Incorporating six different varieties of Japanese anime, Batman:Gotham Knight delivers a take on Batman  you've never quite seen before, doing the character thematic justice while staking a stylish claim all its own. As successful as Batman's run of live-action adventures has been, I've always felt it's in the realm of animation where the character has most sprung to life. The popular cartoon show (and the movies it spun off) did a fantastic job of combining Batman's comic book roots with a certain grittiness, a darker edge to the man's mythos that something like the Adam West show flat-out ignored. Batman: Gotham Knight takes the Caped Crusader into the 21st century, and as such, there's a bit more variety in the level of animation used. 

Instead of pressing onward with one tale of Batman's heroics, Gotham Knight gives viewers six loosely-connected stories to follow the Dark Knight (voiced by Kevin Conroy) through. In "Have I Got a Story for You," Batman's attempts to wrangle in a high-tech thief are recounted through the stories of three kids with very different interpretations of the guy. "Crossfire" lands two cops (voices of Gary Dourdan and Ana Ortiz), unsure about Batman having declared himself Gotham City's defender, in the middle of a vicious gang war. Bruce Wayne tries out a new form of bullet-deflection technology in "Field Test," while he does battle with ghastly villains Killer Croc and the Scarecrow in "In Darkness Dwells." "Working Through Pain" gives us a glimpse into Batman's psyche, as he recalls his time spent with an Indian woman (voice of Parminder Nagra) training to suppress his pain while suffering from a nasty wound. The last story, "Deadshot," is a relatively straightforward adventure, as Batman tangles with a crackshot assassin (voice of Jim Meskimen) who's been tasked to take down one of Batman's closest allies.

There's little doubt about Batman: Gotham Knight being designed to hype up the release of Warner Bros.' own sure-fire blockbuster The Dark Knight. Much in the same way The Animatrix ushered in the arrival of The Matrix Reloaded, this is a movie probably inspired by the desire to cash in on a hot property more than by any artistic intentions. But as is, Gotham Knight is still no slouch when it comes to providing fans with an action-packed ride befitting of the Caped Crusader. Though not as stylistically daring as The Animatrix, the film at least experiments with its individual looks -- although the results aren't always easy on the eyes.

For the most part, the stories deliver a dark but lush depiction of Batman and the world he inhabits; those who enjoyed the previous animated films will have no problem accepting them. The "Have I Got a Story for You" segment dips into Hayao Miyazaki territory, whipping up fantastic visions of Batman as a winged creature, a heroic robot, and a "living shadow." The style appears a little iffy at first, but it's right in tune with the nature of the story. Not as successful, though, is the "Field Test" segment. Even though the premise isn't bad, the way this animation makes Bruce Wayne look like a teenager is hilarious, and the fact that Kevin Conroy's voice sounds about 20 years older than the character he depicts doesn't help.

What counts most with Gotham Knight involves how the film's numerous directors have come together to craft a picture that entertains with its swell action sequences and surprisingly deep looks into the character's psychology. "Deadshot" is flat-out fun, pitting the Dark Knight against a charismatic killer who proves to be a formidable match. At the same time, "Working Through Pain" shows Bruce Wayne wrestling with his own inner demons, raising the intriguing question of how much humanity he left behind in his transition from playboy gazillionaire to brooding crimefighter. Although his visual incarnations throughout the picture don't always do him justice, Conroy's voice work is as good as ever, a performance that rivals even the best live-action Batmans.

Although I prefer some of the other animated Batman films (especially the surprisingly strong SubZero), I don't think Batman: Gotham Knight will let fans of the Caped Crusader down. Combining the character's best sensibilities, it provides the sort of highly entertaining and very well-rounded experience one wishes all comic book movies would achieve. 

MY RATING: *** (out of ****)

(Released by Warner Bros. Home Video and rated "PG-13" for stylized violence, including some bloody images.)

For more information about this movie, go to the Internet Movie Data Base or Rotten Tomatoes websites.