly, the pieces of the peace start to fall aside as the return of an old foe, Two-Face, triggers some events that leads to the return of Batman. Batman does battle with the mutants, which eventually escalates to an all-out assault planned on Gotham City.That's pretty much the extent of the plot. A lot of the political undertones from the source material have been removed from the adaption, though you still get discussion on whether or not Batman is better or worst for society. Ultimately, it is an odd talking point since a lot of this is focused on Batman and you see how much good he does for Gotham, but it also does mean he tends to bring out the wack jobs...And that's where The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 leaves off, it is a very smartly done cliffhanger. You are given a really solid movie from start to finish. It has a complete plot, but it dangles a very juicy carrot in front of you so that you will check out Part 2 when it drops next year. Sadly, I wish they would have been able to time the two releases closer together!

This is the first of a two part animated translation of Frank Miller's classic work, The Dark Knight Returns.For fans of the original comic, the animation adopts most of the key concepts and visual motifs. It is also quite faithful to the plot and nuances. So if you are looking for a "faithful" adaptation this rises to expectations.If you are unfamiliar with that work, it can be a bit tricky. The fundamental part of the legend and myth of Batman are well known so the film makers and Frank Miller can be forgiven in not exploring the background except where it fits their fundamental themes about obsession and finding a meaning to one's life. The story of the rich young man who is scarred by crime as a child and who dedicates his life to fighting crime using his wealth and devoting his life to this end is generally well known. The book and film asks the basic question: what happens after a life time is spent fighting crime and now Batman is an old man? What has he got to show for his efforts? Is the world a better place? Has he made any difference other than to beat up a lot of thugs and crooks?The details about particular villains, key plot themes (like the Batcave, Batmobile, Dick Grayson, and Jason Todd) and relationships (James Gordon, Selina Kyle)are assumed. If you are unclear as to who is Two-Face, Catwoman, and such, you can figure it out with careful viewing and listening to the context of the dialog but frankly that is like reading about the end of Hercules without knowing about the 12 Labors or Mysterious Island without 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and how it affected Captain Nemo. The production values are excellent with smooth animation and the action scenes are well done and faithful to the original comic. The voice acting is also excellent - not the same cast found in the superb Batman: The Animated Series but it is still very well done.SPOILERThe comic and movie points out that one man, even when he is the Batman, can only do so much by himself. He must somehow change the world around him in some lasting way if he is to have any positive legacy. The obsession of Batman forces him to tie up loose ends in the present and the past. The present is manifest in the form of the Mutants, a gang based on raw power and brutality with no subtlety. The past is represented by Two-Face and the Joker. Two-Face, (once Harvey Dent, close friend of Bruce Wayne) forces Bruce to accept that there are some things his good efforts can't fix. The Joker is his classic foe - the irrational psychopath. Batman grasps and easily can deal with rational foes - their actions are predictable and motivations understandable. Counter measures can therefore be taken. The Joker doesn't fit and just wants to play and Batman is the ideal foil. The comic and movie leads us to conclude that Batman can do a lot to help stop rational crime but irrational behavior can't always be treated/cured and by definition may have no sane solution.The world is larger than just Gotham City and when national and international politics intrude, it brings Superman into conflict. Finally Batman accepts that he has not only grown old and can't fight on as he once did, he has to engage the greater world outside of Gotham. To make his life meaningful and leave changes that are lasting he'll have to take on the world's problems. For Batman fans, it leaves the irony that he becomes very similar to his legendary enemy, Ra's al-Ghul. His intentions are clearly better and he isn't willing to see the deaths of millions to achieve his ends, but the final scene of him creating a secret organization working towards his aims and goals while keeping to the shadow and training successful generations to take on the struggle cannot be an accident. Frank Miller must have meant this as a final point and does it nicely with the subtle parallelism with Ra's al-Ghul.

Faithful to the sourceI'm mainly writing this review in order to regain some of the product's footing after a slew of one star reviews given by people who seem to have somehow confused this film with Christopher Nolan's, "THE DARK KNIGHT RISES." It just so happens that this movie is fantastic in its own right and deserves the accolades given by the more knowledgeable viewers.Many of the negative reviews I've read have mentioned that they were "duped" or "ripped off" by Amazon for releasing this stellar animated feature from Warner Brothers. Ok, I understand that they have the same distributor and you might not be the biggest fan of Gotham's most famous vigilante, but surely you would have read the product description, yeah? I mean unless you've been living under a rock the size of Uluru, you would've at least glanced the box art and realised that that was indeed not Christian Bale on the cover juxtaposed with an incendiary bat symbol from one of the most ubiquitous movie posters of the last decade. You of course noticed that Peter Weller was not the actor you expected to see fighting Bane (who's not credited on this blu ray) alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt and that you'd never heard of a director named Jay Oliva. Right?However, if you used your super sleuthing skills to come to the conclusion that a film titled "THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS" is just that and no more, then you're in for a treat. The movie itself is a great adaptation of a very special graphic novel by the talented Frank Miller. It holds true to the theme of the original 80s manuscript and lends itself to cinematic interpretation. Unlike a lot of "graphic novels" that are actually collections of a comic book's natural and lengthy story cycle, Miller's story was originally intended to be a singular story with a strong and narrow focus. This helps avoid the pitfalls that other comic-based stories tend to have, where it's just one guest appearance/mindless action romp/plot jump after another. This picture is a honed and self-motivating piece that attempts to explain how Bruce Wayne is more Batman than Bruce Wayne. It's a great theme to run with and I think it pulls it off. I might have liked to see at least a hint of Batman's internal monologue as it was portrayed in the book, but I'm aware that film is a different animal to literature and some hard decisions had to be made.If you are a person who has dabbled in Warner Brother's other DC universe animated outings, then I would put this above the much-loved BATMAN: UNDER THE RED HOOD (which I too enjoyed, if that gives you any reference) and even BATMAN: YEAR ONE (another Miller-penned gem).If you came to see THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, I think you'll be delighted with the quality of animation and respect that this release has given to its source material. If you're here to see THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, you might want to learn how to read.

I have a comic vlog on YouTube in which I discuss mostly each week's comic releases, but occasionally I throw in a subject video about this or that, and one that I felt that I was compelled to do was one about the year 1986, or as I call it, The Year That Changed Comics Forever. You had two major releases in the same year. One was Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' WATCHMEN, which for the first time, really introduced the deconstruction of the superhero to the comic book world, and holds the spot for the only comic book to be considered one of Time Magazine's Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century. The other was from a very popular writer/artist who had come from an extraordinary run on DAREDEVIL to DC Comics in 1985 with a strange and wonderful avant-garde fusion of a dystopian future blended with ancient Eastern mythology called RONIN. This still-young artist then, in 1986, decided to create a future vision of one of DC's most beloved and iconic characters that was brutal, dark, uncompromising and socially conscious. That man was Frank Miller, and that book that he created is one of the undisputed masterpieces in Comic Book history: BATMAN - THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS.THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS starts with a simple premise: It's the future, and it has been exactly ten years to the day that Gotham City and the world had their last sighting of Batman. And although it's not explicitly discussed, it is due to a few different things; the main reason being the implied death of a partner, and the other (and this is only an assumption) being that all of Batman's rogue's gallery as well as all elements of organized crime have either left Gotham, are behind bars or dead, or are in Arkham Asylum. So we have Bruce Wayne, a somewhat empty shell of a man trying his best to enjoy his retirement. We also have Commisioner Jim Gordon, facing his own mandatory retirement. The two are friends moreso than they ever were before because Gordon now knows that Bruce was Batman. This future is far from perfect though. The criminals of this era are products of a very new generation. They call themselves The Mutants, and they are not a gang of unruly kids; they are thrill-seeker killers that run around the city butchering children and nuns and anyone they want to show their depravity. Bruce, still a haunted man, and still very much an obsessive man, can no longer continue to ignore the threat they pose. And on a storm-toss'd night, suddenly The Batman reappears to wage his one-man war on crime.Now, THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS is far more than that description. It is epic in its scale of emotional storytelling arcs and the amount of characters it has; it's epic in its battles; it's epic because it needs to be. A return of Batman after a 10-year absence requires something of such a grand scale that a mere 70-odd minutes would not be enough to contain it. So the adaptation by Bob Goodman and the direction by Jay Oliva smartly divided this into two segments and this film is Part One, which covers the first two chapters (THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS; THE DARK KNIGHT TRIUMPHANT) of Miller's four-chapter tale. And sometime in 2013, we'll get Part Two. Unlike the previous Miller adaptation to be made by DC Animated, BATMAN: YEAR ONE, which was compact enough to be parsed into about 70 minutes of film, THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS is frankly too large for that.Now, many of the less-than-or-moderately-positive reviews of this film from people who are fans of the source material are upset because they feel the film waters down so many of the elements of the savagery and biting social commentary that made the book into what it is. And I can totally understand and appreciate that point of view. There was stuff in the film that wasn't in the book and vice versa. There were lines of dialogue from the book I desperately wanted to hear the gruff voice of Peter Weller, playing Bruce Wayne/Batman, say on screen. But for the most part, they kept a great deal of the brutality in, like the scene with The Mayor and The Mutant Leader is the one that sticks out heaviest in my mind. There are moments of instantly recognizable panel composition from the book, including the immortal image of a silhouetted Batman brightly backlit by a lightning bolt. Much of the stylized street slang of the Mutants is present.But film, live-action or animated, is a much different animal than comics. Comics can offer so many different styles of narrative. Such as internal monologue that you can read into the mind of your characters, giving you insight, and while that's great on the page, it can really hurt your momentum in a film. Oliva ignores almost all of the internal monologue, except for a pretty glaring scene in which he decides to use it. That moment is very important, but because we are treated to the internal monologue there, the viewer who is familiar with the source material wants more, leading to the aforementioned disconnect. It really proves the old chestnut of how you can please some people some of the time, but you can't please everyone all the time.From a casting standpoint, Andrea Romano (who's been at this game for decades) assembles a list of great voice actors that are largely character actors that have appeared in some films and a lot of television. Weller is spot-on perfect. He has just enough of the world-weariness, but enough of the gravelly intonation that makes Batman a true bad@$$. David Selby, of shows like the original DARK SHADOWS and FALCON CREST, does an excellent job as the aging Gordon. Wade Williams, who has been in just about every television show from the 90's through today (and was even the Warden of Blackgate prison in Christopher Nolan's THE DARK KNIGHT RISES) does a commendable job as the "rehabilitated" Harvey Dent. The real standouts here for me were young actress Ariel Winter as the voice of Carrie Kelley aka Robin and Michael McKean (THIS IS SPINAL TAP, and was even Perry White in TV's SMALLVILLE) as psychologist Bartholomew Wolper. Winter gives the youthful energy and strength that Carrie needs, and McKean gives the right air of pompous superiority as Wolper.The animation style doesn't totally ape that of Miller, but it certainly shows its influence with its heavy use of almost cube-like faces and enormous hulking bodies that give the characters that even-larger-than-life aesthetic. Occasionally, in particular with vehicle sequences, the movement gets bogged down by CGI, which can be really jarring. But the fight and action choreography is very fluid and the big fights are very brutal.DC Animated Films, under the auspices of mastermind Bruce Timm, have made quite a name for themselves since 1992, when BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES first premiered. That groundbreaking series made way for what is now considered the DC Animated Universe. They've recently been releasing a slew of nearly full-length animated films based on either some of the more famous characters or some extremely popular comic book story arcs, from characters like WONDER WOMAN and GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT or GREEN LANTERN: EMERALD KNIGHTS (which are not from a specific story arc) to SUPERMAN/BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMIES, JUSTICE LEAGUE DOOM, BATMAN: UNDER THE RED HOOD, THE NEW FRONTIER, and SUPERMAN VS. THE ELITE. These have worked to varying degrees of success, but THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS PART ONE is one of the more successful attempts at bringing something to the screen that is something of an impossible undertaking. They know that there are legions of fans that consider DKR their "Batman Bible", and trying to please all of them by simply translating the book page-for-page would have been a disaster. You have to have enough surprising moments in the film that will keep the audience on its toes, or you might as well do a motion comic.My main complaint with this film is that I don't know how successful it will be as a storytelling experience unless you're familiar with the source material. I think that there's too much included that, just from a style standpoint, is really going to be confusing for fresh eyes to see it. I have faith in the audience, but I think that the only reason that I'm giving this four instead of five stars is because I don't think that newcomers to this tale will be able to get as much out of it as they should because of its very faithful adaptation.As it is, THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS PART ONE should please longtime fans of the comic, but might not appeal to the newer fans as much as the Nolan Batman films have been able to do.

This movie is based off the Frank Miller novel of the same name, where Batman comes out of a long ten year retirement only to return into a Gotham City over ridden by a madness with a bloodthirsty gang known as The Mutants. However, the world is more cynical and cut-throat than most DC Comic Book stories. Half the people are glad that there is once again a Dark Knight lurking in the shadows to strike fear into the hearts of criminals, while the other half consider him as a fascist that is a criminal of not just breaking 'n' entering and batter, but also the civil rights of the very criminals he hunts. He must also fight an even more deranged and even suicidal Two-Face that has now started scratching both sides of his infamous coins, and he must also fight the Mutant leader, a strong brute monster of a man with razor sharp teeth in the prime of his youth, while the Dark Knight is now probably in his late 50's or early 60's.There is a lot going on in this movie, but it is all perfectly pace; not too fast or not too slow. I think that is why they broke it down into two parts so that they can avoid repeating the mistake of "Superman: All-Star". The adventure and story is gritty, gothic, and dark, everything you'd expect from a story about the Cape Crusader. So if you're looking for a DC Comic Book animated movie that is not at all targeted to kids, this is for you! The animation is flawless and spectacular, and with the high-definition of blu-ray it looks incredible, even if it is indeed animation. Even though there aren't any big names that I recognize in this, all the voice acting is fantastic nonetheless. And throughout the movie there are little Easter Eggs throughout the movie that you may only recognize if you're an avid DC Comic reader.Needless to say, I think this is Warner Bros. DC Animation's finest work that can only be topped by Part Two that about immediately follows the timeline of this movie. I definitely recommend buying this movie! I can't help but watch it over and over again, it's that good, and that hardly ever happens with me! So stop reading these reviews and BUY IT NOW! I'm dead serious!

This is a Great movie: it tells a realistic interpretation of aging professionals past their prime, how changing times are hard to understand when you remember past events, and finding purpose when you lost what you love. This movie is a Masterpiece, and it is told in a similar fashion to the recently-released The Batman, with a dark noir, realistic fight scenes with excellent choreography, and grounded scenes of people fighting instead of overuse of gadgets and superpowers. This is definitely one of DC's Best films, at least for Batman, and it shows some long-standing themes such as psychiatric care versus the Mindset of the criminal.The Dark Knight Returns (Part 1) is excellent cinema, but it also shows a somber and sad theme about Batman, as a man: he never really moved on, he never remarried nor had kids, and he constantly has PTSD from the horrors he witnessed throughout his life, unable to cope with what he can, and cannot, do. Bruce Wayne never was able to move on because Batman Is Who He Really Is, and he's going to do it even if it kills him. As a master of skills myself, I respect that in spite of the world and his options, Bruce Wayne Is Batman, and he embodies his purpose. Admirable, and commendable, and he was making a difference for his time, and his people.Edit: Another Perfect DC movie! Quite remarkable. I give out "perfect" titles Rarely, and only to movies that have (almost) No Flaws, with an exception of 1 Mulligan (everybody gets 1 pass). I was watching this again and realized this movie is just amazing, and even some of the "flaws" such as all the news broadcasts looking the same or similar, but they really Are all the same, aren't they, in real life? And after the first fight and Batman leaves, you can see people in the background Watching Batman. Why watch him? They are looking for Guidance: who am I, what do I want, what is my purpose? The poor and depraved are the most susceptible to hopelessness and corruption, desperately needing approval from Someone, anyone, begging for Change that only comes from a gutter or a cup. This part 1 is nothing less than Perfection: especially the cinematography, backgrounds, and the story. This movie embodies Everything the Batman stands for: We MUST Believe that the System CAN Work. If We lose faith in ourselves, then there will be nothing left but crime Because people will live fast, and die hard, begging to feel something, for they will not go quietly. The criminals are just as much sorrow-full as Batman.If DC invested in the Best animation, meaning Blizzard, then DC would be the Best movies in the entire industry. Flashpoint Paradox and Under the Red Hood are also perfect and masterpieces.

Just like the elder Gotham cop tells the rookie, you're in for a show! Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Rises" was and still is one of the best Batman stories ever told...period. To see it very faithfully adapted for DC's animated movies is great. Plus, they are trying to condense this story into the usual 65-70 minutes they do normally for their recent movies; they are making it longer to fully tell this tale the way it should be told.Granted, I feel they could've just produced a long 2 hour animated movie in one package instead of making us wait. But in a way that's half the fun...leave them wanting, even begging, for more! Which is what this story did in the first place when it came out. This story almost single handedly turned Batman into DC's number one superhero. Which I think is cool even being an overall Superman fan. Speaking of the Man of Steel...Superman kind of becomes the bad guy in this story. He's still technically on the side of right but he's a pawn, a puppet to be used at the beck and call of the government...which Supes allowed to happen! Batman's presence is seen as a black hole on the "law & order" of the times in this story. Superman is called in to stop him, and seems to agree why! Before this story, Supes and Bats were always portrayed as close friends. Miller turned that notion upside down and inside out. He made a good point showing that while both heroes stand up against evil; their views on how to do it are completely different.I'm happy to see this story come to life and see the action. The only thing better would be a live action version. Ultimately this is no doubt going to be one of the gems in the DC Animated Movie crown. I'd even like to see them do the sequel, "The Dark Knight Strikes Again", even though that story wasn't as good but it is the conclusion to the story. Overall, great work DC...Keep `em coming!

I will start right off the bat (no pun intended) that I have never read the original adaption of the Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, so the story in this movie is entirely new material to me. As a casual Batman fan, I have enjoyed many different stories and movies of the Batman from different decades. As far as film, I loved the Dark Knight Trilogy, Batman The Animated Series, Batman The Mask of the Phantasm and the latest DC Animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood, which was one of the BEST animated Batman films I've seen in a while. I've heard universally that "The Dark Knight Returns" is one of the (if not THE) greatest batman story ever written, so making an animated film based on that story should not be surprising, but again I have never read the graphic novel so I can't compare and contrast between the film and novel. I am here merely to critique THIS film, and personally I wasn't as impressed as I was hoping to be. The Dark Knight Returns is part 1 of 2 movies of the great novel, and part 1 was a decent experience. I found the story to be quite intriguing from beginning to end and seeing what the characters such as Harvey Dent and Commissioner Gordon have been up to. Bruce Wayne has retired from the cape and cowl for about 10 years and in that time Gotham City has turned into a living hell, where the city has been overrun by a group of criminals called the Mutants committing all sorts of murders like it was nothing. Even crimes such as prostitution and molestation are shown in the movie, and I gotta say this is probably the darkest Batman film I've ever seen. I like the theme of the story, but the pace was very very bad. I feel that this movie could've easily been a 2 hour movie if done correctly, because the events in this movie do not flow as well as other movies with a 75 minute time limit do. I felt the movie was a bit rushed, especially in the beginning of the film. I don't know if the Novel depicted the story like this, but there was just too much going on that it was hard to follow for the first 10-20 minutes or so. Back stories of the Mutants was very vague; they didn't touch upon how the Mutants were established in the first place, especially the leader. The mutants purpose are simple, they follow the leader's orders because he is the biggest and strongest of the city, so naturally he takes over Gotham and corrupts the young and ignorant minds while the Batman is absent. It bothers me that this amount of violence has been occurrinng for so long, and it takes this this long for Bruce Wayne to come back, but once he does come back it's great.The voice acting was my primary hatred for the film. A lot of the voice acting lacked real human emotions or any urgency. I would say I liked about half of the voice acting, Peter Weller (Robocop) was decent as an older Bruce Wayne, but I felt that Kevin Conroy would've done a much better job if he reprised his role as THE voice acting Bat. Commisioner Gordan sounded whiny, but halfway through the movie his voice grew on me. The mutant's leader sounds like a generic villain thug you would expect to hear from any cartoon today. The Mutant Gang themselves sounded like punk kids, which they are, so it didn't bother me as much. The Newscasters were one of the voices that I completely despised, but I acknowledged their purpose. Some of the newscasters were sarcastic and implied some humor, but none of it connected with me. The voices I HATED THE MOST would have to be the voice of female Robin and the voice of the Joker (even though his appearance was short). I really wished Mark Hamill would have returned to do Joker, or even at least John DiMaggio from Under the Red Hood, but this new guy doesn't capture the menacing and twisted Joker I have grown to love. Ariel Winter as Robin....okay I guess my hatred for the character is deeper than just the voice, I guess I just hate everything about the character. I am not sexist in any way, I have no problem with Robin being a girl, but the way they portrayed her in the movie couldn't possibly be any worse. Her motivation to become Robin was forced terribly, there was no point in the movie where she expressed any interest in becoming Robin or helping innocent people, she kind of just became Robin on a whim. The scenario she was in during the film was she and a friend were jumped by the Mutants during the middle of the night, and Batman just so happened to be there and save them, however I didn't sense any urge to fight from Carrie's character during that moment, she just sorta stood there. So I guess she just got inspired to become Robin from there on after seeing what Batman did? Does it sound Stupid? Yes. In that logic, practically ANY KID saved from Batman can become Robin if they wanted to, and in this fictional world, I'm pretty sure there are plenty of Kids that have FAR more potential to become the next Robin. But allow me to continue...During the film, when she was transitioning to become Robin, she was jumping from building to building doing flips and complex aerial movements without any proper training or any background information that hinted she had the ability to do such things in the first place. Dick Grayson (the first Robin) was a gifted gymnast in the circus, Jason Todd (the 2nd Robin) was trained FIRST by Bruce Wayne himself so the physics of their abilities were justified, but Carrie Kelley was just RANDOM. If her character was better in the graphic novel, than I guess the producers just did a BAD job portraying her character in this movie.I have to give credit to the animation. I am not a big fan of American animation, especially DC's animation. Most of their films are so bland with barely any attention to details to characters or environment. While some of their flaws are still present in this movie, such as texture less buildings, I have to say that their animation team did a far better job with this film. Most of Batman's movements are smooth and believable, while some (punching through hard concrete and jumping from 10 story buildings without being hurt) leave a lot to be desired. The fight scenes are good for the most part, once again, if Batman has the ability to punch through concrete with ease, I don't see why it was so difficult to defeat ONE oversized mutant. I appreciated that they choreographed the fights well, and Batman literally breaks every bone possible to someone at one point which was pretty awesome to watch.I don't know what is going to happen in Part 2, but I hope the writers and producers do a better job with the voice acting and pacing in the next movie. I still enjoyed Part 1 despite it's many many flaws, but if Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns is labeled as the greatest Batman story ever written, than this movie did a horrible job of convincing me. I have to wait for Part 2 to give my full opinion on that statement.

Quienes estén interesados en este título tiene la gran oportunidad de adquirilo bajo este elegante Steelbook (tamaño BD), ya que incluye el mismo disco Blu Ray disponible en tiendas españolas. Recomiendo pasarse por la ficha del BD español donde encontraréis un exhaustivo análisis de esta edición. Cabe añadir que este complejo fresco socio-político ideado hace décadas por Frank Miller se desarrolla a lo largo de dos largometrajes (su otro volumen igualmente disponible en steelbook francés), siendo una gran oportunidad para acercarse a este universo. Están de enhorabuena los amantes del cine de animación en general y superhéroes en particular, pues estamos ante una obra exquisita que os recomendaría cualquier fan de este tipo de cine.

leeros el comic "The dark knight returns" y luego ver esta maravilla perfectamente adaptada, la única pega que mark hamill ya no dobla al Joker y se nota

Mit "Der Dunkle Ritter kehrt zurück" schuf Frank Miller einen echten Meilenstein in der Welt der Batman- Comics. Wahrscheinlich generell im Comic-Genre. Es ist einfach eine interessante Geschichte einer interessanten Figur. Psychologisch ausgefeilt und schlüssig. Man spürt förmlich das Dilemma, in dem Bruce Wayne sich verirrt hat, als er sich dazu entschied, als "Symbol" Verbrechen zu bekämpfen. Nun brauchte die Stadt dieses Symbol eben nicht mehr. Aber Bruce Wayne läßt es einfach nicht los. Frank Miller verleiht der Titelfigur fast schon krankhafte, schizophrene Züge. Und Mr. Wayne scheint geheilt, als er wieder sein Kostüm anzieht und wieder nachts durch die Straßen schwingt, weil er in dem Auftauchen der Mutanten und in deren Bekämpfung eine neue Aufgabe sieht. Hier gerät Bruce Wayne allerdings an seine Grenzen, die ihn nur allzu menschlich- und auch zu einer tragischen Figur machen. Er hat nichts verlernt, dennoch hat er mit seinem Alter zu kämpfen. Allerdings auch mit seinem Alter-Ego. Fast scheint es, wie ein innerer Zwang, wieder Batman zu sein. Auf mehreren Seiten, flammt die innere "Fledermaus" immer wieder auf. Und es ist förmlich zu spüren: Ahhh- bald ist es soweit. Man mag glauben, ein einfacher Taschendieb würde ausreichen, dass Bruce Wayne wieder das innere Tier in ihm endlich rauslassen kann. Und er läßt dieses innere Tier raus- brutaler, kompromissloser und grimmiger als je zuvor.Ich denke, es ist wohl der Albtraum eines Jeden von uns, dass wir im Rentenalter nichts mit unserer Zeit anzufangen wissen- und genau dieses passiert hier mit Bruce Wayne. Statt sich zur Ruhe zu setzen und seinen Reichtum zu genießen, verfällt er wieder in seinen Zwang, den Tod seiner Eltern zu rächen.Zugegeben- die Filmversion gibt dieses Spiel mit dem inneren Dämon nur bedingt wieder. Aber es ist permanent zu spüren, was nicht zuletzt der verdienst der tollen Musik ist. Der Zeichenstil ist sehr an die Comicvorlage angelehnt.Die FSK- Freigabe ab 12 finde ich gerechtfertigt, da auch viel Brutalität im Spiel ist und diese nicht nur angedeutet sondern auch teilweise gezeigt wird. Also nichts für Kinder.Wer hier zugreift bekommt einen tollen Animationsfilm, der sich nahezu 1:1 an die Vorlage hält.

Llegó en perfecto estado, trae un protector transparente, así que no tiene ningún rayón, en cuanto a la historia super recomendable, de lo mejor de DC

DKRをとても忠実に再現したアニメです。正直ここまで完成度が高いとは思いませんでした。見所としては、やはりアクションシーンでしょう。日本のアニメではまずお目にかかれないレベルで動いています。CGを多様してるからかもしれませんが、かなり気合の入ったアクションが満載です。作画レベルも高く、原作では多少分かりづらかった部分がアニメでは良くわかります。そして個人的にわくわくしたのが、本作のラストシーン！まさかあのシーンを最後に持ってくるとは…。これでPart2が楽しみにならないわけがありません。しかし、演出的には最高でしたが、字幕の翻訳は原作を読んでいる身としてはそのままにしてほしかったです。そして、アニメだから仕方の無い事ですが、ブルースの心理描写が全てカットされています。DKRの見所は、「ヒーローとはかくあるべきか」と「ブルースの狂気にも似た心理描写」であると思っています。そのブルースの心理に関してはやや伝わりにくかったですね。ブルーズだけでなく、ほとんどのキャラの心理描写がカットされてるため、他のレビューをされている方達がおっしゃる通り、原作を読んでない人にとっては少し説明不足と感じるのではないかと思いました。