Batman has had a plentiful amount of live action movies that have tackled or re-adapted famous comic stories for the general public to grow familiar with, but it should also be pointed out that Batman (as well as DC in general) had a pretty successful track record with their animated filmography. While the animated series for Batman, Superman and others have definitely gotten their day in the sun for how they managed to bring maturity, complexity and enjoyability to the DC universe (moreso than most of the live action stuff), very rarely are their films discussed by most people even if they do well. The one that actually managed to stand out within this group is the 2010 film, Batman: Under the Red Hood. Batman (voiced by Bruce Greenwood) is still coming to grips with the loss of his most recent boy wonder, Jason Todd, who was brutally beaten to death by the clown king himself, the Joker (voiced by John DiMaggio). Still patrolling the city with old partner Nightwing (voiced by Neil Patrick Harris), he discovers a new threat, the Red Hood (voiced by Jensen Ackles), a semi-vigilante who makes it his duty to eliminate any competition in his own trading system, evoking the wrath of fellow crime boss from the ruling mob of Gotham, Black Mask (voiced by Wade Williams). Things become more complicated when Batman discovers The Red Hood is the resurrected Jason Todd, and he has his eyes set on finally delivery his gruesome vengeance on the Joker for killing him. Batman must decide whether to allow Jason to lose himself to his darker side and continue roaming free throughout Gotham, picking off Black Mask’s men one by one as he makes his way to the Joker to get his much-desired revenge, or to save him before he’s too far gone. Batman: Under the Red Hood follows the traditional animated Batman film expectations; it’s a dark and gritty, yet entertaining film about the brooding vigilante everyone loves. It managed to capture the spirit of the traditional animated Batman Universe, but became alien enough with new talent, new artistry, and a new tone to stand as its own creation.

Taking its story from the already existing comic book by the same name, Under the Hood, written by Judd Winick and illustrated by Doug Mahnke (with Winick himself returning to write this film as well), the concept around this story showed great promise from its initial run during 2005 as it essentially revitalized a robin that people had no love for (it was even fan requested that he be killed off in the manner that he did in the comics) and turn him into something more distinct, more appropriate for his attitude, and a new face in the gallery of tortured characters that Batman would associate with. While Batman: The Animated Series was still the peak portrayal for an animated version of the caped crusader, this ones’ departure from the universe doesn’t result in something worse, if anything it allows this movie to go to the darker territories a story like this requires. While similar in mood and atmosphere from that universe, this version allowance for swearing, blood and overly aggressive action brings a different feel that makes it not for kids in a good way and allows the story to go to the darker more adult side that this story really requires, and even with the relatively short running time, it manages to showcase this story with Red Hood and Black Mask, along with Jason Todd’s beginnings and endings as Batman’s sidekick, pretty nicely and balances the typical vigilante action and comic-book extremes with the more somber tone, realistic atmosphere and mentally-distraught characters to create a decently mixed project. The director of this film is Brandon Vietti, who has been attached to Batman properties in the past like a few episodes of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and even helped develop the popular DC show, Young Justice, which managed to tell a DC story in a manner akin to the original animated series, but still felt distinctly its own, which is demonstrated here as well. While it definitely could’ve done more with Jason’s side after his death and his eventual transformation into the Red Hood which is sadly sidelined, it doesn’t ruin the story too much and gets across its point and narrative purpose decently enough.

A majority of the voice talent do a good job capturing the popular comic book characters; Bruce Greenwood does great as Batman, having a voice similar to Kevin Conroy but still managing to come across as distinct, as well as gruff and more serious , Neil Patrick Harris brings a lot of likability and coolness to Nightwing, DiMaggio as the Joker, though sounding very much like his normal voice without much variety,  is both entertaining and creepy, taking on a deeper tone of voice for a more gruesome and murderous Joker, Jason Isaac as Ra Sha Ghul comes across as very defined and articulate, Black Mask gets some funny moments, these are all good choices that pull their roles off very well, and their usage in the story feels appropriate and effective. However, a big problem with the film is with the Red Hood himself. While the character has a simple yet threatening appearance, he is held back by the film forgetting to make him interesting, His deadpan voice mixed with his thuggish nature make him pretty bland and forgettable, even though this does work as a contrast next to the Joker and Black Mask, who have very exaggerated and expressive personalities. Despite this, his motivation isn’t really made clear until the end and even then, has very little to do with what he has been built up. Being a previous Robin, watching him corrupt into this cynical more brutal adversary could have been interesting, but he isn’t shown on screen that much, and his progression from boy wonder to mob killer isn’t shown, rather explained in rushed exposition or just flat-out ignored. While the scenes with Batman coming to grips with his failure with Jason as a sidekick and as a father are effective and give us a good indication of how and why he stood out from other Robins, the part of the story that would have been the most interesting, being brought back from the dead into a mindless animalistic husk, was entirely vacant from the film, and considering the film hinges on his character, that could’ve been displayed in order to garner more sympathy from the audience. Also, Jensen Ackles, who is known for his work on Supernatural, sadly isn’t very good, especially considered the rest of the cast is giving it their all. Throughout the whole film, his voice either ranges from quiet monotone or shaky dullness. Even if that is what he was directed to do, it makes the character even blander and doesn’t allow the viewers to truly get invested and feel the tragedy behind him when it doesn’t come across in the voice. Sometimes he looks cool when spying from the rooftops and at times that reserved delivery makes him a bit threatening, but for a movie based on him, he could have been done better.

The action for the film is a highlight, creating some very fast-paced, adrenaline-filled, and nicely crafted fight scenes that provide a nice change of the pace from the usual slow and dialogue-heavy moments. Every dodge and hit feels like it has weight to it, so the impact has more effect on the viewer when it looks more brutal. Though at times they drag on longer than necessary, they keep the action fast, the tension strong, and the momentum high. Since the characters have very simple designs, they lend themselves into being very easy to draw in combat, having very graceful movements along with inventive ways of showing off the action from various angles. The camera itself feels like it’s part of the fight scenes, moving with the motions as it continues to escalate from fight scene to fight scene and incorporating elements like techno-gadgets and the Batmobile into the action keeps it from getting tiring and standard. Warner Bros. Animation did help supply the animation for the film, leading to crisp characters, colorful and distinct designs, and a whole load of artistic beauty. The character models have much stronger black outlines, creating very comic-style creations, which leads to less movement in dialogue segments and stiller moments which can look a little choppy, but also leads to larger expressions, cleaner backgrounds, and more stylized combat. While the animation on the show is amazing and more effective, this new style feels like a decent alternative. The movie manages to create a Gotham that looks imposing and deadly, but still fills the movie with various shades of color besides black and grey. Even though the main source is Batman, they know that color helps accentuate an environment’s atmosphere and creates distinct locations. Ranging from warm and rustic flame yellows to the sickly bright and ghostly tint of green, it manages to have an extensive color palate, yet remains morose and bleak through its tone and subject matter. It creates a grittier tone for its world that includes blood and death. Though the graphic imagery is not as prominent as would be believed, it finds ways of not showing spills of blood and yet still coming off as more gruesome.

With such a good concept for a Batman story, how else could this movie have turned out. Still retaining a 100% critical Rotten Tomato score after thirteen years, it really goes to show not only many people still hold this story in high regard along with this portrayal, but that Batman and other DC stories do have a strength to their animated films when they are handled correctly (even if they aren’t at the same level of quality in today’s society). Batman: Under the Red Hood encapsulates what makes a Batman movie good, memorable characters, dark atmosphere, great animation, great voice actors and a simple narrative, and it does this while still being a TV movie. If the villain was stronger and went into more of him as a character, this could have been something even stronger, but as it is, it is still a thrilling, moody, enjoyable film that gives what we want to see from the dark knight himself.

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