Comments on: Dark Knight Returns Thoughts by Mike Spoiler Alert

By: MadHitz

MadHitz — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 07:42:05 +0000

Mike, I would love it if you did a review of the entire Batman: The Animated Series from the early 90s. I’m in the process of watching it right now and it was way ahead of its time.

By: Andrew Cone

Andrew Cone — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 09:44:16 +0000

In reply to Kenshiroh. True. I am so pissed that everybody talk about how cool Bob Kane was. But he was just stealing lying douche.

By: 31FilmTalk

31FilmTalk — Sat, 08 Nov 2014 05:12:41 +0000

Mike, why are you comparing this to the 50s Batman so much? and the point of Year One was to reboot Batman’s origin story with all the conventions we know him for now, not retell his roots over again.

By: Robert Shirley

Robert Shirley — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 20:16:53 +0000

I think year one and TDKR are both supposed to be set in 1985 the difference being that the Batman in TDKR started his crime fighting career in the 40s around the time of the first comic books. So in 1986 when the book was released he represented a realistic age for a character that had existed for 40 odd years. Where as year one was more of a classic re-boot type effort with a younger Batman starting his career in a modern era.
This might explain why there are two scenes with a bat smashing through a window as TDKR is not actually a sequel to Year One.
Or it could be that the older version of bruce is just remembering the first time it happened and the scene is used to represent his Batman persona finally taking over again.

By: Peter A

Peter A — Sat, 22 Feb 2014 05:01:07 +0000

I think Batman chose to quit Crimefighting when the Government forced it, not when the last Robin died. From what Superman says I think Batman was the last to bow out, on principle of course. From my reading of DKR / Batman comics / This Movie. Maybe I missed something

By: Haravikk Mistral

Haravikk Mistral — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 22:19:51 +0000

I really didn’t like Dark Knight Returns. It has some of the worst character portrayals I’ve ever seen. The return of Batman could have worked brilliant when paralleled with a return by Two Face or the Joker, but both are brief, and handled extremely badly. Two Face’s plan is obvious and thwarted almost immediately, while the Joker doesn’t even have a plan; yes he’s insane but he usually has some kind of twisted goal, he doesn’t even escape through his own ingenuity he’s just rescued by two supernatural flying gas-spewing doll… things.

Instead the main villains are serial murdering psychotic gangs led by a podgy idiot with metal nipples; even a corrupt Gotham PD should have done something about these idiots as there is no subtlety or cleverness to them, they just murder people for fun, not the hardest criminals to find there.

I’ve never been a fan of DC universe crossovers, partly because I don’t like that many of DC’s characters; far too many arbitrarily super powered people with only very slight variations. But Superman is in this, and yet he’s… very badly handled. He submissively follows the orders of a clearly corrupt president by murdering soldiers in a war of genocide, yet when Batman loses his temper and kills one person who suddenly agrees that Batman is out of control? Uhm… what? It’s one thing for Superman to be patriotic, but I’m pretty sure he’s not a completely brainless idiot.

It’s a shame, as the production quality is great as you’d expect; great animation, great music, and decent voice acting, though I still don’t like the choices for the Batman and the Joker. But the story totally ruins it by badly handling lots of characters, haphazardly stringing events together between ridiculous set-pieces, and introducing an entirely superfluous new Robin with no redeeming features. But it’s just inexcusable to get the character of Batman so wrong; there’s no intelligence behind what he does, no believable personal struggle, there’s just nothing to connect with.

I’m very much of the opinion that the people that like this only like it for the action sequences, and the nerdgasm that is the fight between Batman and Superman, but these do not redeem a terrible storyline.

By: karel1

karel1 — Wed, 24 Jul 2013 02:03:10 +0000

Great Review Mike! I couldn’t agree with you more: As they progress, the animated movies coming out of the DC Studios are superb, and they get only seem to get better with each movie they make. My only gripe is: They keep using the same characters for their movies. It’s either Batman or Superman. Granted they DID make a Wonder Woman cartoon, but for the whole, it’s either Bats or Supes. I wish they’d do a Green Arrow movie, Nightwing, Flash, Huntress or any other number of other DC characters.

Great job Mike! Keep them coming!

By: Mitch Sturm

Mitch Sturm — Tue, 23 Jul 2013 06:42:47 +0000

In reply to Robert Marsach. That's because they have nothing to compare it to. He had his fingerprint and DNA records erased.

By: nammm3

nammm3 — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 19:52:19 +0000

Sweeeeet review Mike! Thank goodness your gripes about these movies were only minor because these really do seem good!

By: Eric Monfils

Eric Monfils — Sat, 20 Jul 2013 06:29:00 +0000

The reason I think they kept Batman’s “no kill” rule is because it makes him a far more interesting character. If Batman just runs around killing people, then he’s a common vigilante and it makes him no better than the villains he hunts. But, Batman having the technical and physical skill to kill, but choosing not to makes him more than a common vigilante. It gives him his own “World of Cardboard” dilemma that he has to deal with. Furthermore, when/if he does end up having to kill someone, you know it will have some serious impact.

At least, that’s what I think.