So much has been done with Batman at this point that you would think people would be running out of ideas. You’d be wrong of course, and Batman: Gotham by Gaslight would be the show to prove it. Set in the late 19th century, the movie’s plot seems to center around the very real issue of Jack the Ripper, and how Batman goes about finding out who the killer is and solving the issue. This kind of movie seems a bit edgy even for the dark knight since his normal villains are usually a lot crazier on a grand scale than Jack the Ripper.
He won’t play games with Batman, and in fact he doesn’t play games period. He’s out to kill, and that’s what he does. If he gets to the victim first then he’s going to kill her without reservation and without a need to toy with Batman. That is what makes Jack the Ripper a unique enemy for Batman and why it’s such a grand story that offers little in the way of the usual fare that Batman is used to.
What’s interesting about this film is that the creators have actually put a lot of the Batman universe into it. You can see other characters such as Poison Ivy and Catwoman as they’re relegated to being somewhat the same but still different in design and purpose. For instance, Selena Kyle is all about protecting women but she isn’t dressing up as as female vigilante to do so. It’s a different world for Batman and a different set of circumstances but at the same time it’s still Batman and the core concepts have been kept.
One thing it is though is very, very dark. It’s not just the subject matter, but the lighting. It’s normal to see Batman cartoons and films without a lot of light, but the stark contrasts between light and dark in this animated movie is very profound, enough so that it seems notably darker than any other Batman animated film. It lends a rather dim and dangerous lean to the film and highlights the very real and disturbing nature of the setting. After all Jack the Ripper was in fact a real person, but in real life the Batman wasn’t there to help out.
Another thing about this film is that Batman has a very different look than people have seen before. Everyone is used to the padded, skin tight outfits that the dark night wears, but this version features wrinkled, rumpled clothing and a different cape and cowl than before. You can actually see Batman’s eyes instead of just white spaces and the utility belt is huge. Batman still has his gadgets and tools for crime fighting but there’s nothing high tech, and certainly no computers that he can use to quickly apprehend the villain. In short this is Batman as he might have been before the advent of modern technology.
The film looks like it might be entertaining if slightly adult in nature due to the killings that Jack the Ripper perpetrates, but it could be worth it to take a look.
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