Finished Red Hood: Resurrection, and here are my thoughts
To get it out of the way out the gate, I do not like the costumes. I dislike the plasticy feeling, dark, desaturated, armored costuming style of live action Bat media. It's just not my thing. It's a) really hard to sell me on their ability to fight and flip in stiff clothing and b) disappointing to see a lack of color in what is such a colorful medium. And TAKE JASON ROBIN OUT OF THE ACCURSED TIM DRAKE ROBIN OUTFIT THIS INSTANT!
That said, what did I LIKE about the costumes? I think Jason was consistently well-costumed throughout. Nightwing and Tim feel like their costumes are just rentals, but Jason's clothing ties into the story beautifully as well as having more saturated color than anyone else in the show. The initial costume being his later comic outfit worked really well for me. It's casual; it's bright; it's distinctive, but it doesn't mean anything. Then he slowly acquires pieces of what will be his final costume over the show. His enemies helmet protecting him, his own past life's jacket on his shoulders, his father's symbol on his chest, adapted to mean something to him. And that monologue about what exactly a red bat symbol means to him was excellent. 10/10 Jason costuming.
While I am a cloth Deathstroke mask truther (pry it out of my cold dead hands along with the boots that are 90% cuff!), I liked his scarf. Finally a piece of a costume that feels like it's just for Fun. For Flair. And, looking at the credits, I see the body actor (clearly highly trained for the fight choreo) and the voice actor were different, which a helmet covers really well.
There is something interesting to be said for the villains having brighter, more eye-catching colors in their costumes (Jason's saturated red, Black Mask's bright white suit, the Joker's facepaint, Deathstroke's scarf and orange (albeit desaturated orange...) vs the heroes with darker colors (didn't even know that there was blue in Nightwing's outfit until the last episode because it was so dark and desaturated).
This show. Makes me like Tim Drake in a way that I do not think anything else has. I like him. I'm rooting for him. I want to see him call Deathstroke The Terminator Mr. Stroke. I want to see him and Jason be friends.
Jason and Tim's actors were the best in the series, and every scene between the two of them was on fire, a rapid ping-ponging volley of charisma between the two. I never believe in the characters more than when it's the two of them.
The fight scenes were overall very good. My favorites are 1) Jason vs Tim (the pained squeak Tim lets out when slammed into something made me wince in sympathy; it felt like a real fight) and 2) Any fight with Deathstroke. (They capture Slade's ability to "see faster than other people" beautifully in how he reacts and moves, and I love Tim & Jason using him as a platform to roll off of! Great way to explore smaller, lither fighters vs a bigger, more solid one! And it feels so disrespectful! Love that!)
I like that this show is not an adaptation of Under The Red Hood or any comic story that I know about. It's taking inspiration from a few things, certainly, but it's telling an original story, and I have a huge amount of respect for that. I mean, Bruce isn't even there! WHat a bold move! Paralleling Jason & Tim was amazing and so refreshing against comics!Tim "See, Jason was reckless and impulsive and got himself killed, while I the Superior Robin follow my instincts and don't die." Making Dick & Tim the Bruce & Jason analogue was fantastic in that regard too.
This was one of my favorite interpretations of the Joker ever. The click! of his teeth snapping! And he felt like a cruel, sane man with a gimmick and penchant for violence, which is always my preference with the character. I also really like that the facepaint was facepaint. I know it varies based on comic era, and it's much more common these days for it to just be his face, but this choice lends itself more to his gimmick, the active choice he makes every day to be The Joker.
TIM MADE JASON A SANDWICH. YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND, JASON TODD EATS A LOT OF SANDWICHES IN THE 80S COMICS. HUGE FOR ME. HUGE. JASON & SANDWICH POST WILL BE OUT SOON, MARK MY WORDS.
Jason stole an extra 5 mill for himself <3 He deserves it <3
I enjoyed the final conflict a lot. I like that it's Jason choosing the third option (which, of course was never really a choice that could create a perfect win state for him), and that it is motivated by care.
The biggest characterization misstep in the series to me was Jason killing the shoulder wound goon in the first episode. Jason is not an indiscriminate killer; he's a very discriminate killer, which is a huge part of what makes him interesting. I think following through on his word would have added to the themes of the show and Tim's impression of Jason from the start far more than what they went with.
Seriously? Talia is here and has NO DIALOGUE?? Come on.
I was shocked by how much I liked Deathstroke in this. I was half-expecting him to be just a recognizable default mercenary, but they really leaned into his mental enhancements (the "seeing faster than other people" and just being able to think and analyze very quickly) a lot. My favorite beat of that was him seeing Black Mask!Jason and instantly knowing a) That isn't Black Mask b) That is the guy who's been causing Black Mask problems c) That guy is the kid from the League of Assassins. And communicating all that in 'Is that a new suit'. Excellent. He should have had boots that were 90% cuff, but I will take what I can get. I also like that he does not lose the physical fights he is in. Because he's freaking Deathstroke The Terminator.
Dick drove me up a wall in this in a way that lent itself perfectly to the themes the show was going for and the story it was trying to tell. 10/10 love to see a story make a bold choice and stick to it. Wanted to ring his neck when he pulled the 'Jason was a bad seed from the start' nonsense. But, again, the show is paralleling Jason & Tim. Dick says that; but I don't think the show says it, which makes all the difference to me. And Dick is proven wrong at the end!
Dick's actor was good on close up face shots, but, next to Tim, he did feel a little wooden unfortunately. I did love the shot of him stabbed calling out for Jason though.
Jason doing push ups while blasting music <3
Jason staring at the Bat Suit clearly wishing Bruce were really there and being so relieved he's not and maybe something in between that lends itself to stealing the outfit for himself like wrapping himself in Bruce's cape while also denying him. Bruce did not need to be there for me to go wild over the father and son of it all!!
Overall, was this my favorite version of The Jason Todd story? No. But I enjoyed watching it, found it to be a compelling elseworld, and would watch more if more gets made!
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