Batman: Year One

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

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.

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

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.