Blu-Ray Review: Batman vs. Robin

The Movie

Let’s get this out of the way now. If you don’t want to be spoiled, don’t read the review of the movie. I tried writing this without spoilers, but it just didn’t work. So, read on at your own risk.

Man, oh man, if there was ever a Batman story from the New 52 I would have loved to see animated, it would be Court of Owls. The back story that Court of Owls gave Gotham was something I haven’t seen before, because you never see something so elaborate that it actually gave a city a back story. When has that ever happened before? I can’t remember.

The story begins with Damien sneaking out in the stolen Batmobile, and going after Anton Schott, better known as Dollmaker. Robin rode the line between justice and vengeance, but it was newcomer, Talon, that wants Robin to show the world what vengeance is really like. This starts a rift between Damien and Bruce that ultimately drives Robin to seek out Talon, and possibly bring him into the Court of Owls. However, Batman’s ideology has gotten a lot further than Damien thought, and that causes friction between himself and Talon.

The title fight between Robin and Batman should come as no surprise here, because there has been a lot of friction between Bruce and Damien since they first met. Everything about Bruce and Damien are polar opposites, from how to deal with a criminal, all the way down to training. It was a lot shorter than I would have liked, and it led me to believe. The situation was so dire, with Damien literally choosing between between justice and vengeance, which has been the ongoing theme throughout the entire movie. So, pardon me if I was expecting something more than the fight that gave the movie its title.

The ending of Batman vs. Robin more than made up for the lackluster fight between Robin and Batman. Talon singlehandedly tore down the Court of Owls, and layed siege to Wayne Manor. The fight went from the foyer, to the second floor, all the way through to the conclusion the Batcave. Talon made Nightwing look silly, and took Batman to his limit. Even in his final gesture, in making Damien kill him, Talon won.

As a stand alone Batman movie, this movie ranks up there with Mask of the Phantasm in how well the story unfolded. The story wasn’t tethered by how the comic unfolded, yet used it as a map as to how Batman vs. Robin has unraveled. The best part of all of this was how the Court of Owls were represented here. You never knew where exactly the Court was going to go, even if you know the story top to bottom.

Everything in Batman vs. Robin fit almost perfectly. The story was great, and the strengths helped pick up the weaknesses. The one fight with Batman and Robin felt very lacking, but the conclusion made up for it. I can’t say how let down I was, though, because if the name of the movie is Batman vs. Robin, you’re expecting a large fight between the two. This is the first major let down that DC Animation has really had in quite some time.

Also, pay attention to Thomas Wayne. Bringing in Kevin Conroy to voice Thomas Wayne hearkened a throwback  to the animated series. Jason O’Mara is a worthy successor to Conroy, and he has turned Batman into his own. His work over the years signifies the change of eras, and Batman is in great hands. The Court of Owls was the best, most engrossing story of the New 52, and Batman vs. Robin was a worthy successor.

The Special Features

Honestly, these are the meat and potatoes of any DC Animation Blu-Ray release. The special features usually go deep into the mythos of the movie, and how they got the inspiration to how the movie came about. Does Batman vs. Robin‘s special features stay on that track? Oh my god, yes.

Gotham City’s Secret: The Mythic Court of Owls goes into how the comic story came about, and it goes deep. At a little over 31 minutes, it’s the longest featurette that I have seen on a DC Animation disc. Easily, this is the most informative feature, going so far as to what the different interpretations of the owl from different societies. Hell, the feature even dives into the significance of masks, and the role they place in both Court of Owls, and Batman vs. Robin. Just for the informative reason alone, watch Gotham City’s Secret: The Mythic Court of Owls.

The Talons of the Owls gives us a look at the tantamount villain to Batman, Talon. It’s a much shorter featurette, yet goes really deep into the history and myth of Talon. While it was never said in the movie, the army of Talons that Talon was supposed to command were all revived by the Lazarus Pit. Also, the question “why didn’t the Talons use guns?” was answered, because they are supposed to be the mirror image of Batman. If your favorite villain in Batman is Talon, then do yourself a favor and watch this featurette.

Of course, there’s a sneak peak of the next DC Animation feature, Justice League: Gods & Monsters.  This is an eleven minute feature that goes into more detail, and shows more footage of the more lethal  Justice League. According to the featurette, if you’re familiar in any form to the DC universe, this is 90 minutes of an Easter Egg. If you don’t get excited for Justice League: Gods & Monsters after watching this, then you may have to check your pulse.

You get the obligatory four episodes of past DC Animated Universe episodes, here as well. This time, it’s “The Color of Revenge” from Batman: The Brave and the Bold, “Old Wounds” from Batman: The Animated Series, “Obsession” from Superman: The Animated Series, and “Auld Acquaintance” from Young Justice. Overall, Warner and DC Animation went above and beyond to give us one of the best packages to date. Even the four DC episodes were fantastic. The collective content of Batman vs. Robin is something to behold. It will be hard to overcome this.