Reviews

This may seem kinda hypersensitive, but particularly because it's a kids' movie, I felt oddly uncomfortable while watching this.

Right away, you do get a sense that there's life existing in the "underground" beings and landscape - but still, it's all pretty casually ripped apart, burned, and electrocuted by these humans, as they around.

It made for the sense that the story felt "off"; like they could have addressed that existence of life a little better; at least subtly? For the most part, there's not a whole lot of care or consideration on the humans' side; not for a long while.

Also, and perhaps more importantly, although the humans realize their error later on, there's little real remorse; like "OH WOW. It's US who have been terribly harming and actively killing this living being thing for decades! We really feel terrible!" - instead it's more like "oh the PLANTS are bad. Look what the PLANTS have done. I guess we should fix that ...but geez it's really a shame that we won't be able to use plant power, anymore." :/

That being said, this movie is absolutely beautiful to look at. The creatures and the world are so carefully crafted; so unique and vibrant, it's an imaginative and amazing thing to see. So even if you don't care for the story (I see others found it a bit boring), it's worthwhile for the eyeballs.

I was very much looking forward to this movie, and it didn't disappoint; a horror movie with a "what if Superman WASN'T good" bent to it. Jackson A. Dunn excellently played the part of the character Brandon Breyer and really made the movie, for me.

I see that other reviewers felt there was missed opportunity to explore the deeper "whys", but I felt that the movie was good for what it was and just as it was.

**spoiler**

I particularly appreciated that the parents were loving and nurturing - and that it didn't make any difference in the outcome.

Two episodes in, and a lot of complaining going on about this show - people apparently feeling that it did not meet their expectations.

Well I LIKE this show!

~OVERALL FEELING~

I've seen reviews suggesting that there's a lot of 'overacting' and cheesiness, however I actually like the approach. It feels more like a comic book come to life, which is what I was hoping for.

I didn't WANT to feel like I was just watching another cop drama which maybe just happens to contain some future villains. The 'larger than life' feel separates this show for me - and in a good way.

I also like that we get to see Gotham in the cold light of day. The 'real' cityscape shots are blended nicely via CGI to give Gotham its requisite Gothic accents, and the buildings are given a bit of a dirty, gray-streaked appearance too; so that even though it's not always the usual nighttime scenes we're accustomed to, we still know we're in Gotham city. That being said, there is a good balance of night scenes, as well.

~CHARACTERS~

FISH MOONEY is powerful and glamorous; she speaks with the flair of an old school comic book villain, and I love that. She rules with a necessary iron fist of violence, because pre-Batman Gotham is supposed to be BAD. REALLY BAD. I think Jada Pinkett Smith is an excellent combination of elegance and strength, here.

DET. JAMES GORDON is the determined Good Guy Cop. I like that they have him wanting to do the right thing, but not necessarily going around behaving like an utter sissy at the same time. To me, Ben Mckenzie has something reminiscent of a poor man's Russel Crowe, here; but in a good way. I thought he balanced the good guy thing very well, without coming across as too perfect (which would be annoying).

By contrast, his partner DET. HARVEY BULLOCK is the grizzled and jaded Cop Who's Seen It All. I found the character likable; you want to root for him to be a better person. Donal Logue does a great job at bringing that likability to the character, in my opinion.

For different reasons, I felt that you also want to like the OSWALD COBBLEPOT character - maybe even feel a bit bad for him. He tries to be accepted, says nice polite things; but then he goes and does something psychotic - like beating on the dude in the alley with gleeful abandon, or killing another poor dude for a convenient sandwich - and then we see that the veneer of sanity is actually rather thin, and the true villain spills out. (Again: VILLAIN, people! Evil villains, here. They aren't supposed to be behaving like "common criminals". Their very nature is meant to be over the top.) Robin Lord Taylor is a favourite for me, so far. I think he plays the character very well; flipping the switch from polite to crazy very nicely.

For the SELINA KYLE character, I have to say I preferred when she wasn't talking very much. It gave her an air of mystery that sort of dissipated when she started speaking. I suppose it makes sense for the character have the ...CATTY... smart-talking street kid attitude though, as she's meant to be a survivor who doesn't take crap from anyone. I love the look of Camren Bicondova for this part; she's perfectly cat-like. Again, I liked her best when she was sneaking around silently, but so far I still think she's a good fit for the character.

BRUCE WAYNE and ALFRED have so far been a bit in the background, for me; but that's okay because we already kind of know about them, and I'm hoping that the show will to continue to be a little more focused on the development of the various villains, anyway. I like the casting of David Mazouz as the struggling young Bruce though, and also Sean Pertwee as a younger Alfred trying to figure out how to raise this now-troubled kid on his own.

Some people seemed not to have liked the little peeks at future villains (the future POISON IVY, the future RIDDLER), but I actually liked that they kinda snuck the characters in there as a promise of what's to come.

~LOOKING FORWARD~

Overall, I'm really rooting for this show to continue and find firm footing.

So far, I like the way the story is unfolding; young Det. Gordon coming up in the police force, the paths that our various villains' lives starting to take... It has the potential to be really great if they keep growing the characters in a satisfying way, and if they slowly start to answer the questions they've set up in these first to episodes.