In case you didn’t know, I do not believe that the BATMAN: KNIGHTFALL comic book saga is a Batman Classic. The first part—KNIGHTFALL—is damn good, but KNIGHTQUEST and KNIGHTSEND are average at best…but that’s a topic for another day!
When it was announced that this story was getting the animated Batman movie treatment, I wasn’t as excited for it as I was for some of the previous adaptations. Would it go the “inspired by” route, or by the way of a straight-up adaptation? I personally prefer the former approach like THE LONG HALLOWEEN and GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT. And I am happy to report that they went with “inspired by”.
That’s why BATMAN: KNIGHTFALL PART I: KNIGHTFALL works so well for me: it doesn’t chain itself to every beat of the comics. Much like the aforementioned THE LONG HALLOWEEN, this film takes the core premise and reimagines it in a way that feels leaner (which is a VERY good thing), more cinematic, and far more engaging than a straight-up adaptation.
The animation is slick, the pacing is tight, and the movie is violent AF—it absolutely earns its R rating, so don’t be buying it for the kiddos (They can watch MERRY LITTLE BATMAN!) The voice cast is strong across the board, with Anson Mount delivering a grounded, very tired and weary Batman pushed to his limits (Y’all know why, so no reason to mention here), and Michael Mando (My man Nacho from BETTER CALL SAUL!) giving Bane real menace, intelligence, and presence. Their performances make the inevitable showdown hit with genuine dramatic weight rather than feeling like a panel for panel recreation.
My only real quibbles come from the source material, so it’s not fair to judge this adaptation for that. Let’s just say that I think Bane cheated when he finally took on The Batman.
Based on its own, I put KNIGHTFALL PART II: KNIGHTFALL up there with some of my personal animated Batman movie favorites. But since it’s one story being told over three films, I’ll reserve final judgement on its hierarchy once this trilogy is complete.
But, if the next two parts maintain this level of quality, we could be looking at one of the stronger entries in DC’s modern animated lineup. Stay tuned. – Bill “Jett” Ramey
