Batman Knightfall: Part 1 - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Batman Knightfall: Part 1



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Being alive in the 90s was a crazy time. Not as crazy as the 80s, but still. It was a wild time for comics. Spider-Man was at peak form, and we had some of the best Batman comics on earth running. And none was more popular than the 1993 to 1994 “Knightfall” graphic novel series. Told in 6 parts running from April of 93 to mid 94, we got the infamous Bane vs. Batman story that has inspired a myriad of remakes, including Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises. It’s a brutal and extremely graphic series, featuring Batman fighting a villain every bit as cunning and brilliant as he is, but imbued with superhuman strength and a brutal hatred for weakness that makes him one of Batman’s most feared enemies in his rogues’ gallery.

Now, I went into this viewing with low expectations, as I’ve been burned by some of the famous animated films like The Killing Joke or the latest 3-piece Justice League tale from a year or so ago. But this felt different from the get-go. The trailer was dark, and the promise of a real R-rated Batman series was something I couldn’t shake. And frankly, while it’s not perfect, Knightfall: Part One is a VERY solid start to one of DC’s most iconic comic runs and leaves me with hope that Knightquest and Knightfall will rival what we come to expect from them.

The story is simple. Batman (Anson Mount, of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds fame) is run ragged after Gotham’s Arkham Asylum goes up in flames, unleashing hordes of supervillains on Gotham. Over the next two nights, Batman hunts down every one of the escaped prisoners, but at a steep price. By the end of the second night, Batman is tired, weary, and generally broken down to the point where he’s wounded by several of the escapees in ways that never would have happened had he been in his proper rested state.

Worried that Batman is pushing himself too hard, Robin (Jack Giffin, playing Tim Drake after Jason Todd died) and Jean-Paul Valley (Pablo Schreiber), whom Batman and Robin are trying to rehabilitate after the man was abused into becoming the anti-hero Azrael, set out to figure out who exactly started the Arkham fire and what they intended. But what they find is something they never expected. A new villain who has come out of the shadows with one goal in mind. Break Bruce Wayne/Batman and tear him down so that the citizens of Gotham are forced to thrive on their own, and weed out the weak in the process.

Honestly, Knightfall isn’t perfect, but it’s dang good. The tone is just right, with a savage brutality that earns its R-rating in spades, and actually turns Bane back into the terrifying villain that he was back in the day. And I’m talking TERRIFYING. He’s no longer the hulking slave of Talia from The Dark Knight Rises, nor is he the dumb brute that he’s been portrayed as in some of the other comic adaptations. Bane (Michael Mando) is cunning and cruel, with only one ruling moral compass. The strong survive; the weak are prey. Infused with Venom by his countrymen in an attempt to turn him into a super soldier, the prisoner-turned-villain was forged with hatred and now has only that to fuel his will. With Venom aiding his strength and the Machiavellian teachings of his mother, he becomes an unstoppable force that ends this film with the infamous back break that shook the world in 1993.

Again, the film isn’t perfect, but Knightfall: Part 1 is a great start to the trilogy. It sets up Bane well with an opening sequence, and then bookends the film by showing up at the end and absolutely DECIMATING Batman. Not to mention, the introduction of Azrael works well in this context. He and Bruce Wayne are so close to each other in mentality, but so far apart with just a few simple alterations. He’s basically what Batman could become if he let that ironclad control drop for a second. And what he does become for brief moments in his exhaustion while fighting Arkham inmates. My only complaint is that I wish they had gone a bit deeper into Bane’s heightened intelligence. They certainly made it clear that he was reasonably intelligent, and they showcased his brutal and “the strong survive” mentality that Bane is known for. But I really wished they had shown JUST a bit more on how insanely intelligent he really is (probably the only person who can match Bruce Wayne’s mind blow for blow), as that is one of the key factors that makes Bane such a formidable opponent outside of his physical strength.




Rating:

Rated R for strong bloody violence.




4K Video: Video:

Ever since 2 years ago, the DCAU has FINALLY added Dolby Vision to all their catalog and new release 4K UHD movies, and that has been a nice little tweak that elevates most of them past that 4/5 rating I’d normally give them. Or maybe they’re just paying more attention to their encodes, and the Dolby Vision is just a sign of that. Either way, the 4K UHD disc looks great, with awesome detail levels despite the simplistic animation, and great colors. Azrael’s flaming gauntlet blades really pop in that opening fight with Batman, and the dark greens and deep blues of the underground world are impressive even with the low lighting. I didn’t see any major banding or crush like usual (not seeing banding in a DCAU film is actually kind of shocking), and overall this is a very impressive-looking encode.








Audio:

Sadly, the DCAU hasn’t converted over to Atmos as the standard format, but hey, their 5.1 DTS-HD MA tracks are no joke either. Full of punch and power, the audio mix is a rocking track that features a rousing score and tons of action to fill out the sound stage. Batman vs. Azrael at the beginning sets the stage for what is to come, and by the time the credits roll, it’s obvious that this is NOT a weak track. Dialog is crisp and clear, with Anson Mount’s take on Batman’s voice being a bit more textured than most of the voice actors who play him (other than the late Kevin Conroy), and the surrounds are always active with the sound of explosions, fisticuffs, and whirling batarangs. Bass is nice, but never over the top, and it certainly knows when to bring the house down during Bane’s assaults. Again, not perfect, but still an excellent mix.

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Extras:

• Batman Needs A Robin
• Breaking the Bat: Adapting "Knightfall"

Final Score: ​

Batman Knightfall: Part 1 is a solid opening salvo to the incredible graphic novel, and covers several of the opening novels quite well. Again, it’s not perfect, but a HUGE upgrade over the last several attempts at translating iconic graphic novels into animated form for Bats. The 4K UHD disc looks and sounds great, though the extras are a TAD anemic in my opinion. That being said, I would highly recommend checking this out as it is one of the better entries over the last 5 or 6 years, and one of my favorite comic book runs of all time. Recommended.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Jeff Bennett, Luis Bermudez, Bruce Boxleitner, Jessica Camacho, David Dastmalchian, Jason Flemyng
Directed by: James Wamester
Written by: Jeremy Adams
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Warner Bro's
Rated: R
Runtime: 78 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: September 8th, 2026

Recommendation: Recommended