Eye Crave Network attended a Press Screening of the next upcoming DC UNIVERSE Original PG-13 Movies, Batman: Under the Red Hood. It streeted on July 27th, 2010 and is a joint Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Animation release.
Continue reading for my thoughts on the upcoming release.
Event Date: Friday July 23, 2010
Studio: Warner Brothers
Starring: Bruce Greenwood, Jensen Ackles, Neil Patrick Harris, John DiMaggio, and Jason Isaacs
Director: Brandon Vietti
Rated: PG-13
Batman: Under the Red Hood comes in several configurations with the 2 disc DVD having over 2 hours of extras and the BluRay version with at least 3 hours of goodies. To see the details check the Extra Specs – as covered previously here at Eye Crave Network.
The event was hosted by Comic Book artist Ty Templeton who has worked on Batman comic books and is well versed in Batman lore. Check out his web site for more details. The arranger of the event was Carley of LexPR Canada. Thanks to both of you for an excellent presentation.
Pictured is Ty Templeton answering questions while also doing a sketch of Batman
Batman: Under the Red Hood is scripted by comics writer Judd Winick and is based on his 2005 comics storyline and the subsequent graphic novels that followed.
“In Batman: Under the Red Hood , Batman faces his ultimate challenge as the mysterious Red Hood takes Gotham City by firestorm. One part vigilante, one part criminal kingpin, Red Hood begins cleaning up Gotham with the efficiency of Batman, but without the same ethical code. Killing is an option. And when the Joker falls in the balance between the two, hard truths are revealed and old wounds are reopened.”
Batman: Under the Red Hood marks a changing of the voice guard with the biggest change being Bruce Greenwood replacing Kevin Conroy as Batman. Jensen Ackles is Red Hood, Neil Patrick Harris as Nightwing, John DiMaggio – replacing Mark Hamill – as the Joker, and Jason Isaacs as Ra’s Al Ghul.
Pictured to the left is Ty’s finished sketch he was working on in the picture above. I was fortunate enough to be able to take this home. Sweet!
Some of the voicing changes are pretty seamless. I was hard pressed to notice the difference between Bruce Greenwood and Kevin Conroyd. On the flip side Mark Hamill has created an distinctive and iconic voice for the Joker that John DiMaggio – of Bender Futurama fame – has a tough followup gig. Fortunately his Joker is given some choice lines and moments that elicited open laughs from the audience. DiMaggio does solid work here. He definitely has the Joker laugh down but I still prefer the Hamill voice for the dialogue.
As for the movie Red Hood is a very solid effort. I put this one just below Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and Batman: Return of the Joker. The overall story mines the pain and guilt that several characters carry for choices they have made; no matter how well intentioned they were at the time. Batman’s creedo of never crossing over the line and becoming a killer is examined as to the cost it can incur in the past, present, and future. It is a quick paced and energetic story, peppered with action scenes, that never lags.
