“You really think I would stir up so much trouble and not make sure you knew it was me?”
 

The Flick

Based on pieces from the comic storylines of Batman: Under the Hood and Batman: A Death in the Family, Under the Red Hood begins with the latter and has Batman racing to save Robin from the clutches of The Joker.  Months later, a new criminal “The Red Hood” (Jensen Ackles) begins taking over control of Gotham’s drug ring from the control of Black Mask (Wade Williams).  Batman (Bruce Greenwood) and Nightwing (Neil Patrick Harris) join forces in an attempt to capture this new foe.  What they aren’t prepared for is that this new foe knows all of their moves and operates beyond the strict rules they follow.  Batman soon discovers his enemy’s true identity and is forced to make a choice concerning The Joker (John DiMaggio) that challenges his beliefs as a hero. 

Fans of the original comic story arc that this was based on won’t find many surprises here.  Judd Winnick, the same author who brought Jason Todd (Robin) back from the dead in the original comic, returned to pen the script for this one.  The dynamic he created between Batman, Robin and the Joker is one of the best the comic series has ever seen.  There are small changes to the original story that allowed for better continuity in the Batman Universe.  What was done originally has been done better here. 

Audio/Video

Batman Under the Red Hoodon Blu-ray features a 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack.  Voices are super crisp and will definitely work the center speaker.  With an A-list of voice actors attached, this is one of the better presentations offered by the DC universe.  The rest of the track is solid and filled with some great moments.  Overall the track is a great compliment to the amazing voice work, but it won’t wake the neighbors. 

Presented in 1080P 16X9 1.85:1 High Def ratio, the style used throughout is very similar to the same that Bruce Timm used long ago in the amazing Batman: The Animated Series.  Batman has a very square jaw with many of the other characters sharing angular facial features and broad frames.  It works well here and the additional use of computer generated images for some of the background pieces and vehicles make Under the Red Hood a very good looking high def experience.

Special Features and Packaging

Batman Under the Red Hoodon Blu-ray comes as a single disc collection with a foil slip cover containing the feature along with the following:

• DC Showcase– Jonah Hex– 12 minutes long
  An awesome animated short featuring comic book hero (antihero?) Jonah Hex and his search for a dead guy named Red.  This is definitely worth watching.
• Robin: The Story of Dick Grayson– 24 minutes long – This delves into the history behind the character and how this “first Robin” came to be.  Very cool for any fan of Grayson.
  Robin’s Requiem: The Tale of Jason Todd – 21 minutes long – another short documentary of the hard-to-like “second Robin” and how he was killed off by the writers via a 1-900 number where fans voted on whether he should live or die.  This featurette is exclusive to the Blu-ray disc.
• A First Look at Superman/Batman Apocalypse – 12 minutes long – an exciting sneak peek at the upcoming DC animated feature film, with a great look at Superman’s cousin Kara.
• Bonus Episodes
  22+/- minutes long each – Four episodes handpicked from Bruce Timm’s animation featuring Batman, including episodes from Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures:
  – Robin’s Reckoning, Part 1
  – Robin’s Reckoning, Part 2
  – Mad Love
  – The Laughing Fish
• Trailers
  – Jonah Hex Motion Comic
  – The Lord of the Rings, animated
  – Legend of the Guardians
  – Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
  – Batman: Gotham Knight
  – Superman: Doomsday

There’s a ton of stuff here that fans Batman and Bruce Timm’s original series will love. 

 
Overall

DC Universe and Andrea Romano keep pumping out hits and this is no exception.  Batman Under the Red Hood takes a few of the best stories in the Batman Universe and

ComicsOnline gives Batman Under the Red Hood on Blu-ray 4.5 out of 5 crowbars to the dome.

Buy Batman Under the Red Hood on Blu-ray at Amazon.com now.
 
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For more information, visit the official website www.batmanredhood.com.