IR DVD Review: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS [Warner Home Video]

Approaching and trying to compare Frank Miller's late 1980s dystopian opus "The Dark Knight Returns" to the new animated perception of it requires a degree of separation. Miller's perception of a darker view of the older, worn-down exploits of Gotham's crime fighter can be reflected at times in "The Dark Knight Rises". In adapting this noir progression, the director and animators do an effective job of respecting the source material and the dark color schemes. "TDKR" was always a difficult property to adapt because of the age of its lead character but also the general myopic view of the state of society. Most of the graphic novel works from the access of how the news media sees how these ideals in the world function. Oddly enough, what Frank Miller envisioned in 1986 is much more prevalent today than it ever was because of the internet and cable television. While The Mutants (including their grandly fat leader -- who has more than a passing mixture of DeVito's Penguin and Tom Hardy's Bane), there is something less human and more lethal about them especially with his physical form (like the Clown from "IT"). The story has a built-in cliffhanger which probably intersperses itself from the books. This is the crux of the waking of Joker out of a coma in Arkham Asylum which is nicely played within the final moments without overarching what it means. The intermittance of a new female Robin actually plays more into the texture of today even more so than in the 80s when it was written. The use of incessant incantations of blood also in a more realistic setting does set the progression aside because it feels more grounded. The small featurette on the disc points to the next installment with a little bit of animation as well as concept drawings which seem to keep it in texture. The inclusion of a promo for a dark Batman/Superman animated film where they are hunted down like villains keeps in the track of the general tones of the DVD. The presentation of "The Dark Knight Returns - Part I" is bare bones but understands necessity and the point of the track without overdoing it.B