A Review of Batman: Under the Red Hood

A mysterious and brutal killer known as the Red Hood is taking over Gotham City’s criminal gangs. Whose face lies beneath the mask? And how did he get there? Those are the central questions in the new DC/Warner Bros. animated movie entitled Batman: Under the Red Hood.

By the standards of Warner Brothers’ direct-to-video films (of which I am a fan), this is an excellent movie. The animation, pacing, storytelling, and screenwriting are optimal. A surprising but completely reasonable plot forms.

Spoilers below the jump….

The Red Hood is Jason Todd, the second Robin — who is supposed to be dead. But he has returned thanks to the workings of Ra’s al Ghu, although with a darker personality. It’s all presented in a believable fashion.

The Joker is a true psycho in this movie. This is not the somewhat hard Batman stories of The Animated Series, but a brutal adult movie where death and cruelty are commonplace. Nor is this the Batman of the live-action movies, in which stunts and special effects are used in place of a screenplay. The story is central, and well-told. Batman: Under the Red Hood is worth seeing.