Jack the Ripper and the Victorian are are an ideal vehicle for Batman, thus stripped of his gadgets and boiled down to his detective essence. And I was thrilled to see Bruce Greenwood back as the Caped Crusader (he killed it in Under the Red Hood) and the cast is good overall. I guess it's the animation style that left me somewhat cold. A bit too clean, it needed a grittier look befitting it's serial killer and sex worker subject matter.

I was intrigued when I found this animated "Batman" movie and decided to give it a go, since it felt like it had great potential given the setting in which it took place.

However, while the setting was good, then the storyline was nothing more than your average generic and mediocre writing, which utterly diluted the entire experience.

The overall impression of "Batman: Gotham By Gaslight" was a very mediocre one. And this is nowhere near being in the top league of animated "Batman" tales.

The voice acting was good and the animation itself was good. But a mundane and unimaginative storyline just chopped everything right down without prejudice.

Certainly, the hardcore fans of Batman will find some enjoyment in this animated movie. I, however, as a non-fan found it to be generic and mediocre at best.

Reading the terrific graphic novel The Surrogates by Robert Venditti,I mentioned to my dad that I was going to give it afterwards to a friends son who has gotten really into comics. My dad surprised me by suggesting bundling the novel with a disc he had picked up. Having read praise for the DCUAOM,I got set to catch Batman by the gaslight.

View on the film:

Flying into the night for the first time since Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010),Bruce Greenwood gives a rich performance as Batman,with Greenwood expressing a warmth in Bruce Wayne to support the people of Gotham,which is rubbed up against the raw grow Batman unleashes in anger when he finds the latest victim of the Ripper. Curling up next to the Bat,Jennifer Carpenter gives a purfect turn as Selina Kyle/ Cat Woman, which threads Kyle's quick-witted side with a playful,seductive edge.

Igniting the gaslight from Brian Augustyn & Mike Mignola's original graphic novel, the screenplay by James Krieg flies Bruce Wayne's detective skills into Sherlock Holmes territory, highlighted in a funny exchange where Wayne reveals what he can deduct from Kyle's attire. Going back to the pulp roots of Batman with a alternative history twist on Jack the Ripper, Krieg turns the knife on the victims of the Ripper bringing Bruce Wayne into the frame, thrillingly causing Batman not only to have to fight to solve the case,but also battle from getting caught as a suspect.

Retaining the detailed Noir-style hand-drawn animation which made the original series a classic, director Sam Liu wisely keeps the CGI element as a method to enhance the hand-drawn style, bringing a depth of field to the winding side streets of Gotham where the Ripper hides in the shadows. Surprisingly visceral in the dash of Victorian red ink darting across the screen from the Ripper's latest victim, Liu stages spectacular action scenes, where the detailed facial animation and moody Gothic backgrounds blend perfectly with the flicker of CGI flames,as Batman frees himself from the hands of the Ripper.