The first forty minutes of Batman: Under the Red Hood was nothing more than typical action fare. It involves Batman (Bruce Greenwood) and Nightwing (Neil Patrick Harris), formerly the first Robin, investigating the Red Hood—a new player in Gotham's underworld. The investigation leads them to the dockyards, where they have an overly drawn out and implausible showdown with a very Superman-like Amazo robot. Their search later leads them to Arkham Asylum where the two have a rather heated sit down with the Joker. Finally, the trail leads to a rooftop chase showcasing the kind of athleticism that should be impossible for any human to pull off without the benefit of radioactive spider blood. Throw in a few snarky one liners by Nightwing, an interpretation of Blackmask that was waaay off the mark and I was doubtful about this film's place in my collection. Then, with thirty-five minutes left, UTRH switches gears.
The lesser elements (the Blackmask and Nightwing) are scaled back or written out entirely and the true story finally emerges. This is about Bruce Wayne, not Batman, dealing with his greatest failure—the death of the second Robin. After all, Red Hood (Jensen Ackles) wasn't challenging Batman, he was challenging the man behind the mask—the man who had been, in many ways, a father to him. I could see the strain this put on Wayne, whose face was bare for much of this second half. This uneasy balance of rage and grief also came across in Greenwood's performance, such as when he snapped at Alfred over their emotional inability to view Jason Todd's remains prior to his burial.
As a result, the action became less by the numbers and decidedly more personal. The final showdown between Batman and the Red Hood was more than just a fight. It was brutal and each landed blow seemed to hurt the attacker just as much as its recipient. The Red Hood was striking out against the one he had looked to for guidance, who ultimately failed him. Wayne was lashing out at the living proof of his failings. Finally, just when Batman snaps and lowers the boom on his former pupil, the Red Hood delivers a killer counter that cuts right to the heart of the matter. Kicking open a closet in an abandoned property shows the Joker is bound and gagged. To this, Todd delivers his ultimatum—kill the Joker or I will.
Hearing Bruce Wayne's explanation for why the Joker's still alive was intriguing. It turns out he really, really wants to put the clown down for the count. Yet, he's afraid that in doing so he'd never come back from it and would start meting out lethal justice on a regular basis. Finally, the elephant in the room was acknowledged. Given Bruce Wayne's conditioning and the amount of training under his belt, it would definitely take an inordinate amount of effort for him to not kill an opponent. Having it explained so bluntly why a man with pronounced anger issues would employ such restraint really scratched that longstanding itch I've had regarding the character.
On top of this, the animation was detailed and very fluid. Every move in the fight scenes was visible and animated to the point of near "how to" detail. I especially like how, at one point, Batman takes a blade to the neck—only to reveal his cowl is lined with kevlar. The score by Christopher Drake, most notably the main title, really hit the mark and helped set the mood. Lastly, the voice acting by the two leads, Bruce Greenwood and Jensen Ackles, was right on target. Greenwood sounded quite a bit like Kevin Conroy and that's not a problem for me. Ackles treaded the line between being a wiseass and being consumed with rage. And, I just want to add that the Jonah Hex short was pretty damned tight in its own right.
But, as I said, the first half of Batman: UtRH was only typical and nothing more. The action was overdone to the point of being nondescript. The supporting players were poorly conceived. Worst of all, the Joker (John DiMaggio) felt more like a serial killer with a shtick than he came off as being truly devoid of anything resembling sanity. Also, why did the Red Hood need to manipulate Black mask into breaking the Joker out of Arkham? As resourceful as he was, couldn't he have just sprung the Joker himself? This is why, despite a strong second half, this DTV is still only barely worth owning.
Now, on an aside, I want to make an appeal to Bruce Timm. For the next solo Batman DTV, please focus more on Bruce Wayne than on the cape he wears. He is one of the most long lived, fascinating, and criminally underutilized characters in modern fiction. Bruce Wayne is what saved this production from being menial like "Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths". Bruce Wayne is what made Christopher Nolan's two films blockbusters. Bruce Wayne is what could make the general public take notice of the next Batman DTV and net a pretty penny in the process. We know who Clark Kent is. We know who Peter Parker is. After 71 years, however, Bruce Wayne is still something of an enigma waiting to be fleshed out.
The lesser elements (the Blackmask and Nightwing) are scaled back or written out entirely and the true story finally emerges. This is about Bruce Wayne, not Batman, dealing with his greatest failure—the death of the second Robin. After all, Red Hood (Jensen Ackles) wasn't challenging Batman, he was challenging the man behind the mask—the man who had been, in many ways, a father to him. I could see the strain this put on Wayne, whose face was bare for much of this second half. This uneasy balance of rage and grief also came across in Greenwood's performance, such as when he snapped at Alfred over their emotional inability to view Jason Todd's remains prior to his burial.
As a result, the action became less by the numbers and decidedly more personal. The final showdown between Batman and the Red Hood was more than just a fight. It was brutal and each landed blow seemed to hurt the attacker just as much as its recipient. The Red Hood was striking out against the one he had looked to for guidance, who ultimately failed him. Wayne was lashing out at the living proof of his failings. Finally, just when Batman snaps and lowers the boom on his former pupil, the Red Hood delivers a killer counter that cuts right to the heart of the matter. Kicking open a closet in an abandoned property shows the Joker is bound and gagged. To this, Todd delivers his ultimatum—kill the Joker or I will.
Hearing Bruce Wayne's explanation for why the Joker's still alive was intriguing. It turns out he really, really wants to put the clown down for the count. Yet, he's afraid that in doing so he'd never come back from it and would start meting out lethal justice on a regular basis. Finally, the elephant in the room was acknowledged. Given Bruce Wayne's conditioning and the amount of training under his belt, it would definitely take an inordinate amount of effort for him to not kill an opponent. Having it explained so bluntly why a man with pronounced anger issues would employ such restraint really scratched that longstanding itch I've had regarding the character.
On top of this, the animation was detailed and very fluid. Every move in the fight scenes was visible and animated to the point of near "how to" detail. I especially like how, at one point, Batman takes a blade to the neck—only to reveal his cowl is lined with kevlar. The score by Christopher Drake, most notably the main title, really hit the mark and helped set the mood. Lastly, the voice acting by the two leads, Bruce Greenwood and Jensen Ackles, was right on target. Greenwood sounded quite a bit like Kevin Conroy and that's not a problem for me. Ackles treaded the line between being a wiseass and being consumed with rage. And, I just want to add that the Jonah Hex short was pretty damned tight in its own right.
But, as I said, the first half of Batman: UtRH was only typical and nothing more. The action was overdone to the point of being nondescript. The supporting players were poorly conceived. Worst of all, the Joker (John DiMaggio) felt more like a serial killer with a shtick than he came off as being truly devoid of anything resembling sanity. Also, why did the Red Hood need to manipulate Black mask into breaking the Joker out of Arkham? As resourceful as he was, couldn't he have just sprung the Joker himself? This is why, despite a strong second half, this DTV is still only barely worth owning.
Now, on an aside, I want to make an appeal to Bruce Timm. For the next solo Batman DTV, please focus more on Bruce Wayne than on the cape he wears. He is one of the most long lived, fascinating, and criminally underutilized characters in modern fiction. Bruce Wayne is what saved this production from being menial like "Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths". Bruce Wayne is what made Christopher Nolan's two films blockbusters. Bruce Wayne is what could make the general public take notice of the next Batman DTV and net a pretty penny in the process. We know who Clark Kent is. We know who Peter Parker is. After 71 years, however, Bruce Wayne is still something of an enigma waiting to be fleshed out.