I love it when comic book stories are adapted into a full length film— what more if it’s about a tragedy Batman had to accept just so he could move on with his crusade?
One of my favorite comic book adaptation is DC Comics' Under The Hood by Judd Winick and Doug Mahnke. A few elements from The Killing Joke and A Death in the Family were used here as well.
Many years ago, Joker kidnapped and brutally murdered Jason Todd aka Robin numero dos. This was one of the downfalls of Batman’s legacy. Few years has passed and a new player in the Gotham underworld came about, playing the vigilante-hero game but does not hesitate from taking lives of scums and dealers. He calls himself the Red Hood.
The “Red Hood” identity has been used by a lot of goons and thugs before, so Batman thought that this one is just another low life who wants to make a name. When they played a catch of chase over the rooftops, every maneuver and move this Red Hood executed all seemed familiar to the Dark Knight. This Red Hood is prepared and is well trained.
It doesn’t take a lot of thinking who this new player is when watching the film. The persona isn’t really the question here, it’s the “why” he’s causing all the ruckus in Gotham.
I’ll stop with the story telling before I spoil anything and will move on to the elements of what makes this animated feature one of the best.
The design and the style used here were outstanding. You got that Batman: The Animated Series aura going. It’s dark and violent at the same time. It’s as if watching a comic book into the screen. I’m also glad they did not give this the anime-ish style treatment.
The animation is surprisingly smooth here too with all those back to back action scenes. I loved Batman-Nightwing team up against Amazo as well as their game of tag with the Red Hood. The scenes where Batman sees some flashbacks were a nice touch too.
I was one of those who was all for Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill to voice Batman and Joker but the voice acting of Bruce Greenwood and John DiMaggio eventually grew on me. Jensen Ackles was also the perfect voice for the Red Hood. Hearing him say the dialogues from the comic book was creepy yet fun.
I have a few minor gripes for the film though. I wish there were more scenes of Joker and Black Mask. There were a lot of those in the book and I hope they adapted a couple more of those in the film. A bit of gore and blood would have been nice too, lots of beat down and explosions were going on and no bruises nor cuts can be seen. They gave it a PG-13 rating anyways so it’s clear that the kids aint their target market here.
We see Batman suffering from the loss of a son; how crazy and brutal Joker can be; a good ol dynamic duo scenes with Nightwing; and even how Black Mask can become a comic relief — how can a crime lord be so funny?!
Under the Red Hood is a recommended watch not only for the die-hard fans but for the average viewers as well. We see a lot of action, drama and a bit of comedy stints all over the film. Everything I want in a Batman toon is here.
My rate: 4 and a half bats
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