It’s a great time for noir. Lady in the Lake on Apple TV+ and Sugar that were (far more superior) ignited viewers’ love of the genre again. Most recently, Prime Video announced a live-action Spider-Man Noir series starring Nicolas Cage as an aging P.I., and it has been buzzing. And now, Batman: Caped Crusader premieres on Aug. 1, also on Prime Video.
But don’t expect anything so groundbreaking here. This new series is great fun, but it won’t trigger goosebumps. It’s an effective reimagining of DC’s iconic hero with some clever twists, and it spins a compelling narrative across its 10 sharply edited episodes, but there’s nothing beyond that. That’s not necessarily a bad thing — it’s easy to slip into this universe and, for many comic book fans, this will feel like comfort food.
The current rethinking of the Batman mythology casts the ever reliable Hamish Linklater (Manhunt, Midnight Mass) in the title role, a great choice from executive producers J.J. Abrams (Star Trek), Matt Reeves (The Batman), and Bruce Timm who is no stranger to the Dark Knight himself having produced such hit television series as Batman: The Animated Series; The New Batman Adventures; Batman Beyond (1999-2001); two Justice League series among others or even too much like before if he makes use of his past here at all.
Nonetheless, any way you swing it there’s plenty to enjoy in each 30-minute outing. In fact, the first episode just dives right into action without too much exposition weighing down on it because let me tell you folks (Read: overtly unpacking Bruce Wayne’s traumatic past.) Sometimes just as high as bat signal can go if we think about its spin being one reason why this takes off at certain points.
Beloved DC characters abound here , some getting major makeovers while others are just nice to see in the settings we love. It’s the same kind of Gotham City we’ve all come to know. The corrupt outnumber the good. From dangerous criminals to quirky ones, chaos ensues all around them. Innocent citizens live in an endless state of fear. The twist? This series takes place in 1940s when the titular character first appeared on pages of DC Comics.
The main thrust of the series finds wealthy socialite Bruce Wayne battling his dark past (naturally) while emerging as a significant figure amid great uncertainty. Like previous iterations of the character, Bruce must become human-adjacent. That’s The Batman. Already everyone else thinks that this freaking guy is already living in Gotham’s most wanted list but he is not hiding from anyone within its borders and ultimately attracts allies in both G.C.P.D and City Hall or rather as his presence becomes more well-known throughout Gotham City, it has far-reaching consequences too.
That’s where the famous DC characters come in, some slightly retooled here, from gender to race. For instance, Penguin is now a woman voiced by fabulous Minnie Driver (The Serpent Queen). In this iteration, she goes by Oswalda Cobblepot outside her villainous persona that you will never say here something like – we wish Minnie Driver could collaborate with Colin Farrell someday after he drops an action-packed movie about Penguin.) What comes out through Driver’s portrayal reminds me that I feel grateful to those who write her lines? How fantastic it is that our dear Oswalda operates a floating casino showboat thingy where she performs between blowing things up and having her henchmen rob Gotham City every so often?
On the other hand, such well-known characters as Batman: Caped Crusader’s Bruce Wayne (voiced by David Mazouz of Touch) or Alfred Pennyworth (Sean Pertwee from Elementary) remain largely unchanged. And here, like in most cases with villains appearing here is Ricci’s Catwoman receiving a moment to showcase herself in her own character-driven episodes. On top of that, the authors succeed in creating frictions between Batman and Catwoman characters. It brings us to another female lead.
The character of Harley Quinn, always a fan favorite, figures prominently throughout the series, but while past iterations of this revered villain immediately offer a frenzied take on Quinn, here, the diverse aspects of Harley’s personality showcase a balance from her real-life “job” (as Dr. Quinzel) and how the character uses psychiatry as her most dangerous tool. Then there’s Commissioner Jim Gordon (Eric Morgann Stewart), who has been pressured by City Hall to ignore corrupt police officers and detectives all around him.
Basically, director Christina Sotta along with Christopher Berkeley and Matt Peters; animators David S. Karoll together with Joey Paone and Mike Inman make sure that they deliver an interesting Gotham City full of characters and situations that grip us. As for the big man himself, Batman/Bruce Wayne, the series offers an embraceable Batman and an intriguing version of Bruce Wayne, playing up towards his playboy side. Once it ventures into Bruce’s past life however it does so briefly not wearing out its welcome like some television shows might be guilty of doing. We are offered enough only to keep track over 10 episodes worth of ‘will he/won’t he get over it’ suspense.
Of course there are more twists on age-old stories which you will find refreshing. Batman: Caped Crusader is highly enjoyable because it has noir elements throughout as well as modern looks at the characters. These are all the reasons to be grateful to Bruce Timm. Since Batman: The Animated Series were a huge success, he does it again becoming one of the greatest masters of that DC universe though being too acquainted with it to some extent may make this particular series slightly monotonous or repetitive in a sense.
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