Genres

Visitors Review

B 2012-05-21 09:20:20

She Likes it. She really Likes it

I bought this movie just expecting something cool to watch with my son. I never expected that my girlfriend (who isn't into anything i like) would get into it. She actually said it was "really good". This is, in my opinon, one of the best DC animated films todate. Marvel could stand to take a note from this one. If your thinkg about watching this it’s diffently worth a look-see. Peace

Riva Stewart 2012-05-20 12:37:38

I could easily see this on the big screen, live action.

All I can say about this direct to DVD Batman animated movie is…it'snot for little kids. This animated version is every bit as good as thelive-action.The story begins with the Joker beating the hell out of the new Robin.For those not in the know, this Robin is Jason Todd, a street childBruce Wayne took as his ward. Anyway, as Robin lay unconscious on thefloor Joker sets a timer for a bomb to blow up the building their inand leaves. Robin awakens bloodied and bruised dragging himself to tryand open the door to no avail. Meanwhile Batman is feverishly trying toget to Robin's location. But he's too late. The building explodes whenhe is only a few feet from the door. After the smoke clears we seeBruce carrying the dead body of Robin away. That's how the moviestarts! I told you this isn't Batman for your third grader.Years go by and a new menace has arrived, the red hood. He makes itclear by the number of dead bodies he leaves in his wake that he meansto take over Gotham. Batman and Night Wing (the first Robin) feebly tryto keep the scales of justice tipping in the direction of good but theyare no match for the red hood. What makes a superhero? Is it a person who makes the streets a saferplace out of goodness of his heart, looking for no compensation? Whatif he wasn't a billionaire trust fund baby? How would you go aboutcleaning up the streets then? Can you spill some blood for the greatergood? This story asks those questions. Just like in life nothing is assimple as it seems. My hat goes off to the writers who weave a tightstory of crime, punishment, loyalty and resentment. When under the red hood ended, it left me wanting more. I couldn'tbelieve it was over. As I said initially this storyline is worthy ofits live-action counterpart. Rent it.www.rivareviews.com

cgatewoo 2012-05-14 11:28:39

On par with the rest

Everything about the new DC animated film is about what you shouldexpect. The animation is distinctive from the actual series, whichwhile being unsettling to those who grew up on it is still very good.The story draws from great source material. If you don't know thestory, don't look it up until afterwards. Fight scenes are fun towatch. The big thing here is that each is charged with emotion towardsthe third act. This didn't happen before with the DC movies(WonderWoman aside).If at the very least, many people will find out that there have beennumerous Robins.

DarthBill 2012-05-13 19:45:18

"You know what I miss most about running with you? The toys."

PLOT: When Batman lost his second Robin, Jason Todd, to the Joker, itseemed to be his greatest failure. Now his greatest failure has comeback to haunt him - Jason Todd lives and has become the Red Hood, andhe will stop at nothing to get revenge.Jason Todd is one of the most notorious characters in comics, in nosmall part because it was his unlikability that ultimately got himkilled. When he was first introduced in the comics he was a knock offof the original Robin, Dick Grayson, who eventually grew up to becomethe solo hero Nightwing, right down to being a former circus acrobat.Following Crisis on Infinite Earths, Jason was re-imagined as being atroubled kid from a bad background, and Batman literally caught himtrying to steel the wheels off the Batmobile (this is even shown in aflashback in the film). After taking him in and making him the newRobin, it quickly became apparent that he wasn't exactly sidekickmaterial, clearly a deliberate attempt by the writers to introduce anew element into the Batman mythos and tweak an old familiar dynamic:where Dick Grayson was more or less a dutiful foster son, Jason Toddwas an ornery, undisciplined troublemaker who talked back and didn'ttow the line when Batman came down on him for playing too rough. Fanswere not very fond of this new Robin and made it very clear that theydidn't like him. DC then decided to do an experiment - first they putJason in a life threatening scenario that began with him trying to findhis real mother and ended with him being beaten to a pulp by the Jokerand locked in a warehouse with a bomb overseas. Fans were then giventhe option to vote on whether or not Jason would survive; ultimately,the fans who didn't like him won out and Jason died, and eventually hewas replaced by Tim Drake.Then, for reasons that probably only make sense to the writers whohandled it, DC resurrected Jason Todd as the Red Hood and pit himagainst his former mentor.Of all the straight to DVD animated films Warner Brothers has producedthus far featuring Batman, this one has bar been the one that exploredhim most personally. The tragic death and return of Jason Todd was usedto good effect to show a more vulnerable side of the Dark Knight. Thefilm also did what the comics often failed to do - took a characterwidely disliked by fans and makes the viewer feel sorry for him.Voice work is outstanding as usual. While fans will as usual lament thelack of Kevin Conroy, Bruce Greenwood does a solid job voicing him,with equally good voice work from Jason Isaacs as Ra's Al Guhl and JohnDiMaggio as the Joker, his voice sounding like an odd yet deliberatemeld of Jack Nicholson and Mark Hamill, with a little bit of HeathLedger's laugh thrown in for good measure. The real star though isJensen Ackles as Jason Todd/Red Hood. He has just the right amount ofrage and passion to bring the fallen sidekick to life. One minor flaw though is the writing for Nightwing - while it was niceto have some levity, Nightwing came off as being a little incompetentand a bit silly, which is too bad considering he had a good voice actorin Neil Patrick Harris (who previously played a minor villain onJustice League and was also the Silver Age Flash Barry Allen in JusticeLeague: The New Frontier). Still, this is overall probably the best use of Batman yet in straightto DVD animation.

2012-05-10 19:43:45

Review of Under the Red Hood

This review is from: Batman: Under the Red Hood (Amazon Instant Video) 1)Story : Even though the concept is lifted from the books, it is still good to see animated.2)Animation: The animation is average. For some reason it zooms in on the eyes when people are talking lots of the time. I don't know if that is the "Style" or they were lazy with animating speaking mouths. The backgrounds and vehicles show no style and are poorly done.3)Voicing : For voicing ranged from average to bad. The joker voice was horrible and was one of the 1st ones you get. With such proven joker voices out there, I fail to see why they went so poorly.Total: 2 bads points and 1 neutral to good item IMHO.

Scarecrow-88 2012-05-10 08:09:23

Batman:Under the Red Hood

The significance of Robin's demise at the hands of the psychoticJoker(John Di Maggio) is greatly enhanced in this solid Warner Bros.animated Batman opus as it pertains to the grand scheme of things.Batman(terrific voice work by the reliable Bruce Greenwood)couldn'trescue his sidekick from being blown to smithereens and has beenplagued with guilt because of it. Five years later, the Joker is locked away in Arkham, but a mysteriousnew crimefighter, one who isn't as dedicated towards the same moralcode as Gotham's numero uno hero, named the Red Hood(Jensen Ackles)isholding power over the crimelords of the city, taking a cut from eachgangster who owns a territory..Red Hood allows them to live and theyfork over a percentage of their profits(there's ulterior motives to RedHood's actions, however).Red Hood is a pain in the ass of Gotham's major crime boss, BlackMask(Wade Williams), who doesn't take too kindly to someone musclinginto his position, taking over as the man everyone fears. So Black Maskorders his men, including the "Fearsome Hand of Four"(a foursome withsuits of armour and hi-tech weaponry such as laser technology thatleads to plenty of buildings destroyed), to attempt to dispose of RedHood, to no avail when Batman joins the fray. Batman is very interestedin Red Hood's motivations. Red Hood allows Black Mask to run rampant onthe crime bosses he's actually paid to protect, and it's all towards ahigher purpose..and this involves Joker. Black Mask will, out ofdesperation, spring free Joker from Arkham, which will soon unveil RedHood's ultimate plan. The plot also features an important role foraristocratic crimelord Ra's al Ghul(Jason Isaacs) and the "rejuvenatingwaters of the Lazarus pit" which allows him to remain eternally youngdespite having lived centuries.What I really liked about BATMAN:UNDER THE RED HOOD was the underlyingstory of how even Batman can not save everyone and how Robin's fatecontinues to weigh on his conscience. You often see in storiesinvolving Batman, the question of how far should one go to rid thestreets of crime and those who conduct evil activities outside the law.Red Hood is willing to go further than Batman, to literally killcriminals in cold blood, not capture and hand them over to the police.Joker is the very symbol of the master criminal allowed to remainalive, imprisoned but breathing while so many others are dead at hishands. Batman is given a choice at the end by Red Hood whether toabandon what separates him from those he sends to prison..it does forceBatman into a difficult position which certainly makes thingsinteresting. Neil Patrick Harris provides some much needed humor asBatman's previous Robin, having grown up to become Nightwing, crackingwise and helping out his mentor before exiting the film surprisinglyearly. Di Maggio's voice is appropriately smarmy and vile, the relishof Joker's villainy coming through effectively. In regards to theFearsome Hand of Four, I'd actually like to see them in their ownmovie, maybe as a heroic team instead of villains. Wade Williams' BlackMask is fashioned after those hot-tempered Italian mob bosses whoserage bursts with furious consequences, anyone who has a face in the waydamaged by his volcanic eruption of anger. Riddler has a cameo in oneof Batman's flashbacks regarding a young Robin in action. You getplenty of action in this Batman movie and a slick look. Not bad at all.I definitely must check out other Warner Bros. animated movies beingreleased for DVD. But I'm a Batman guy so it isn't a surprise that Ienjoyed this little movie.

2012-05-04 11:19:36

Very good movie.

Here is why i like this movie.1, The movie was fast paced, it didn't slow down much.2, Graphic/animation was pretty good.3, The action scene were well deliver.5, This movie shows violence the way it's suppose to. Note, I'm not a batman fan, but the movie was made, like it's suppose to be made, batman is just a human, and this movies gets that across unlike the justice league batman that survives everything that should kill him. It's good to see that characters have short comings which adds to their character.So, will that said If you have not seen it, you should even if your a not a batman fan, like I am.

nama chakravorty 2012-05-04 06:37:35

Stunning!

'Batman: Under the Red Hood' is a Stunning Watch. Its Gripping, Edgy &Absolutely Nail-Biting!'Batman: Under the Red Hood' Synopsis: While a new foe who uses TheJoker's old alias wreaks havoc among Gotham City's organized crime,Batman finds him disturbingly familiar.'Batman: Under the Red Hood' runs for 73 minutes, and every second, isworth watching. Judd Winick's Screenplay is Brilliant & AbsolutelyNail-Biting. The Pacing & The Use of its Legendary Superhero, isfabulously done. Brandon Vietti's Direction is compelling, while theGraphics are Astounding.Vocal Performance are amazing, but Bruce Greenwood as BruceWayne/Batman & Jason Isaacs as Ra's al Ghul, do an Impeccable Job.On the whole, 'Batman: Under the Red Hood' is a Stunning Watch. Two BigThumbs Up!

Abhishek Vaidya 2012-05-02 21:20:26

An exceptional production which brings out the best of the franchise.

The story line has been amazingly written (rewritten since it's a comicbook adaptation) with exceptional direction. Even as an animated movieit is on par with some of the best live-action productions. The voiceacting is exceptional as well. But what draws you in most is the easeand fluidity with which the story has been told. The flashbacks add amore emotional element otherwise not seen in most batman production.The audience is able to look slightly more into the mind of batman.Though what makes this movie a true masterpiece is the dramatic finale.Only complaint is that some of the points in the plot are a bit obviouswhich tends to render some of the scenes moot.A must watch for any batman fan and extremely entertaining for therest.

Mr-Fusion 2012-05-02 17:15:20

Definitely the best of the DC direct-to-video features (so far)

It's too bad DC comics hasn't been able to attain the kind of successthat Marvel has with their big screen adaptations. But DC seems to bedoing quite well with direct-to-DVD fare.Adapted by Judd Winick from his own story arc, "Batman: Under the RedHood" is a story brimming with themes of family, revenge andredemption. Five years prior, Jason Todd (the second Robin) wasbrutally murdered at the hands of the Joker. A death that scarredBatman nearly as badly as the death of his parents. At present, Batman(Bruce Greenwood) has his hands full with the sudden appearance of TheRed Hood (Jensen Ackles), a new vigilante who's seizing control ofGotham's crime syndicates. Showing up in a guest-starring role isNightwing (the original Robin, voiced here by Neil Patrick Harris) in astory that will face the Dark Knight with his past, as well as hisworst enemy, the Joker (John Di Maggio).The movie gets high marks for voice casting, alone. But even so, it's astellar Batman movie, complete with first-rate animation, aheartbreaking story (geez, that last line before the credits rolled wasa gut punch), and tremendous sound design. What surprises the most isthe level of violence in this movie, usually achieved with off-screensound effects that let the viewer's imagination fill in the blanks(always the right way to go). The action hits fast and hard, onlyslowing down to let the audience ingest the clues as to the Red Hood'sidentity.Greenwood is right up there with Kevin Conroy as the greatest Batman onscreen. Hopefully we'll hear him again as the Dark Knight in a futuremovie.8/10

2012-05-01 12:43:20

Very good movie.

Here is why i like this movie.1, The movie was fast paced, it didn't slow down much.2, Graphic/animation was pretty good.3, The action scene were well deliver.5, This movie shows violence the way it's suppose to. Note, I'm not a batman fan, but the movie was made like it's suppose to be made, batman is just a human and this movies gets that across unlike the justice league batman that survives everything that should kill him. It's good to see that characters have short comings which adds to their persona. So with that said If you have not seen it, you should even if your a not a batman fan, like me.

skyme 2012-05-01 06:28:42

casual fan, better than expected show

Just finished this animated original movie. No doubt about it, theaction in this was extra-brutal and loaded. Not to mention asemi-shocker of a beginning. I was constantly entertained, especiallywith so many bad guys and the layers of betrayal between them.I had no idea about this "Robin" kind of story as things wererevealed...pretty interesting. They never explained his knife, though.But anyway, it's probably the best original animated Batman movie I'veseen so far, though I haven't seen many.My only complaint is that Batman might be a clever & strong fighter,but otherwise he is a bit of a stiff here, but...eh, no big deal. BruceGreenwood does a good voice-over as Batman.In this production, John DiMaggio had a richer, smokier voice as theJoker I thought over Mark Hamill, but Hamill still rocks. And visually,I liked the Joker's weathered face as well here in this movie.Definitely a recommended animated original movie by DC Universe. Enjoy.

kevinxirau 2012-04-25 02:18:54

An incredible Batman epic.

Based on a recent graphic novel and taking place after the events of"Death in the Family", this Batman flick is, after The Dark Knight, thebest movie ever to star the caped crusader. It combines an excellentstory, great dialogue, awesome action scenes, and an intriguing mysterysurrounding the enigmatic Red Hood. So let's take a peek under thehood.Five years after the tragic death of Jason Todd, the second Robin, atthe hands of the psychotic Joker (John DiMaggio), Batman (BruceGreenwood) finds himself in the midst of a war between the criminallord Black Mask and the mysterious Red Hood, who seems to know Batmanall to well. Helping the dark knight in his quest to stop this madnessis none other than Dick Grayson a.k.a.Knightwing (the first Robin,played by Neil Patrick Harris). But when the Joker is brought into theplaying field and Ra's al Ghul somehow involved with the appearance ofthe Red Hood, will this conflict be too much for Batman.Bruce Greenwood is great as Batman because he really captures thetortured and lonely quality of the character. While I still preferKevin Conroy, Greenwood has struck me as an honorary Batman actor. Thesame can be said about John DiMaggio as Joker. He's one of the bestJokers ever to exist, playing basically the classic Joker with a littlebit of Heath Ledger in it. His best line is after he kills a few ofBlack Mask's men: "I'll need some guys. Not these guys because wellthey're kinda dead." Good stuff. Check it out.

3xHCCH 2012-04-24 10:23:15

A Deep Look into Batman's Psyche

Upon my friend's recommendation, I watched this latest DC Batmananimated film. I am not really fond of Batman animated films. I havenot even seen Batman classics like "Mask of the Phantasm". I do notknow why, but they did not really catch my interest because of theheavy and brooding atmosphere in these films. So therefore, this film"Under the Red Hood" is my first animated Batman film.In "Under the Red Hood," Batman is his usual brooding, dark self.However, with this film, I got a more intimate look at his conflictedpsyche and what makes him tick as a vigilante. This film served as myintroduction to the new Robin, Jason Todd. The cameo by Nightwing(voiced by Neil Patrick Harris) was also very good. I saw hismotivation in his quest against crime. And the Joker here is an capitalarch-villain in the real sense of the word, not the usualeasy-to-defeat fool.The script is very well-written. The psychology is deep and insightful.The sense of humor is wry and biting (especially the lines of the Jokerin the confrontation scenes at the end). The action is relentless(although it can look like Spiderman there at times) and intense (withblood and death). The film takes great advantage of what the animatedmedium can offer. I should say that because of this, I think it is hightime for me to go back and check out all those previous Batman animatedmovies I have missed.

Paul Haakonsen 2012-04-23 23:55:13

Kinda dark

This animated Batman movie was quite nice. It did take me by surprise.First, I would like to say that the story told in ""Under the Red Hood"is captivating and good. It is never dull or slows down, so there isconstant action and excitement.The animation is nice, although some of the drawing style had me a bitpuzzled. But hey, I might just not be accustomed to the style of recentanimation art.The voice acting is nice as well.Now, I have seen the Batman movies, and I found the Batman to be darkerand more wicked in this animated movie, more violent and angry thanever before. And the Joker was very well portrayed in this animatedmovie.So, if you like Batman, you should definitely check this animated movieout. Or also if you just want to be entertained with action for an hourand a half (or however long this feature is), this might be a goodchoice to go with.

TheLittleSongbird 2012-04-23 06:57:08

Batman is back!

I love Batman, and I loved this movie. I did think it is a little tooshort though, and Joker's voice did take some time to get used to whichis more to do with that I felt the voice didn't completely gel with thecharacter design. Minor faults aside, what we do have is one of thebetter Batman movies (or anything to do with Batman for that matter) inmy view, along with Mask of the Phantasm, the original Batman, Returnof the Joker and Batman Begins. If we include series too, Batman:TheAnimated Series is your best bet.The best asset of Under the Red Hood is the writing. It is justfantastic. Not only is it intelligent and smart but it is very deep andcomplex and delves into the characters far more effectively than any ofthe Nolan and Schumacher movies in my opinion. For example, Batman isnot only dark, charismatic and brooding as he should be, but thewriters brought a certain edge and poignancy to him too. The villainsin general are also well developed.I was also very impressed with the animation. It has a dark, hauntingvisual style, with smooth backgrounds, well drawn characters andatmospheric colouring, not to mention a beautifully realised GothamCity. The music is great too, very rousing and quite powerful and fitswith each scene appropriately. The story is engrossing, with a greatidea and well-choreographed sequences. Also the flashbacks actually addto the story in alternative to distracting from it. The voice acting isvery well done from pretty much all, Bruce Greenwood does somethingquite special with Batman while staying true to the character, whileNightwing- wonderfully voiced by Neil Patrick Harris- is fun and wittyand his frustration with Batman is done well.Overall, a very well done animated film. 9/10 Bethany Cox

sn939 2012-04-23 17:41:51

Under the Hood...is a masterpiece...

Superman may be considered the world's greatest hero...but Batman isnot only the coolest, but the greatest franchise cash-cow in DC'sstables! However, far too often, DC has focused on the same old'classic' elements of the mythos -the Batmobile, Batcave, Rogue'sGallery, Dick Grayson as the ever-cheery Robin the Boy Wonder...all ofthese have been rehashed over and over again, with differentpermutations in various adaptations...but now, DC has dared to bring tothe small screen, a dark, chilling and suspenseful tale from out of theso-called 'modern age' of the Dark Knight...Under the Hood!He may be the guardian of Gotham, the legendary crusader waging hisnever-ending war against crime...but Batman is eternally haunted by hisgreatest failure. Five years ago, Jason Todd, the second teenager toassume the mantle of Robin, was beaten to death by Batman's arch-nemesis, the Joker. And now, the spectre of Batman's defeat has, quiteliterally, come back to haunt him...as he faces the ruthless vigilanteknown as 'Red Hood', whose mission, unlike Batman's, is not to fightcrime, but to exterminate it...Curb-stomp battles, nocturnal rooftop chases, and let's not forget somegood old detective work ultimately lead Batman to his quarry, darkrevelations, and a sadistic gambit he cannot accept...Under the Hoodtruly surpasses, arguably, even the greatest animated Batman film ofall time-the Mask of the Phantasm! Here's hoping Warner Bros surpasseseven this with Year One...

J Sheldon 2012-04-23 05:18:52

The Dark Knight returns triumphantly....

Having this new Batman movie, I must say that I was amazed and caughtoff guard. I was expecting it to be good BUT not that good. The openingalone is a thing of beauty and one that stays in your head long afterthe the film has ended. Yes it is violent BUT you can't say its a greatfilm then mark it down for being too violent. That makes utterly nosense. The people who watched the original animation series are nowadults. The Batman comics are incredibly violent and the films aren'texactly for kids. I was amazed that D.C had the courage to present astory that was brutal, emotional, funny and with consequence. One scenein particular is as shocking as anything the Dark Knight had to offer.This is without doubt ranks as one of the very best DC animations and agood stop gap while you wait for the new movie to arrive. I know theJoker may not look like you expect him too but the Dark Knight provedthat you don't need to have a skinny pale character in the role. ThisJoker is dangerous and for once you get the real sense that he isBatman's equal rather than a bumbling fool. He is crazy and has a deathwise. He just wants to see the world burn. The other characters arewell done, each adding to the Batman mythology. The Dark Knight isn'tportrayed as some demigod without feelings. Here he is imperfect andhaunted by past mistakes. You understand why he is the way he is.Nightwing was done well, cracking jokes and lightening the mood. Withhis character you get a real sense at his frustration with Batman andhow hard it must have been for him to be the first robin. Theirrelationship is fractured to say the least but it also has thehallmarks of a father and son bond where there are many unspokenemotions running between them. I won't talk about the other charactersas I do not want to ruin the plot. All I will say that even if you justwatched the Batman films, you need to add this to your collection.

gunner_subbu 2012-04-21 21:40:21

A failed attempt to recreate the magic of THE DARK KNIGHT

Batman: Under The Red Hood is an adaptation of two stories of theBatman comic books - starting with "A Death In The Family" and endingon "Under the Hood". Now, neither of these story arcs could bedescribed as the best of Batman, and they involve a retcon that manyfans hated, and a character (Jason Todd) that readers loathed so much,back in 1988 they attempted a voting poll to get him removed fromBatman's comic book. Yet, for some reason, DC went ahead and decided toturn it into a movie.Why? Simple: there's a lot of violence involved in the storyline.Bombs, beatings, stabbings, shootings, you name it. Normally, I'dappreciate all of this in a cartoon, but this time it's blatantly clearthat they're just trying to squeeze in as much violence as possibleinto the seventy-minute tale, trying, unsuccessfully, to follow thesteps of "The Dark Knight". And let's face it, Director Brandon Viettiis no Chris Nolan.The resultant film is C-list at best, with below-average performancesfrom the voice actors (even Jensen Ackles - a very good actor inlive-action, fails to deliver as The Red Hood; in fact, the onlywell-done character was The Joker), over-the-top music, improbableaction sequences and some truly lame one-liners from Nightwing. A storythat should've been character-driven is pushed by plot-point afterplot-point, making it lag and limp along for even its short length.In short: it fails. On every level as a movie. Be aware that casualcartoon-watchers are going to be filled with praise for this film forits depiction of violence, calling it "dark and original" or whatever,but there's nothing new to be seen here. Just a studio trying to cashin on a franchise while it can, as studios always do.If you're the kind of guy who's never seen actual violence in acartoon, you might like this. But if you're used to works like "Spawn","Spicy City", etc, this movie comes off as nothing new.

Foo Rong Xin 2012-04-21 14:07:22

Compelling story, brilliant action choreography, talented voice acting.

Compelling story, brilliant action choreography, talented voice acting.Whatever other adjective that makes this animated film, perfect.Although I was disappointed that Kevin Conroy nor Mark Hamill re-prisedtheir role as Batman and the Joker respectively. They have been voicingthe characters for the past two decades! But the new cast did a REALLYgood job. Neil Patrick Harris as Nightwing! I'm so glad that I hadn'tmissed out on this. In fact, its existence was only make known to mewhen I was browsing movies on a forum. Lucky me!This flick is based on the comic book with the same name revolvingaround Jason Todd, Batman and the Joker. Jason Todd, who was Batman'ssecond robin, was murdered by the Joker and seemingly returned 5 yearslater as a one part vigilante, one part ruthless criminal kingpin.Calling himself, Red Hood. Shocking revelations are later revealed andepic battles are ensured. Oh yes, the fights are thrilling. Since it'sa direct-to-video movie, the animators had no holds barred. Meaningviolence and gore is assured.