The opening was very slow. The narrative itself was not the greatest of writing, and the actor seemed to lack any feeling and emotion when reading through it.

I don't understand the "this city's been my home since I can remember" line. If Batman were to say that, it would make sense, but seeing as Nightwing is unique in that the city he fights for has no emotional ties to him nor his past, I'm kind of curious as to why you chose to write this line. He spent a LONG time in Gotham. His childhood, his teen years, and part of his adult life were spent in the mansion, as Robin. Your narrative suggests that he's been in Bludhaven his whole life.

Also, still discussing the narrative, why would Nightwing ponder if his work is "worth" it? I don't think that's ever been a motivation factor for neither Nightwing or Robin. There's zero incentive in what he does to begin with. There never was, nor will there ever will be. He (chooses) to live a life where emotional bond is nearly forbidden due to the high risk potential loved ones could be put at. The reason for doing what he does is that only he can, not for some big pay off, which, again, your narrative suggests here.

One last thin concerning the narrative. Nightwing should never consider crossing the line. Period. It takes away from his character. Batman? At times, if written well, pondering whether to cross line could work. But that's Batman. Nightwing is not Batman. He's not a dark, brooding loner. Everything I've ever read with Nightwing has always come off as more upbeat. The narrative tosses that out of the window.

So, during the opening lines, and after, we see Nightwing, standing over Bludhaven. I felt you could have been a bit more daring with the camera work here. It would have been much more dramatic to look over his shoulder rather than below him.

The lead actor's movements in the opening scene are very slow, and very stiff. His head turn took way too long, and was not dramatic at all. He came off as a little goofy, seeing as his movements lacked fluidity. It's like he was trying to hard. That falls on the direction. The actor's do what their told. As the director, it's your responsibility to portray your actors as the characters you've casted them as.

The sound in this opening shot was terrible. You could blatantly hear the wind rushing through the camera's mic. I understand we're not all professionals, but, considering you had a voice over to open the film, you could have easily lowered, or better yet, muted the sound out.

After the opening shot, the credits kick in. This is where your already slow start comes to nearly a halt. I'm not trying to be mean, but in all honesty, no one cares to know who did what or played who in your film. It's great that you're proud of the people who've helped you get this thing together, but save it for the end. Having long running credits open your film kills its momentum, and sometimes drives people away from watching it.

The next scene picks up the pace a bit, but seemed very forced, and underwhelming. Killing off Barbara seemed very rushed and underdeveloped. There wasn't much to the scene. And again, it didn't help that, with the exception of the actor playing Soames, everyone else came off flat. Nightwing again lacked any feeling and emotion, and once more, the director needs to try and pull everything he can out of the actor. This is your lead guy, and he's phoning it in, or so it would seem.

The first fight scene was choreographed and edited well, but the sound effects were over the top, and at times silly. They took away from the drama of the fight. Also, the wave of electricity thrown at Nightwing came out of nowhere, and seemed a bit out of place.

So after getting electrocuted, Nightwing is held by two goons, while the third retrieves a bag. Soames (who is doing a fine job of acting, by the way) pulls out Batman's cowl, insinuating that they have taken out Batman, even revealing to Nightwing they know his secret identity.

Again, your writing here seems to ignore some very common traits from the actual comics. Number one, Dudley Soames and his B team of baddies wouldn't stand a chance against Batman, especially in Gotham, where I assume they would've killed him. Number 2, even if they somehow managed to kill Batman, I would think that the advanced technology Nightwing shares with Batman, Robin, and Alfred would've led to him finding out about his mentor's death long before this scene. Inconsistencies like these really make it difficult t o pass your writing as credible.

Also, the camera work here needs to be livened up a bit. Shooting the scene from several different angles would have been beneficial to keep the scene moving. When a camera stays on the same angle, not only does it get boring to look at, it also slows the story down a bit.

So, after getting shocked, and finding out two very important people in his "family" are gone, Nightwing is tied up somewhere, where he is being guarded by one of Soames' goons. Nightwing escapes rather easily, and goes on to kill, yes kill, Soames' goon.

Again, you're not staying true to the source material. Nightwing never kills. Never. It's instilled into him.

Also, it was made to look too easy for Nightwing to escape. There was no sense or urgency or despair. He just unlocked himself. If it was that easy, why didn't he do it when he still had a chance to get Soames? The scene just didn't make a whole lot of sense.

The fight scene here, minus the goofy flurry of punches to the chest and sound effects, was again well put together.

After killing off the goon, Nightwing escapes, and Soames is informed. There is then a hint given that Batman is in fact alive, and that Nightwing doesn't know. You would think that after being nearly killed, Batman would be quick to inform his former ward of the impending danger he may be in, but that for some reason is not addressed here.

We then see Nightwing on a building, where he delivers yet another narrative, this time proclaiming his abandonment of the Nightwing mantle, and that of Red Hood, which apparently would make it okay for him to kill people.

I just can't agree with the writing here. Number one, he has no ties to Red Hood, and neither does Bludhaven. So from that standpoint, Red Hood is made to look useless in terms of instilling fear, as well as driving Dick Grayson to becoming darker. Number two, the title supposedly comes into play here. But resurrected would suggest that Nightwing has some how come back to life, and has been reborn. He's not reborn, nor resurrected. he just changed his gimmick. I think "Death of Nightwing" or "Nightwing: Fallen", though terrible titles I know, would have been a better choice.

The casting was okay. I think that the lead actor was by far the worst, but he was not terrible. He just didn't fit the role. His voice was a huge distraction, as well as his line delivery. He was very flat and did a lot of line reading. This is where direction kicks in. I know I've said it several times already, but the actors' performances are a direct reflection of the director. It's on you whether or not they pull off their role. The actor doesn't have to be perfect, nor casted based on physical or ethnic appearances. But they do need to be directed well enough to make the viewier at least semi buy into what their watching.

Overall, while there is obviously a good amount of effort here, there just isn't enough good to outweigh the bad. The direction is seemingly the biggest issue, and the writing is a very close second.

I read the review that stood up for the director, and stated that this was rushed and other reasons why it may not have been as good as it could have been. In the end, unfortunately, there are no excuses. I applaud everyone involved for getting this done, but no matter what reason or excuses are thrown out to defend the film, it is what it is. If you had to rush to get it done, or were pressed for time, or had to compromise, maybe it should have been left alone, and lived to be filmed another day.