by R.C. Samo
Editor-in-Chief
DC Comics and Warner Bros. Entertainment have surpassed every expectation in adapting the Frank Miller classic via the Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1.
Fans will not be disappointed with the laborious work put in by Andrea Romano, Jay Oliva, Bob Goodman and Bruce Timm in dividing this monumental story into two parts. Staying true to Miller’s vision of, “…giving Batman his balls back.”
Doctors David Selby as Commissioner James Gordon and Peter Weller voicing Batman/Bruce Wayne along with Emmy winner, Ariel Winter portraying Robin/Carrie Kelley, lead a cast of voice acting heavyweights in only a line up that Romano could put together.
Peter Weller voices Batman
“Peter is wonderful for brevity of words. He doesn’t talk a lot and gets right to the point, just like Bruce Wayne, just like Batman. Batman isn’t going to sit around and have a chat with a villian, he’s going to get right to the point,” said Romano about casting Weller.
The art inspired by Miller’s style stays true to his vision of an alternate 1985. Oliva pulled from Zack Snider’s version of the Watchmen in how he related his adaptation of animated feature.
“No one can do Frank Miller except Frank Miller. When it was one of those iconic panels I didn’t want to just cut to it and go, ‘Here it is,’ I wanted to build up to it. I wanted this movie to be a great companion to the graphic novel,” said Olivia at the Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1, premiere.
Selby compared his experiences of agonizing through his doctorate dissertation while living in New York City, saying that it was just another growing pain in shaping who he has become.
“I loved doing Gordon, I put on the trench coat and went back to the early drawings, with the had and flipped up collar, you could just tell by looking at his face he had been through some of the wars. I respected that,” said Selby about his passion for playing Batman’s long time confidante.
David Selby voicing James Gordon
The long wait was finally over as Weller made his way over to discuss his role as Batman. Romano’s discription of Weller was spot on as his word choices and brevity confirmed him as being the seasoned Bruce Wayne.
“I got to play Batman coming out of retirement, where he is spiritually bankrupt, drinking himself to death and living in a darker era. He cannot sit back idly by waiting for things to get better,” said Weller about what enticed him to play the Dark Knight.
Batman:The Dark Knight Returns Part 1, left me screaming at the TV, “But I want to finish the story!!!” The cast is phenomenal and the animation is everything you have come to expect from Timm and what he’s done with Batman since the early 90s. You will almost forget this is an animated feature as you get lost in the story. The worst part about Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 is that we have to wait until February, 2013 for the conclusion. However, if part two is anything like part one, we will be waiting on pins and needles.
