In general, Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Trilogy" can be seen as the beginning of the re-emergence of DC comics. The popularity of these three films has not only driven the further development of live-action films by DC and Warner, but also fed back into the two-dimensional field, making the Batman animated film look completely different from before, more original, more refined and richer. Features became a feature of the new-age Batman animated films. "Batman: Gotham Knight" and "Batman: Red Shadows" have their own highlights, and the two "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" are even more classic. Of course, there is also "Batman: Year One" that tells the origin story.
Batman: Year One is based on Frank Miller's original comic of the same name. When it comes to Frank Miller, it should be said that audiences familiar with American comics know everything, such as "Batman: Year One", "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns", "Sin City", "Spartan 300 Warriors", etc. Heavyweight works have established its position in the comics circle. If 1986's "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" created a radical and tough old Batman and set the stage for deifying Batman and making him DC's strongest, then the following year's publication "Batman: Year One" resets the origin of the character Batman, and is a landmark work with epoch-making significance in the history of Batman publishing.
The birth of these two wonderful works has greatly improved the popularity of Batman, saved the sluggish sales of Batman comics from the 1960s to the 1980s, and also improved the overall style of Batman. Back to the original dark and dark tone, and more realistic. Batman's enemies are more cunning, crazy and powerful than ever, and his own trauma is repeatedly emphasized, becoming more and more lonely, increasingly paranoid and dark.
What was the biggest trauma for Bruce Wayne? It is nothing more than that when he and his parents came home from watching a movie when he was young, they encountered gangsters and brutally killed his parents in front of him. We have seen this scene in many movies and TV works about Batman, and that night was deeply etched in his mind and became his eternal nightmare. In "Batman: Year One", Bruce, who has been wandering abroad for more than ten years, returns to Gotham, thinking he has found a way to save this sinful city. But the reality made him even more disappointed. The first time he took to the streets to fight crime ended in failure. The prostitute (the future Catwoman) who wanted to rescue instead helped the pimp to fight her, and the police who received the protection fee opened the door again. The gun wounded him, and the overwhelming depression and pain almost broke him, more than the dark memories of his childhood.
It wasn't just Bruce who suffered setbacks, but James Gordon, a newcomer. The story of this film goes hand in hand in two lines, and although the title is "Batman", Gordon is a POV character with more roles. From the moment he came to the Gotham Police Department, Gordon felt that this was a desperate city, full of chaos and corruption, and politicians, police and gangsters colluded and ganged up. Especially the police station where he is, not only is not the guardian of maintaining the stability of the city, but has actually become a source of evil. The upright Gordon was naturally unable to join forces with them, so he was threatened and even beaten by his colleagues.
Just like the style of "Batman: Year One", its biggest advantage is realism. Heroes are not perfect, heroes are mortals too, including Bruce Wayne and James Gordon. The former has his own anxiety, helplessness and hesitation, until inspired by a bat that broke through the window, he regained his spirits and found a way to fight crime. The same is true for the latter. When he was at a loss in his career, he even fell into an extramarital affair with a female colleague, and was seized by underworld forces as a threat. Fortunately, he woke up in time and confessed everything to his wife.
Although they all stand on the opposite side of criminals, after all, Gordon and Batman have different positions. Gordon was originally assigned by the police chief to capture Batman. However, in the process of pursuit, Gordon, who was at a low ebb in his life, gradually learned what Batman did, and also recognized the limited police power in Gotham law enforcement. As a cop he has to obey the law, but Batman doesn't. Not only does he need Batman, but Gotham City needs such a Dark Knight as well. Therefore, two imperfect people, two souls who are equally hungry for justice, began to cherish each other, and finally achieved a great "revolutionary friendship".
Before Nolan filmed "Batman: The Movie", Warner Bros. had plans to bring "Batman: Year One" to the big screen, written by original author Frank Miller and featuring Darren Aronoff Sky directed, but unfortunately even the script has been basically determined and finally abandoned by Warner. According to Frank Miller, Warner Bros. management wanted a family-friendly Batman movie rather than a darker story. Of course, the "Dark Knight Trilogy", which later borrowed heavily from Frank Miller's works, still hit Warner in the face, and it also proved the extraordinary skill of this comic master from another side.
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