Batman: Year One

Batman Begins in less than 50 minutes. This was a pretty impressively effort narratively speaking. Firstly, there were some technical issues. Audio was frequently out of sync with the video. A few of the AV cuts were a bit rough. The quality wasn't the best. The addition of dates was unnecessary and looked unprofessional. However, the new narrative constructed, which focusses on Batman's first year of crimefighting in Gotham, was very interesting. Many characters were removed entirely, such as Alfred and Lucius, and others were reduced considerably. The main characters in this edit are Batman (not Bruce), Gordon, Rachel, and Crane/Scarecrow. Ra's Al Ghul is gone, and instead the edit implies the whole operation was masterminded by the Joker. This means all the training scenes are gone as well. The core focus of the film is Crane's water supply operation. It's so quickly cut that it could've been an episode of TV. I still question leaving in Carl Finch though, along with the scene of Bruce in the restaurant.

Overall, if you're interested in the story of Batman Begins alone then this is the edit for you. Be aware however that all character development has been cut. Still, I think this is a very good fast cut of Batman Begins if you just want to watch The Dark Knight without skipping Batman Begins.

I’d like to offer a bit of a counterpoint to the first review. [NOTE: Review in question not added.] While admittedly, there isn’t much effort put into tying everything together in a neat little package, that’s kind of the point. We all know the batman origin story. We don’t really need all the little details. While I wouldn’t suggest anyone try this with a character that is less well known, Batman is a cultural icon. The audience is completely capable of filling in any blanks on their own. While I do think that a little more back story would be welcome, I think that as a separate work (i.e., if not in comparison to the original) that this is very successful. Now obviously, this edit would never make it as a Hollywood blockbuster, but I think it would be great as the pilot for a Batman TV series, or perhaps the first part of a mini-series (because I must admit the end doesn’t really feel like an ending).

Honestly, I only have two real complaints. First, there should be fades between each new date, to make it feel like time has passed. Second, I don’t really feel that the way the climax is resolved makes sense. How does shooting down the monorail near Wayne Towers blowup the microwave gun that would have to have been somewhere in the narrows (since that’s where the water mains started bursting)? I understand that this was done as a way to still keep the train crash while eliminating Ra’s A Ghul, but I would rather see him left in. Overall though, I give this entry 4 Stars.

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

I enjoyed this edit but it could have been better.
It’s been years since I have read Batman Year One but I remember that one of the great things about it was seeing Batman make mistakes and learn from them. He wasn’t always a pro at crime fighting and it showed him growing into that role through trial and error.
This edit shows some of this but snipped a little too much of Batman/Bruce being injured. The effects of Scarecrow’s fear gas on him was cut short after Batman crashed to the pavement. It would have been good too see that he was laid up in bed for a couple of days and that he developed an antidote for the toxin. Instead, he is suddenly well and has the antidote handy shortly thereafter.

I actually like it that Ra’s was cut from the movie, even though this does indeed sacrifice coherency.
Even better, I actually like Rachel Dawes in this version. Which is surprising because I always hated her existence on the sole principle that she was made up for the movie and not a “real” Batman character. When I first saw Batman Begins at the theatre, I was like.. “Who the f*** is Rachel Dawes?”
Anyway, the whole Bruce/Rachel saga is toast and Batman is simply out to save somebody who also wants to make Gotham a better city. It could just as easily have been James Gordon that he was trying to save and it would play out the same way. The Batman/Rachel interaction is drastically better in this edit than the official movie.

Generally, I enjoyed this faster paced Batman edit but too much was cut.
Although it is 61 minutes, the last 10 are the end credits and that is way too long. So the edit is actually a mere 50 minutes of movie time.
Which is good in a way, when all you want is meat without any potatoes or gravy.

7/10

*This rating was given before reviews were required*