Life Imitates Art- Batman: Under the Red Hood

Sadly, I missed both the premiere and the encore presentation that the lucky 5000 line-loving fans got to attend last weekend at SDCC.  Luckily, I found a copy yesterday on official release day and though I slept for only 4 hours or so, I can say that it was worth it.

Judd Winick was hailing Batman: Under the Red Hood as the greatest film ever made thoughout the show-- and though I wouldn't go quite that far--

it is in line with the few superior DCU Animated films released to date.  Voice and animated portrayals of Joker, Batman and Ra's was solid.  The standout had to be Neil Patrick Harris' Nightwing for his utter flair and flamboyance that was fitting, while Jensen Ackles at times just came off way too whiny, even for Jason Todd.

The flashback cutscenes were perfectly blended and the choices made of what to take from the books and where to better adapt it in film was right on.  I would have appreciated more of a bridge with the Lost Days books by using Talia more, but as Winick noted in panels at SDCC- this story needed to be more about Bruce and Jason, not a team story.  Without a doubt, Batman: Under the Red Hood defied my expectations from the hype machine on it's pure emotion and sheer violence, but there were some elements that could have gone a bit farther-- especially with more of an edge used in the opening scenes that were adapted from Batman: Death in the Family.

Like other DC Animated special editions- you get plenty of good stuff, but like the behind the scenes of this film that was in the last Justice League flick, the Superman/Batman: Apocalypse sneak peek was just bananas!!! You feel a real sense of connection when Timm, Romano and Loeb talk story about the late Michael Turner's work and how they will be stylizing the characters which is a great homage to the incredible artist.  Can't wait to see more on it as info is released!!

As to the ranking of the best DCU Animated films-- in order I would have to rank Justice League: Crisis of Two Earths at #2 and Batman: Under the Red Hood at a shared spot with Justice League: New Frontier at #3.  So wot about the #1 spot??  Gotcha, this belongs to DCU Online's "Who Do You Trust?"cinematic trailer. 

And just when I think my life as a gamer is done, they just pull me back in!!!!


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big O