Is Batman: Under The Red Hood overrated?

[-batmat-]

So, I just saw this on YouTube

I was so surprised by the results. And it just begs the question. Is Under The Red Hood THAT good? THE best Batman movie? By THAT big of a margin against the likes of MOTP, ROTJ and TDRK? (Year One is clearly one step below the rest, at least in my book)

Don't get me wrong, it IS a great movie. I ranked it at #5 of my favorite DC Universe line of movies on my recent thread. But even then I mentioned how it seems to be overrated to my eyes by most people, and this seems to prove it. What do you think?

 

[Mostezli]

Is Under The Red Hood THAT good? THE best Batman movie? By THAT big of a margin against the likes of MOTP, ROTJ and TDRK? (Year One is clearly one step below the rest, at least in my book)

Yes.
Yes.
Year One is whatever step below because it's more of a Jim Gordan movie mostly from his pov that just so happens to include Bruce/Batman & Selina whenever relevant. I'd figure TDKR would be somewhat closer behind it, since that was the first 2-parter they've done (so you literally have more time dedicated to the story) and just the fact of how much said story has been heavily referenced elsewhere.

Under the Red Hood not only debuts one of the best Batman voice actors to date (months ahead of his recurring role on Young Justice), not only does it propel Jason Todd's relevance and popularity (he's definitely right behind Dick Grayson across multiple media since this movie), not only created the internet hunger for Jensen Ackles as that character, is not only lauded with the rare accolade of actually being better than its source material, but personally John DiMaggio as Joker made me wish he got the gig more.

 

[Frontier]

I'd definitely put Under the Red Hood as one of the best Batman animated films, and definitely probably the best of the modern era.

 

[-batmat-]

Fair points, but is it better than Mask of the Phantasm and Return Of The Joker? I guess those films are older and not in the spotlight anymore as Under The Red Hood seems to still be in and that's why people like them more.

But I think in no way Red Hood is a better movie than The Dark Knight Returns, Mask Of The Phantasm or Return Of The Joker

 

[Yojimbo]

I don't think Red Hood is overrated. But do I think it's better than Mask Of The Phantasm or Return of The Joker? I always found ROTJ to be a better story than Under the Red Hood and a better execution of that 'Robin is maimed' story. The way ROTJ ends was better than UTRH, imo. Something always felt missing in the end of UTRH. Never could nail what. I haven't seen anything that trumps Mask of The Phantasm yet, imo. Batman Ninja certainly blew my mind. I'd surely rank Red Hood in the top 5 animated Batman movies at best, top 10 for sure.

 

[Fone Bone]

Better than Return Of The Joker or Mask Of The Phantasm? No way. That poll boggles my mind.

 

[Freddy]

As someone who overall doesn't care much about DC universe or even just Batman (nothing against either, just not my fandom), I would count Under the Red Hood as my favorite DC movie of all-time and the only one I have watched more than once. It has solid moody animation, it tackles the "should superheroes kill?" conflict better than most attemps, it is to date the only piece of media where Red Hood was a compelling character and John DiMaggio is criminally underrated as the Joker (IMO he is up there with Mark Hamill).

 

[-batmat-]

As someone who overall doesn't care much about DC universe or even just Batman (nothing against either, just not my fandom), I would count Under the Red Hood as my favorite DC movie of all-time and the only one I have watched more than once. It has solid moody animation, it tackles the "should superheroes kill?" conflict better than most attemps, it is to date the only piece of media where Red Hood was a compelling character and John DiMaggio is criminally underrated as the Joker (IMO he is up there with Mark Hamill).

Again, I'm not arguing that it's not a bad movie, I mostly agree with everything you said, BUT, is it really so overwhelmingly better than Mask Of The Phantasm, Return Of The Joker and TDR Returns as that poll indicates? That's what Im going for with this thread

 

[Frontier]

I don't think Red Hood is overrated. But do I think it's better than Mask Of The Phantasm or Return of The Joker? I always found ROTJ to be a better story than Under the Red Hood and a better execution of that 'Robin is maimed' story. The way ROTJ ends was better than UTRH, imo. Something always felt missing in the end of UTRH. Never could nail what. I haven't seen anything that trumps Mask of The Phantasm yet, imo. Batman Ninja certainly blew my mind. I'd surely rank Red Hood in the top 5 animated Batman movies at best, top 10 for sure.

Well, one difference between ROTJ and UTRH is I guess...a difference of hope?

Batman technically wins in both but at the same time in the former he (or Terry) definitively defeats The Joker, finds peace with himself, reconciles with Bruce (and Bruce reconciles with Tim), and reclaims being Batman.

Contrast that to Under the Red Hood where Batman wins by "losing" because he won't kill Joker and won't let Jason kill him, and Jason is left in the wind and there's this undercurrent of the futility of Batman's crusade and what he has lost along the way, but even understanding that on some level doesn't change anything and Batman keeps going on as normal because he has to along with what memories he has of Jason as Robin.

It's more in the vein of Mask of the Phantasm where Batman never really stopped The Phantasm from getting her revenge and couldn't stop Andrea in the end, leaving him to wonder about the validity of his mission and his own quest for vengeance. We only really know Andrea failed because we know Joker never stays dead (until, well, Return of The Joker).

 

[Otaku-sempai]

Overrated? Probably not, but it's not without flaws. I find some of the dialogue repetitive, being re-used in later scenes (sometimes to good effect, sometimes not). But the voice-acting is solid and the screenplay is a vast improvement over the source material--remarkable considering their both written by Judd Winnick.

Mask of the Phantasm suffers a little bit from its origins as a direct-to-video project. It could have stood to have a larger budget and a little room to breathe narratively. It is still my sentimental favorite of the Batman movies.

 

[Rick Jones]

Red Hood is one of my absolute favorites. I always think of it as my third fave Batman animated movie after MOTP and ROTJ and my second favorite DC Universe movie after Crisis on Two Earths. Bruce Greenwood was a revelation as Batman. Something I didn't know that I always wanted. This was the perfect modern Batman movie for me. DiMaggio was underrated as Joker. There are parts of this movie that I get excited about everytime I'm watching it like I'm seeing them for the first time. I always hoped for sequels (Batman/Bat Family movies) in this style, or tone, and with this voice cast, and I understood that wasn't happening after a couple of years but I was at least glad that we got Greenwood in Young Justice and Gotham by Gaslight because of it.

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[khuddle]

Agree with everyone that UTRH is one of the best animated Batman movies. The reveal of just who the Red Hood is gives me chills, every time.

 

[Otaku-sempai]

Agree with everyone that UTRH is one of the best animated Batman movies. The reveal of just who the Red Hood is gives me chills, every time.

Well, I can't go that far since familiarity with the original story spoils the reveal.

 

[Rick Jones]

I don't feel as though the movie ever really hides who the Red Hood is. The intensity of that final confrontation always gets to me though, especially with all three of the actors doing their A work.

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[Frontier]

I don't feel as though the movie ever really hides who the Red Hood is. The intensity of that final confrontation always gets to me though, especially with all three of the actors doing their A work.

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Especially when Jason's helmet comes off and you see that image of him as Robin interposed with his adult self...like, you know who he is by then, but the impact is still felt.

 

[-batmat-]

I guess it's a shock to me. I thought Mask Of The Phantasm was usually considered the best out of them all. If I had to rank those 5 movies from that poll, it would go:

1. Mask Of The Phantasm
2. Return Of The Joker
3. The Dark Knight Returns
4. Under The Red Hood
5. Year One

 

[khuddle]

I guess it's a shock to me. I thought Mask Of The Phantasm was usually considered the best out of them all. If I had to rank those 5 movies from that poll, it would go:

1. Mask Of The Phantasm
2. Return Of The Joker
3. The Dark Knight Returns
4. Under The Red Hood
5. Year One

If anything is overrated, its Mask of the Phantasm. The animation and artwork looks old and dated at this point.

 

[Otaku-sempai]

If anything is overrated, its Mask of the Phantasm. The animation and artwork looks old and dated at this point.

I wouldn't call Mask of the Phantasm overrated, but it does look a bit dated now despite the almost timeless quality of its designs. I wish that it had been designated a theatrical feature from the start, given a larger budget and a bit more room to tell its story. And converting the original to wide-screen format (only the titles were originally in widescreen) does it no favors.

 

[ShadowStar]

If anything is overrated, its Mask of the Phantasm. The animation and artwork looks old and dated at this point.

It's worth considering all of the positive qualities that the film has going for it -- including the stellar voice cast, the incredible musical score and the gorgeous film noir look for Gotham. It might look "old and dated", in the sense that it almost looks as though it's unfolding in the 1950s, but that's part of its charm. I'd rather have the Gotham of BTAS than any other version of Gotham that we have seen.

 

[Fone Bone]

There is nothing wrong with a film looking like the era it was either set in or filmed in. That's how movies and eras are supposed to work.