This is the animated movie based on the Frank Miller comic of the same name, printed in 1987. It's kind of sad that it took that long to get an adaptation. Batman Begins took a number of elements from the comic, but is not a direct version. The animated one is.Jim Gordon (Bryan Cranston) transfers to Gotham City as a lieutenant to find that the police force is rife with corruption. Bruce Wayne (Ben McKenzie) has just returned from a 12-year stint abroad knowing the same thing. Jim tries to make a life for his wife, Barbara, who is pregnant with their son. Bruce puts on some facepaint and tries to clean up the East Side singlehandedly. He runs into an angry prostitute named Selina (Eliza Dushku) and gets shot by the cops. Disheartened, he broods and bleeds in an armchair for a sign, something that will make the evildoers of the city fear him. A bat flies through the window, and lo, a legend is born. Which is not to say that he doesn't spend the majority of the movie getting his ass kicked.
The voice actors are all pretty recognizable. I wasn't terribly keen on Ben McKenzie but Elize Dushku makes a good Catwoman. The animation is very crisp and very Batman-like. (I used to watch the animated Batman cartoons and I use that as my touchstone for what Batman should look like.) If you're a fan of the comics, this is pretty solid. If you're just a fan of Batman, it's worth watching just to be aware of the canon.
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