Batman: City of Scars Review!

Hello everyone,

As of late I became aware of a new Batman fan film called City of Scars; through www.joblo.com cool videos section. I will try an not reveal any significant plot details but SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW, SO BE AWARE!

I thought this was the best Batman fan film that I have seen, although it is only the second one that I have seen; the other one that I saw was Ashes To Ashes (review to follow soon). The actor who played Batman/Bruce Wayne is not an ugly man but is not boyishly handsome enough to pull off playing the Bruce Wayne part, which maybe why for 95% of the film he is in the Batman suit. I believe he played a great Batman; scruff on his face added to the grittiness of his portrayal of Batman and his voice as Batman was a little raw and deep (thought that was great). His suit is the suit that features grey in the torso section with the small, but revamped batman symbol below the neck. I thought it was nice that they were not trying to imitate Bale's Batman suit. The black eye makeup around his eyes was a nice throwback to Keaton's Batman; nice touch.

The cityscape shots of what is supposed to be Gotham City were very good. The presence of both Detective Montoya and Allen were also a nice touch; a nod to the Gotham Central comics, Batman Gotham Knight and other Batman comics that feature those characters. I enjoyed thematically and visually how they ran with the theme of scars in the film. This is achieved by alluding to Bruce Wayne's emotional scars, showing his physical scars and featuring characters who have facial scars such as the puppet character Scarface; who looks great. I thought the Joker looked great, however his voice deliver was not theatrical and over the top enough; he channels Mark Hamil at times but holds back with his voice volume and intonation when he really should play it up more. Bat-cycle is featured briefly, although it is really just a sport bike, but does feature a batman themed heads up display; again I thought it was great how they were not trying to imitate what Nolan did with his Bat-pod. Batarang, utility belt are shown briefly, batarangs are used once and a his bat arsenal tools/weapons are showcased briefly; the prop people did a nice job.

The closing of the film is just great. A shot of batman on a rooftop with his face posed next to two gargoyles looks excellent. If you are a Batman fan, I highly suggest you check this film out; can be found on youtube (I believe), I screened it off of joblo.com and it may be on www.batmanfanfilms.com .

Excited about watching Batman fan films in the near future,

FanboyDave