Batman: Gotham Knight takes the same concept that 2003’s The Animatrix devised for The Matrix: to prepare audiences for the highly anticipated upcoming sequel. Six short animated episodes are combined to create an interlocking storyline of Batman’s various crime-fighting adventures. Each cartoon is directed by a different anime animation legend, and each adds to the already noticeably darker tone that Dark Knight adopts. This bloodier, more torrential collection of stories form the first ever PG-13 rated Batman animated movie.

Have I Got a Story For You is easily the least impressive of the six episodes – and it starts off the film. Using a disagreeable, more abstract form of animation, the blobby characters spill in and out of their dimensions, and move in a sketchy, jerky manner. Four skateboarding kids tell stories about their encounters with Batman, and each paints a completely different picture. This storytelling method is stolen from Rashomon, although here it is clichéd and uneventful.

Crossfire finds detectives Chris Allen and Anna Ramirez escorting a psychotic prisoner into dangerous territory. Allen is skeptical of Batman’s vigilante methods, while Anna admires the Dark Knight for his ability to help the crime-ridden city. A bullet-frenzied crossfire puts Allen and Anna in a dire situation that ends in a dramatic rescue by Batman himself. Crossfire is not only animated in a much more appealing style, it is more serious, more intense, and certainly more engrossing - it is arguably the best chapter in the collection.

The third episode, Field Test, demonstrates Lucius Fox at his mechanical best. After he creates a device that essentially makes Bruce Wayne bulletproof, Batman sets out to test the variable mechanism. In a battle between a Russian mobster and an Italian gangster, Batman proves to himself that endangering his own life is the only acceptable risk in vigilante justice.

The mutated psycho Killer Croc makes an appearance in the fourth episode, In Darkness Dwells. He plays henchman to the Scarecrow, who rallies troops in the sewers of Gotham. Where the first few segments lacked strong villains, In Darkness Dwells finally introduces us to some recognizable Batman baddies. Perhaps the most thrilling chapter of the film, In Darkness Dwells has some of the most awe-inspiring action scenes of the lot.

Working Through Pain is barely a story, but rather a training sequence for Batman. As he struggles to surface from the squalid Gotham sewers, with a fresh wound in his side, he recounts earlier years of his life in which he learned about dealing with pain. An Indian teacher named Cassandra instructed him on controlling physical and mental anguish, but it is apparent that the vengeance inside of Batman is only ever momentarily quelled.

The last episode, Deadshot, features the most memorable villain of the film, and a story that neatly concludes the series of shorts. Expert marksman (from over 2000 meters) and assassin Deadshot is hired to murder Lieutenant Gordon. When Batman hears of the villain’s mission, he shadows the policeman – only to discover that the real target is himself.

The six animated shorts are all related to one another, and occasionally pick up directly before or after the preceding episode. While a couple of the chapters are definitely more spectacular than others, the sum of the six parts only equals a mediocre movie. It undeniably feels more like Christopher Nolan’s rendition of Batman, but it certainly isn’t anything new.

- Mike Massie

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