Batman: Year One

[Panthro]

McKenzie was perfect for Year One IMO. He really pulls off playing a stern Bruce Wayne and does a great job pretending to be a pig.

Agreed.

 

[Kane52630]

The more I think about it the more I like McKenzie as young Bruce Wayne.

 

[akfj]

If anything, Conroy's voice in JLU seemed to have a higher tone, almost sounding a tad younger than his BTAS/TNBA counterpart.

I remember reading somewhere that Conroy changed his approach in order to save his voice when it came time to do TNBA, and he's been doing it that way ever since. His original BTAS Batman voice was much more gravelly than his later voice work.

 

[KRIM]

I've criticized him for that, but I must commend him for giving a slightly more retro (read: raspier) delivery in Arkham City.

 

[Lencho01]

Except Kevin Conroy was 20 years younger when Mask of the Phantasm came out. While the overall style is the same, it just feels a bit different. Because he's older.

Conroy's Bruce Wayne voice in the Mask of the Phantasm flashbacks and even in Robin's Reckoning had a more youthful tone that was just lacking in Batman: Gotham Knight. It sounded like his Bruce Wayne voice from Justice League in which Batman is clearly in his mid to late 30's.

And it didn't help that due to the different styles, he looked really young in some shorts more than others.

I still think they should've gotten different voice actors for each short.

 

[Gold Samurai]

I remember reading somewhere that Conroy changed his approach in order to save his voice when it came time to do TNBA, and he's been doing it that way ever since. His original BTAS Batman voice was much more gravelly than his later voice work.

I definitely noticed it was gravelly.

Later on in the last season of Batman TAS he just used his regular voice for Bruce Wayne and Batman

He continued it in "Justice League"

 

[akfj]

He changed it for the sequel series to BTAS, The New Batman Adventures. His voice was pretty consistent throughout the original BTAS run. The TNBA voice is pretty much what he would continue using throughout Justice League and other projects.

 

[Panthro]

And it didn't help that due to the different styles, he looked really young in some shorts more than others.

I still think they should've gotten different voice actors for each short.

Yeah that probably would have been better.

 

[JBElliott]

Yup, because I prefer real Superman and a story written by a real writer and not some artist who thinks he can write.

"Man of Steel" was better all the way around than "Birthright".

 

[JBElliott]

I like the comics but this movie... well, that was nothing. "Year One" doesn't really translate into a good movie. Too much voice-over, no real storyline. And the voice work was rather disappointing. Might as well just have turned this into a motion comic.

I give this 5/10 at most.

The "too much voice-over" critique is something I've heard a lot of. However, I don't think it's a valid critique. There are many movies that are quite good that had at least as much voice-over.

I feel that the comic could work as a great start for an ongoing live action television series with the comic serving as the "skeleton" on which to build and flesh out the characters over the course of several episodes.

The comic didn't feel rushed perhaps because in reading it I filled in a lot of things with memories of decades worth of reading of other Batman comics. However, the animated film felt a bit rushed, as if somehow I wasn't filling in the details myself the same way as when I'd read the comic. Given that, it might have been worth it to flesh out some things, for instance expand on the female characters: Barbara Gordon, Sarah Essen and Selina Kyle. In a television series, I could see entire episodes (or the bulk of one) dedicated to those characters over the arc of "Year One" that would make it a more well rounded product.

That said, I enjoyed the animated film, but not as much as the comic. A big part of it was that the animation didn't capture Mazzuchelli's art as much as I'd hoped.

 

[hippie_hunter]

And it didn't help that due to the different styles, he looked really young in some shorts more than others.

I still think they should've gotten different voice actors for each short.

I don't think that each short needed different voice actors, but considering that Batman: Gotham Knight was designed to be more of a tie-in to the Dark Knight and somewhat tie into continuity of the Nolan Batman films, it would have been better to get someone who sounds a bit more like Christian Bale's Batman than Kevin Conroy's Batman.

 

[EliteF50]

I love everything Kevin's ever done, but Arkham City was one of his best performances ever.

 

[DW4]

I love everything Kevin's ever done, but Arkham City was one of his best performances ever.

Both Arkham Asylum and Arkham City was his best projects from JLU ended. Arkham City in particular was fantastic, he absolutely nailed it.

 

[Gamma Goliath]

I felt like Mckenzie's was just reading lines. No emotion or passion in his voice. Even Greenwood had more personality as bruce/batman in red hood.

 

[KRIM]

That was the point. If you've heard Ben talk, he's a very naturally sounding and happy type of guy. The fact that his delivery is so opposite of that, indicates a particular direction. He was off a bit, mostly during the monologues, but I thought he did a fine job with his Public Wayne and Batman. I'd always imagined all that initial isolation would have left him cold and incapable of conversing with others in a straight manner without pretending. A few more performances to break in that voice and refine it, I genuinely think he could be one of my more favorite voice actors for this role.

Shame that these one-shots don't let actors get into the groove of their characters.

 

[KingMob]

I remember seeing previews of the movie, and not liking McKenzie's voice, but after watching the movie, I didn't even notice.

 

[Gamma Goliath]

That was the point. If you've heard Ben talk, he's a very naturally sounding and happy type of guy. The fact that his delivery is so opposite of that, indicates a particular direction. He was off a bit, mostly during the monologues, but I thought he did a fine job with his Public Wayne and Batman. I'd always imagined all that initial isolation would have left him cold and incapable of conversing with others in a straight manner without pretending. A few more performances to break in that voice and refine it, I genuinely think he could be one of my more favorite voice actors for this role.

Shame that these one-shots don't let actors get into the groove of their characters.

I don't know, his voice bored me to tears.

 

[KRIM]

I don't know, his voice bored me to tears.

I can understand being averse to it. Though I do gravitate towards the monosyllabic and dry delivery, as it seems fitting for Batman. Curious, how did you feel about Jeremy Sisto in New Frontier?

 

[KingMob]

Although not directed towards me, I will answer that question. I actually enjoyed Sisto as Batman. More so than Greenwood or McKenzie.

 

[Gamma Goliath]

I can understand being averse to it. Though I do gravitate towards the monosyllabic and dry delivery, as it seems fitting for Batman. Curious, how did you feel about Jeremy Sisto in New Frontier?

McKenzie's batman voice was fine, but I would've liked to hear Bruce's voice differently.

Hmm...its been a long time since I've seen that (mainly because I didn't like it much), but I remember it sounding odd. Not bad, just odd.

 

[EliteF50]

His voice for Batman didn't sound "cold" to me. It sounded bored and lifeless. He straight up read it off a paper. And if that was an excuse, what about his Bruce Wayne? It was just as badly delivered, albiet in a different way.

 

[EliteF50]

Both Arkham Asylum and Arkham City was his best projects from JLU ended. Arkham City in particular was fantastic, he absolutely nailed it.

I think Arkham City's performance was an improvement over Arkham Asylum's (that's not to say it was bad in the least, it was amazing).

 

[KRIM]

His voice for Batman didn't sound "cold" to me. It sounded bored and lifeless. He straight up read it off a paper. And if that was an excuse, what about his Bruce Wayne? It was just as badly delivered, albiet in a different way.

He didn't just read it off the paper as it sounds nothing like Ben in real life. There was obviously a performance behind his lines, even if you didn't like it. As I noted, the robotic and monotone delivery is certainly attributed to Bruce's solidarity and stern nature. Far from a lazy approach.

 

[EliteF50]

He didn't just read it off the paper as it sounds nothing like Ben in real life. There was obviously a performance behind his lines, even if you didn't like it. As I noted, the robotic and monotone delivery is certainly attributed to Bruce's solidarity and stern nature. Far from a lazy approach.

Sounds like a big excuse for bad voice acting. You can't listen to the first line that he says in the movie (about Gotham) and not think it's just a bad voice over.

 

[KRIM]

You haven't refuted anything and choose to reiterate the same point over and over again. Ok.