Fast forward to the present day and there is a new player in Gotham. A mysterious figure called the Red Hood is taking over the criminal underworld from Black Mask. He also seems to have a pretty obvious connection to Batman. It is up to the Dark Knight to figure out who this man is and what his connection is to Bruce Wayne.
Of course, anyone who is a fan of Batman already knows who the Red Hood is, but I like that the movie makes itself work for anyone new to the storyline that may not have read the comic books. The movie combines several storylines into one including "A Death in the Family", "The Killing Joke", and the original Red Hood storyline in the comic books.
The first strength of the movie is the voice acting. Bruce Greenwood, Jensen Ackles, and Neil Patrick Harris do fantastic jobs as Batman, Red Hood, and Nightwing, respectfully. The voice acting does lead to my one surprising disappointment. John DiMaggio, an extremely talented and dependable voice actor, comes off as a very average Joker. He's definitely no Mark Hamill and I was surprised by just how bland his performance was.
That aside, the story is amazing. Again, I'm surprised by how much the filmmakers were able cram into this movie. They make the various plot threads work and they all build towards a pretty emotional ending.
The action is another highlight, especially the confrontations between Batman and the Red Hood. They are very well done and pack an emotional punch that also matches the emotional story being told. Sure, they can't get away with showing as much blood as they probably wanted to, but I'll forgive that since the lack of blood is necessary to gain a PG-13 rating for an animated film.
Ultimately, this is one of Batman's better animated outings. The animation, the story, and the voice acting (for the most part) make this a stellar Batman adventure that anyone can enjoy!
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| 5/5 STARS |
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