Batman: Knightfall Part 1 has finally arrived, adapting one of the biggest stories in the Dark Knight’s history from DC Comics. Not only did this storyline introduce Gotham City to the villainous Bane, but it also saw a new Batman take the cape and cowl as Azrael’s time as the Caped Crusader ushered in a dark period. While the latest animated movie did a solid job of translating many of the moving pieces that were involved, the first entry of the trilogy proves that there are still some big issues that the DC Animated Universe needs to work out before firing on all cylinders.
The Knightfall saga, for those who might not be familiar with the comics, is a robust comic storyline that stretches across several years. Beginning with Bane’s arrival in Gotham and eventually ending with Bruce taking the costume back from Jean Paul Valley, this animated adaptation handles the part of the saga that sees Bruce’s back broken by his larger-than-life rogue. Despite the story being split into three, Knightfall’s first entry breezes past some of the biggest moments of the comics, at times almost feeling like an outline of the source material. With a light runtime of seventy-five minutes, we couldn’t help but feel that with even a ninety-minute runtime, if not a two-hour runtime, the introductory film could have done so much better.
The Problems With Knightfall And The Way Forward
Digging deeper into Knightfall’s story, Bane’s destruction of Arkham Asylum unleashed nearly all of Batman’s rogues’ gallery, causing the Dark Knight to need to spend countless days and nights to track them down. Unfortunately, thanks to the movie’s runtime, many of the classic fights that were a part of the original saga had to lie on the cutting room floor. The Joker, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, Two-Face, and many other antagonists were essential parts of demonstrating just how out of control Gotham City was. In turn, Bruce had to become more haggard and weary from facing down his greatest villains one after the other.
Another big element that had to fall by the wayside was Azrael’s origin story, which is briefly skimmed to focus more on Bane himself and his time growing up in Santa Prisca’s harshest prison. While Jean Paul Valley’s time in the St. Dumas cult was hinted at, as well as the “System” currently plaguing him, it feels like a missed opportunity to explore his personality more. In the original comics, the miniseries “Batman: Sword of Azrael” laid everything out in a tight package, but this wasn’t the case for Knightfall’s first animated outing. With two more feature-length films set to arrive, here is hoping that the animated outings get more time to breathe and that the time can be managed that much better.
Batman: Knightfall’s Michael Mando Reveals How He Found His Unique Bane Voice (EXCLUSIVE)
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