Batman: Gotham by Gaslight

Directed by Sam Liu
2018, Warner Bros. Animation
78 minutes

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Victorian era fiction was never been an area of interest for me despite its overwhelming popularity. The fantasy of class warfare, the rise of industrialization, and the budding elements of modern progress—these just aren’t appealing to me. Steampunk, a subgenre based out of the Victorian aesthetic, has also failed to capture my interest. I would much rather go directly to cyberpunk for my transhumanist appetites. Therefore, I approached Batman: Gotham by Gaslight with some trepidation. I had been aware of the Elseworlds graphic novel of the same name, but hadn’t taken the time to read it. I know that the movie has some significant differences from the graphic novel, but in both cases I feel as though the appeal of Gotham by Gaslight isn’t the narrative, but the setting. Perhaps for some, the setting is enough to make the film enjoyable. As for me, I found that the film lacked a compelling narrative, had excessive fan service and retreaded the same themes as previous Batman stories. Gotham by Gaslight continues what I consider to be a string of below average DC Animated Original Movies, going as far back as The Flashpoint Paradox. While there have been some decent titles since then—Justice League Dark and Gods & Monsters come to mind—most have felt underdeveloped and cheaply made.

The animation is one aspect of Gotham by Gaslight that I did end up enjoying. It was reminiscent of some of the older animated DC cartoons, straying from the style used by Young Justice and Justice League: War. Character designs are simple, yet recognizable. The backgrounds even remind me of the film noir style used for Batman the Animated Series, as they are often dark and gritty. However, I sometimes found the art uninspired and flat. I would have rather seen more colour in the backgrounds and characters. Browns and grays can only be interesting for so long before they become tiresome. Finally, I must admit that the voice acting was quite good. I normally notice when Batman is not voiced by Kevin Conroy, but I believe the setting and the quality of the voice acting helped me to accept Bruce Greenwood’s performance. The rest of the cast is also superb, especially the voice performances for Selina Kyle and James Gordon.

I will not be spoiling the ending of Gotham by Gaslight, as it was spoiled for me and I don’t believe the story holds up without its twist ending. Suffice to say that it is a bad detective story, one in which the detective—in this case, Batman—does very little in terms of investigation and instead comes to resolve the case by chance and circumstance. It felt as though the story was much more focused on the characters and providing fan service. There are many, many moments in the film where it takes the time to accentuate its specific take on characters like Poison Ivy or the Robins as if to say: “Hey look! Isn’t this clever? See what we did? Haha! Isn’t it funny how the Robins are street rats and Batman saves them? That’s like the regular canon but not!” I would be okay with one or two of these moments, but the film is filled with these kinds of references. The Flashpoint Paradox had a similar problem, but I could accept it since it fit the specific premise of that movie. In Gotham by Gaslight, it’s tiring that every scene must hold some kind of reference to the Batman canon for it to be considered interesting. I’ve spoken before in my Batman & Robin Adventures: Volume 1 review how comic book media is notorious for stroking its own ego, and Gotham by Gaslight doesn’t stray far from that path.

Since I found little enjoyment in the setting or in the constant references to the Batman universe, Batman: Gotham by Gaslight has little to offer me. I feel like it had all been done before and the steampunk flavour did little to make it interesting. Indeed, the cast of characters seemed as unimpressed with Batman and the world they inhabited as I did. I saw more wonder and excitement from the characters in The Dark Knight Returns than from the cast here. All the characters are either arrogant or no-nonsense, which results in them being cliché and boring. With a bland story and too many forced references, the concept alone isn’t enough to make the movie interesting, and Gotham by Gaslight ends up being a mundane viewing experience as a result.