There was quite some talk during this movie's release as to how it is good.It increased my expectations but now only I had the time and mood to give it a watch.And it was pretty good.The design of the batman's cowl was the only issue for me.Even if it is a Victorian age film,they need not make the eyes square.I really missed the white eyes typical of animated Batman.Other than that I had no complaints.The story and writing was engaging from beginning till end and I didn't see the climax twist coming.Overall a nice addition to DC 's acclaimed animated movies list

When I first read a summary of the plot, I felt a little weirded out. Batman set in a Victorian Gotham??? But the heavy atmosphere and especially the music score was great, and when you're dealing with such disturbing names as Jack The Ripper, it's definitely going to be. It could easily be just a dark neo noir direct-to-video film, because aside from the character names and the fact that it's in Gotham nothing screams Batman. The twists and turns through the film makes it a gripping murder mystery, though, so therefore I can't say that I disliked it. The final climactic battle was similar to the one against the Joker from "The Dark Knight Returns Pt 2", and since that's one of the greatest takedowns in my opinion, this one the highlights of the film. If you can look past the odd setting I'll say it's an engaging murder mystery with some disturbing imagery to emphasize the gory nature of one of history's most insane madmen.

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight: It is Victorian times and Gotham is looking a little Londonish. There is a killer afoot named Jack the Ripper stalking the streets. Also stalking the night is a masked vigilante known only as The Bat. Can Commissioner Gordon solve the cases with the help of his prosecutor Harvey Dent and Dent's millionaire childhood chum Bruce Wayne?The Good: The greatest thing about Gotham by Gaslight is what it doesn't do. There are no Tesla or Lovecraft cameos. Nobody invents an airplane powered by a diamond. It is a realistic (relatively) style environment with people that act like people actually did back then (Guy in Bat costume excepted).Gotham by Gaslight also finds proper roles for Batman's Rogue gallery and his allies. Commissioner Gordon, Alfred the Butler, and Harvey Dent keep their old roles. While other's get to put on a new hat. Hugo Strange is a progressive doctor running a psychiatric hospital and Poison Ivy is a vaudeville stripper. The movie has Batman in the role of Sherlock Holmes with focus on detective work rather than Bat punching. Selina Kyle (Catwoman) takes the role similar to Sherlock's love interest Irene Adler and three Robins (Dick, Jason, and Tim) take a role similar to the Baker Street Irregulars. It is a lot of fun seeing well-known characters in their new roles. The movie handles this quite well.The Bad: Why is this an "R" rated film? There are some adult themes but neither Poison Ivy nor Selina Kyle shows any nudity despite some obvious story beats where it would have been expected. The violence is muted and the camera turns away from anything possible offensive. I have to think this us more of a marketing ploy (An Adult Batman Cartoon) rather than a reflection of the material. If you are going for an "R" rating and your story is about a serial killer that murders prostitutes it is not as if there is no material to work with.In Conclusion: A Sherlock Holmes mystery with a Batman dressing. It is a good mystery that will keep one guessing. Characters are well written and voiced with Selina Kyle and Harvey Dent being standouts. Overplayed Victorian elements (see above) and overplayed Batman elements (Joker) are nowhere to be found. A good family film despite the "R" rating and an excellent treat for fans of the bat.

Finally, DC puts out something watchable. No, seriously - this is like a freaking rare Pokémon, a DC film that does no make you feel like a freaking idiot for wasting your time watching it. Honestly, I am not sure if this movie is actually as great as I am making it out to be or if DC set the bar so low that I am overrating an lukewarm movie. Whatever, I am planning to read the comic it is based on and rewatch the film again because I am a hardcore fan but also a realist and I'm predicting Warner Bros being dumb enough not to reboot their cinematic universe for a least another year. Foolish executives are going to permanently damage the DC brand unless they give us a hard reboot - which is why REAL DC fans stopping paying to watch any DC movie years ago. Keep it up and save DC. I am sick of Marvel fans laughing at our movies.