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The latest animated film from DC Comics has arrived and Batman: Bad Blood lives up to the usual standards from their past animated films. Another direct sequel, where the earlier films from this line were connected only in the vaguest terms, ever since Flashpoint reset their animated world almost every film has lived in the same universe. This has been especially true of the Batman films, Son of Batman and Batman vs. Robin. With this third Bat-centric flick they have continued the storyline dealing with Damian Wayne and his connections to the League of Shadows.
Done in the same animation style as the previous films, Batman: Bad Blood is very much influenced by anime. Its action is incredibly well choreographed. The action is always one of the stronger elements of these films and they don’t disappoint this time around. Just amazingly well done fight scenes that manage to balance frenetic action that never become confusing or hard to follow. It helps that the animation style is clean and crisp, managing to keep the fighting mostly at night without muddying the audience’s view of the action. Some of the imagery here is so iconic you could take a number of stills from the film and hang them on your wall.
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The film deals with a new villain, The Heretic, who dresses himself in the mantle of the Bat and obviously has personal ties to the Dark Knight and company. What these ties are and how deep they go is a central mystery to the film. The Heretic has some very obvious nods to another Batman villain, Bane. More specifically, the Dark Knight Rises version of the character. From his terrorist roots to certain connections and one very obvious plot point that nods to the live action film, there is a clear influence from that film on the Heretic.
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Following this new villain are several long-time Bat villains ranging from the fairly recognizable to the incredibly obscure. One thing they do very well in these films is taking characters who are D-list at best and making them interesting and memorable. The sword wielding Onyx is a perfect example of this here. She is all but silent through most of the film but makes a large impression through the expressions and emotion that comes across in the animation.
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A welcome addition is the arrival of new members of the Bat family. The gun-toting badass Batwoman as well as the Iron Man-esque, technologically-clad Batwing. Both new characters are well rounded and feel fully realized even though their setups are brief. Batwoman especially comes off as a strong character who could support her own feature in the future. Plus the dynamic of her different approach to crime fighting adds an interesting wrinkle. There is also a tease of what future installments may bring to the Bat family as well.
As usual the film is presented on Blu-ray in a beautiful transfer, with 1080p video and a 5.1 Dolby digital audio mix. As with most animation, the entire film is a crisp vibrant show off piece for high definition and the audio mix is perfectly blended. Vocals are clear and understandable while explosions and other sound effects take great advantage of surround sound capabilities. Some of the best foley work in any DC animated feature.
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A constant aspect of these films is the extreme violence and the presence of lots of death. That’s still true here but they seemed to have pulled back a bit. Not as much visible blood or on camera death as other installments but still assuredly not for those younger children out there. It earns its PG-13 rating.
While not approaching the best of the DC animated films (Wonder Woman still probably being their best), the only thing it’s lacking is that story writing that grabs you and doesn’t let you go. Otherwise the film is a fun and action-packed ride. With some of the best fight scenes from the series and interesting new characters this is an easy one to recommend to any Bat fan out there
The following special features are also included:
- Putting the Fight in Gotham (26:26): A featurette dealing with the fight choreography in not only this film but in several other Batman films from the series. For anyone who really loves the minutia behind animated filmmaking it’s an amazing look into the process and the influences behind these elaborate action sequences. Not something you would ever watch more than once but for die hard fans a nice inclusion.
- Expanding the Batman Family (13:46): Examining the new characters added to this film and where their place in the family is. Mainly a brief history of their comic origins and how they developed over the years. As well as an examination of the dynamics within the Bat Family.
- From the DC Comics Vault: As usual, two episodes from classic DC animated series are included. This time around it’s two episodes of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, “The Knights of Tomorrow!” and “The Criss Cross Conspiracy”
- A Sneak peek at DC Universe’s next animated movie: Justice League VS Teen Titans (11:31): While presented on the disc as a trailer, this is really a full feature giving an early look at the next film from DC Animated and setting up the characters and stories we’ll be seeing soon. Nice for the uninitiated, but any big DC fans will be bored by it.
- The first Suicide Squad trailer is included as well.
Warner Bros. Entertainment provided HOTHCKA with a Blu-ray for reviewing purposes.
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