This starts out quite nicely. The obligatory donning costume montage, which holds none of the embarrassment that both Schumacher films did in that respect. The voice-overs introducing us to the situation... cheap, and a story-telling crutch, but they get the job done(and even Kubrick used these). The appearances of the two leads, not bad. The Joker looks the way he does in the comics, and it works, like that of the bat himself, who has a costume very similar to that of the comics, as well. The two both look their parts pretty well(and Collora would later use Clark for Batman again in World's Finest, his mock-trailer). Their facing off is fine, if not without problems. Perhaps the biggest issue comes after this point in the short. Now, I can't reveal what that is, and you should maybe not read the cast-list before you've watched it, either. But that twist is probably the real biggie. Cool as it is, and what comes of it, and based on comics... it just doesn't make sense. Sacrificing logic for introducing something you(and the fans) really, really want in your short doesn't make you a good film-maker or story-teller. It's an amateurish trait, and you can't reveal those before you're in Hollywood and you've established that people will still pay to see what you put on the silver screen. A character is disposed of once he won't serve a purpose anymore. The characterization is reasonable, but The Joker doesn't come off as particularly convincing(partially because of the actors somewhat limited ability to, well, act), and the dialog could definitely do with some development(it should be noted that Collora is an artist, not a writer), and with how little there is... however, I must say that the establishing of the setting, the characters, the mood, it's all fairly well-done, and effective(this is less than six minutes long without the credits). From a technical standpoint, this is good. The camera-work, editing, fight choreography, stunt work, special effects... in those respects, everything is top-notch. But the story is, well, barely there at all(it's clear that this was a concept visualized, not a story). It isn't bad, and it definitely is a great attempt, and not just for an indie production, at portraying the dark knight the way he should be. It just won't stay in your mind for very long, at the very least not as much more than "an awesome short". The making of is worth a look, as well, it's interesting and put together well, even if every other sentence spoken by every single interviewee is "Sandy knows what he wants, and can show it to us". It's fifteen minutes long, and that is time well spent. To compare... both John Fiorella(who created Grayson) and Sandy Collora, of this and World's Finest, would need help in putting together a comic book film, at least if it was to hold up. Fiorella clearly gets the characters, and can put the images together, create the mood with very little outside funding, and can write good lines and ideas, and Sandy, well, has the contacts and can clearly put together a cool, gritty, bad-ass fight scene. They've both got the passion and know the material. And they are both too attached to the material to edit out what they can't develop enough. Fiorella gets my vote... I fear Sandy's feature would be riddled with weak character writing, equally unimpressive dialog, and, frankly, I have yet to see anything from him to convince me that he could put together a worthwhile story. If it's action, tone and feel you're looking for, without there necessarily being terribly much substance, this is a definite option. Fans of the characters really ought to also give Grayson some attention. I recommend this to fans of the DC characters. 7/10
