Did somebody pay someone something to make this p.o.s.? Even going by the low standards to which I hold animated features this is utter garbage. It feels like somebody gave their 7 year old a budget to make a Batman animated feature. I never read Batman Year One, but I had heard of it, and therefore assumed that it was a decent graphic novel. The fact that several reviewers here have claimed this animated feature's faithfulness to the graphic novel is severely alarming, as I've read other Frank Miller yarns and never seen him produce any storyline from which could be derived crap like this by anyone other than an infant playing with his Batman Lego. Batman has appeared all of once 10 minutes in, Gordon just joined the force and is in a car with Essen (or whatever her name is) and immediately, for no apparent reason, coming with a random conclusion fully out of the blue, she's like "Well, Bruce Wayne's parents died and he's the only one who can afford to be Batman"....Well then, case closed! Worst secret identity ever?!....A bat flies through the glass of his study window even destroying the wooden frame and lands up the head of his dad's statue? WTF? Superbat?! That freakin' bat shoulda been the hero!...Gordon opens fire on the goons who have his baby in hand threatening to kill it, and they just drive away, fleeing instead of carrying through with their threat? Did mommy call them home for dinner time?... And Bruce Wayne can fall faster than everyone else due to his mastery of gravity, a heretofore undisclosed power of Batman's, hence jumping down from the bridge, PAST Gordon and the thug who are already falling, and catching Gordon's child whom those two had dropped? Do physics or any amount of believability matter to any of you people? If this is storytelling then I just wrote the best script ever! Who wants to make a movie out of my review?! It's gonna make as much sense as Batman Year One at least! The ONLY thing I liked about this p.o.s. was how they made Batman look like he was making rookie mistakes. I gave it 1 extra star for that. R.I.P.

After a string of bad to mediocre Batman animations I went into this with very low expectations. Due to it's origin plot and short runtime perhaps no expectations at all.Batman: Year One looks at how Batman, Catwoman & Commissioner Gordon came about and does it in a sombre drama style rather than traditional action packed superhero action.With the voice talents of Bryan Cranston, Eliza Dushku and the late great Jon Polito everyone does a decent job and that includes the writers.With plenty of DC alumni appearing during the films single hour duration this is certainly one of the best Batman animated outings.Perhaps it should have been longer, perhaps Catwoman should have by all rights got more screentime and perhaps they could have done without the ridiculous bats scene!Regardless this was a damn fine effort and I'd have liked to see more like this.The Good:Well writtenDecent voice talentsA great toned down approachThe Bad:Couple of dumb scenesCheating protagonist, again!Things I Learnt From This Movie:If I had Bruce Waynes money I'd likely be what he pretended to be to Gordon, but the hookers would have less fake tan

I saw this movie about two years ago and it wasn't that memorable, to be honest.But I do remember that mainly focused on Commissioner Gordon's life as a cop and his life struggles because of his wife having a baby, him having an affair with a colleague at work and to putting an end to the Batman. The movie kinda had bad animation and I find it weird that Selina Kyle bearly has hair, a daughter and if I remember correctly a husband or a an agent who she ends up killing. I must admit though in a scene where a swarm of Bats come in that reminded me of Batman Begins (See my review) when he is getting away with the cops.I also think that Bryan Crayson, sorry if I missed spelt his name wrong, was a good voice for Jim Gordon.

"Batman: Year One" is a direct-to-video animated film adapted from the graphic novel written by Frank Miller and illustrated by David Mazzucchelli with Richmond Lewis. The animated version of "Batman: Year One" is entirely faithful to Frank Miller's original comic book story to the point that differences are almost negligible. Only two minor scenes are missing and nothing is depicted out of order from the original. Some scenes are shortened and some are lengthened for the needs of telling a story on film, but everything that happens in the comic happens in the movie. A few minor scenes are also added. Be aware that this is not really a movie for children – some sexual situations and violence from the original comic book also appear here.It is not expressed explicitly during the film, but it is likely that this film is set in the 1986/1987 (which was the time when the comic was published). The story follows the first year of Bruce Wayne's time as Batman. This is pretty much an origins story . The focus is very much on the parallel fates of Gordon and Wayne and the roots of their working relationship.This is a dark , gritty and realistic vision of Batman. There are no costumed villains here (which many will find disappointing). Both Gordon and Batman have to fight against the mob and corrupted police. This is actually more of a Jim Gordon's story . His moral dilemmas feels real and overall it's very easy to care for him. On the other side the movie kinda fails to bring the same emotional connection for Bruce Wayne. I did cared for Wayne/Batman , but his emotional pain seems flat compared to the problems that Gordon is having.This plot gives the film an accessible and realistic feel. Gotham city looks ordinary and there are no super gadgets here. Batman makes mistakes and he can be hurt very easily. There are some bad things here. Some of the important lines of dialogue were cut , the ones which explained main characters motivations . The final sequence with some supernatural free- running is kinda cheesy . The biggest problem here is however the subplot with Selina Kyle . The movie just like the original graphic novel doesn't really do anything with her. The subplot of her becoming Catwoman feels rushed. She really adds nothing film to advance the plot.Bryan Cranston as detective James Gordon is simply great. There is a lot of subtle emotions hidden in the words he says. I admit that I was disappointed with Ben McKenzie's voice over as Batman/Bruce Wayne. His performance felt wooden and uninspired for me. The supporting cast is solid , especially Eliza Dushku as Selina Kyle/Catwoman , Katee Sackhoff as Sarah Essen and Fred Tatasciore as the corrupt Flass.Overall , this is a solid and enjoyable movie that works as a tribute to one of the best graphic novels made. There are a few scenes and ideas that appear in "Batman: Year One" that also appear in Christopher Nolan's great "Batman Begins" (which was inspired heavily by "BYO"). If you liked Nolan's take on Batman , you should like this one too. I give it 7/10.