Bruce GreenwoodBatman: Under the Red Hood

...I just HAVE to write a review about this movie as it is one of the best I have seen in a long time...heck, one of the best movies I've seen, ever.BACKGROUND--Major Spoilers aheadI have always enjoyed comic books, the toys that come with them, posters, etc. However, I have never been too big a fan of the cartoons...just never really got into them as I thought (for example) the old 'Superfriends' were silly with the Wonder Twins and their pet monkey, Gleek, ridiculous plot lines, and such like.'Red Hood,' however, caught my attention as many friends recommended it to me...but mainly that I know 'Red Hood' is the original alias of the Joker.The name of the movie just sounded ...cool...so I gave it a look.I. Was. Blown. Away. I had hopes, somewhat high ones, going into this that I would enjoy this cartoon, but I had no idea how much I would enjoy it. This is one of the best movies I have ever seen, period.There were no pet monkeys in this cartoon, by the way.WHERE TO BEGIN?Let's start with the voice cast: I understand most Batman fans were disappointed that the long-time voices of The Batman and The Joker: Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, respectively, were absent from this film, but I thought their replacements: Bruce Greenwood and John DiMaggio, did a great job. I've always liked Greenwood since seeing his portrayal of President Kennedy in 'Thirteen Days,' and I thought his Batman was spot-on, at least in my mind, of what the character should sound like.DiMaggio was a good Joker...more Jack Nicholson than Heath Ledger, but Mr. Ledger's performance will never be duplicated so why even bother to try?Neil Patrick Harris is great as Nightwing (Dick Grayson, the original Robin) as he brought humor to an otherwise very dark movie. However, he didn't have a lot of on-screen time, which is one of the few complaints I have with this film.Wade Williams is Black Mask, the gang leader who is at war with The Red Hood. Over-the-top and quite funny (think the 1960s TV show), I enjoyed his performance.Jason Isaacs is Ra's al Ghul. Isaacs gives the character a quiet dignity of a sort, mixed together with an authorative, self-righteous tone. Plus, Isaacs can do creepy quite well. Check out 'The Patriot' or 'Event Horizon' for further proof, if you need it.Finally, Jensen Ackles is Red Hood/Jason Todd. I felt Ackles stole the show as he brought a dramatic intensity to his character that completely swept me into the story. The raw emotion he conveyed, particularly in a scene with Batman near the end of the movie...I cannot describe it, it was great. No, beyond great.ANIMATIONI am not qualified to give technical aspects, but I thought this movie looked great. Gotham City visually looks like a mix of the Gotham City(s) from the Christian Bale and Michael Keaton movies--with a little 'Blade Runner' thrown in for good measure. The animation has an elegant flow to it...the heroes glide across the screen...and the only negatives I noticed were a couple of scenes in which characters are running and it (the running) looks kind of 'stop-motion choppy.' However, the visuals are quite stunning.STORYThe movie opens with the Joker brutally killing Jason Todd, the second 'Robin,' as Batman arrives just seconds late to save him. The violence depicted is brutal, despite being shown off-camera, and definitely not for children.The movie then jumps ahead five years and there is a new villain/vigilante in Gotham, killing any and all rivals who dare get in his way. He bargains with the Gotham drug dealers, telling them he'll protect them (mainly from himself) as long as he gets a huge cut--and they don't deal to children. This new villain is the Red Hood.Of course, it is only a matter of time before he crosses paths with Batman, and if not for Nightwing showing up to help out, the Red Hood may very well have defeated Batman in their first encounter...as Red Hood departs, he yells something that causes Batman to take pause...playing and sound-editing back a tape of their encounter later, Batman realizes Red Hood called him, 'Bruce.'Meanwhile, Black Mask is so frustrated with Red Hood's assault on his crime empire, he breaks the Joker out of Arkham Asylum hoping to enlist his help...which, of course, backfires. And, Batman discovers through detective work of his own that Red Hood and Jason Todd are the one and same...he then travels to Ra's al Ghul's lair and gets the details filled in.Finally, the Joker is now on the loose spreading chaos throughout Gotham City, only to be captured by Batman, but 'stolen,' if you will, from Batman by the Red Hood. All of this leads to the film's climax where Batman and Red Hood debate their different perspectives of morality: Red Hood stating he "is the better Batman" because he *kills* criminals, thus ridding the streets of them for good. Batman's response is that, as much as he would enjoy killing the Joker, he realizes that if he ever crosses that line..."there is no going back." At this point, Red Hood has brutually beaten the Joker and is going to kill him. He tells Batman (GREAT performance here by Jensen Ackles) he needs to make a decision on......well, get the movie and *watch* it to see how it plays out!COMPLAINTSThey are minor, but...a short run-time, AND DEFINITELY not enough Nightwing/Neil Patrick Harris. As stated, his humor was much-needed in this gritty, violent film. True, Black Mask/Wade Williams was funny as well, but his humor comes while he is beating people up.FINALLYI give this movie a 10 out of 10. I really, REALLY enjoyed it. Just hurry up, DC, and release a Red Hood action figure!BATMAN: UNDER THE RED HOODDirected by Brandon Vietti. Produced by Bruce Timm. Written by Judd Winick.Batman's creators are Bob Kane and Bill Finger.Run-time is 75 minutes; released on July 27, 2010, by Warner Home Video.MPAA Rating is PG-13; SPECIAL (blu-ray) FEATURES include: a 'Jonah Hex' short; a look at upcoming Warner Home Video/DCU releases, including interviews with the creators; widescreen format; a 'Robin Origin' featurette; 'Robin episodes' from the 'Batman' animated television series; subtitles.Epinions.com link: [...]

One thing that can be said about Batman is that his character as a whole has created a monster fan base. Part of that fan base that grew up with the Dark Knight has actually had the privilege to create some of his most memorable adventures. Bruce Timms' newest animated movie `Batman: Under The Red Hood' is one of the more recent Batman classics brought to us. What makes this story so special is that it was derived from one of the darkest stories in Batman's legacy, and that story revolved around the death of the second Robin. Historically the death of Jason Todd is known as `Batman's greatest failure'. What Under The Red Hood does is takes `A Death In The Family' and adds a whole new chapter. Deriving from the major elements it turns `Death' into a much larger story with an incredible epilogue. As much as I would have loved to s `A Death In The Family' brought to life, `Under The Red Hood' may in fact be the best Batman story the DCAU has offered us.The story that this film gives us takes place five years after the death of Jason Todd. Suddenly the crime lords of Gotham City have a new threat and he is this merciless vigilante known as Red Hood. His mission is to keep the mob in line and make sure that while their actions continue to flourish, they have to work under his rules. Because, if they step out of line, they die. Of course Batman leaps into action to try and take him down, but once he gets too close to this new threat his world will be shattered when he discovers who Red Hood truly is.This movie was such an incredible piece. It is definitely the darkest film up until this point, but it is such a well executed story. There are however a few negatives, but I will go with the positives first. What I loved about this film was the homage to the ending of `A Death In The Family'. While it is not as graphic as depicted on the pages of the comic, keep in mind that this film is rated PG-13. Still, they kept the actions taken and the dialogue intact and it is such a gripping scene to watch. That feeling that you get in that moment carries on all the way to the end of the film. The final showdown with Batman & Red Hood is incredible. I have never seen such passion and emotion thrown into one of these films up until now and I have to say that I had to re-watch that whole final scene, just because it was so well done. On that note the voice acting was perfect. Bruce Greenwood did a spot on job as Batman. I have to admit, there were points in the film where I couldn't even tell it was him because he sounded so similar to Kevin Conroy. What made Greenwood a better choice for this film was the passion in his voice especially when he raised his voice. Jensen Ackles was great as Red Hood. He started out just as a regular voice actor, but the scenes he has with Batman are so great. The final showdown he puts almost an Oscar worthy performance, I have to say I was enthralled. John DiMaggio took on the Joker. Now, I have to say that many people always hate when Mark Hammil isn't there, but let's face it with a movie as heavy as this one Mark Hammil's voice would just come of extremely cartoonish. Don't get me wrong in Phantasm and Return of the Joker he does a great job, but take a look at those movies in general and compare them to the setting of Red Hood. I promise you, you will understand why they used another actor. Still DiMaggio as a plus turns on that Mark Hammil Joker charm in this film, but the voice he brings is a darker, creepier Joker and it's a win for this film. The best voice would have to be Wade Williams as Black Mask. He brings sheer over the top villainy to Black Mask. It is one of those voices that just makes the character so evil you grin with delight at his madness. Black Mask was this guy that would get so high strung in two seconds he would punch through a brick wall.So, what are the faults of `Under The Red Hood?' It was too short. A movie of such grandeur should be more than 79 minutes. I don't know why Bruce Timm thinks that we have such short attention spans. There were so many great things thrown into this package that I felt there wasn't enough. An example would Neil Patrick Harris as Nightwing. I could watch NPH perform in front of a brick wall for 3 hours and be entertained. He breathed great life into his character, but it would have been great just to see more action with him in it. The flashbacks of Jason Todd were great as well. I thought maybe it would have been a plus to throw some flashbacks of Dick Grayson as Robin maybe to see him depart from Batman or encounter him for the first time as Nightwing. Yet, I digress.`Under the Red Hood' is a great film, mostly because it revolves around the Robin character. Robin is a persona in DC comics that is always blasted by fans because of the camp of the silver age and the old Adam West show. Still, Robin is probably one of the most important characters because he brings a human side out in Batman. To see what Batman goes through when a hero that he trained becomes something he shouldn't be it just makes the Batman persona more of a legend, but more than that a hero with a heart. Also if you are planning to get this film on DVD, purchase the two disc edition, which features another DC Showcase short. This one features Jonah Hex, and since his movie bombed this will be all the Jonah Hex you need.

One of the greatest batman movies imop. Well animated, great story, perfect voice acting.

pure masterpiece 10/10 movie, the script is a chef's kiss