Review: Batman, Under the Red Hood

[jeriendhal]

Summary: Five years after Jason Todd (Robin II) was brutally murdered by the Joker, a new criminal appears on the scene in Gotham, taking over the drug trade using the Joker's original “Red Hood” persona. And he seems to know all of Batman's moves...



Review: Written and produced by Batman: TAS producer Bruce Timm, this made for DVD movie earns it's PG-13 rating right off the... er... bat by adapting the climax of the classic “Death in the Family” story from Detective Comics as Jason gets an onscreen beating by the Joker with a tire iron and killed in a massive explosion. And there's a lot blood being let and general violence where that came from, as the resurrected Jason/Red Hood (suffice it to say Ras Al Ghul had an attack of conscience) cut a swath through Gotham's criminal element.

But it's never all that gratuitous, as it supports a reasonably gripping story, as a Batman (Bruce Greenwood) who's starting to feel his age is confronted with what he regards as his greatest failures, and has to deal with Jason's demand that he explain why the hell he's never just killed the Joker instead of letting him rampage over and over again.

There's even a little bit of welcome comic relief with an extended cameo by Nightwing, voiced by a criminally underused Neal Patrick Harris. But overall the story is very gripping and dramatic, with some nicely acrobatic fight signs worthy of the better anime out there, though the vehicles suffer from the usual syndrome of being produced via CGI with all that entails.

Rent it at least. Buy it if you're a Bat-Fan.

Comments

[eric-hinkle.livejournal.com]

It sounds good, thanks for the review.

And about killing the Joker -- once on a superhero RPG forum I raised a storm by bluntly asking "if your character existed in the DC-verse and got their hands on the Joker, would you kill him?" It was surprising just how many "Oh H*LL yes!" responses I got, considering that the Joker is supposed to be such a 'popular' villain.

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

He's fun to read about. If I had to live in the same universe with him I'd be demanding they shoot, electrocute, lethal inject him and then cut off his head just to be sure.

[ankewehner.livejournal.com]

And bury the head at a crossroads and burn the body and scatter the ashes in at least four different locations.

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

An it still wouldn't work...

[ankewehner.livejournal.com]

THROW HIS HEAD INOT THE SUN!

[eric-hinkle.livejournal.com]

He'd come back as Devil Joker or Hellequin or something like that until he got "officially" resurrected and it was back to status quo.

Though I wish DC'd do a story in which they illustrate why, given just how brutal and corrupt the Gotham PD is, the Joker never "killed himself in holding".

[jvowles.livejournal.com]

Because for some reason, the Bat wants him alive, and if you were dumb enough to "arrange" something, you'd soon find it very difficult to find an alley dark enough to hide in.