Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham Blu-ray Movie Review

Cthulhu, where are you?

Reviewed by Randy Miller III March 24, 2023

First seen as a three-issue 2000-01 Elseworlds miniseries co-written by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, The Doom That Came to Gotham is a Lovecraftian-tinted Batman mystery whose smoky 1920s backdrop meshes decently well with the story's supernatural elements. Yet the end result always felt more good than great, and Warner Bros.' new animated adaptation rarely exceeds its source material in pacing, atmosphere, and overall interest, with a stubbornly slow pace that only intermittently picks up steam. Though certainly worth a look and not without its moments, both versions -- but especially this movie -- feel like a puzzle whose pieces are all present but just don't fit together.

The story leads off with a dangerous Arctic expedition led by Bruce Wayne (voiced by David Giuntoli), who has been tasked with checking in on a fellow team led by Professor Oswald Cobblepot (William Salyers). Wayne and his crew discover a horrific massacre including multiple dead bodies, several mutated creatures, a vaguely zombified version of second-in-command Grendon (David Dastmalchian) and, of course, no Professor. Returning to Gotham with his team and Grendon in tow (whom he unceremoniously keeps in a freezer, below) Bruce soon dons his familiar cape and cowl, or at least the old-timey version of it, to dig up some answers with help of trusty associates Kai Li Cain (Tati Gabrielle), Dick Grayson (Jason Marsden), Sanjay Tawde (Karan Brar), and Alfred Pennyworth (Brian George). Elsewhere, Talia al-Ghul (Emily O’Brien) aims to resurrect her father and, with him, a supernatural entity that will threaten Gotham... all by way of a mysterious cult that likely had to do with the death of Bruce's parents some 20 years ago.

With supporting appearances by the likes of Oliver Queen (Christopher Gorham), James Gordon (John DiMaggio), Lucius Fox (Tim Russ), Harvey Dent (Patrick Fabian), Barbara Gordon (Gideon Adlon), and more, what should have been an enjoyable trip through "What If?" territory plays out more like a vaguely confusing mess. Most of this film's characters fill different roles here than usual and, since they're not really introduced or presented in an organic way, you'll have trouble following along unless you're extremely familiar with the original comics. Other fundamentals keep the intermittently interesting story from reaching greater heights, like its generally relaxed pace and tendency to rely on expositional dialogue. It's not a total loss, because this iteration of the franchise does manage to scratch a very particular atmospheric itch that will likely appeal to Lovecraft and horror fans. But even fans of the source material won't exactly be in for a smooth and polished 90-minute ride, so temper your expectations accordingly.

WB has surprisingly stuck to their guns by continuing to offer these DCAU films in two different options: standard-issue Blu-ray and a full-fledged 4K combo pack. The former is adequate at best and, for reasons explained below, clearly the second-place finisher in this race. Both feature identical sound mixes, bonus features, and cover artwork.

Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Decidedly less bright and colorful (by design) compared to the last DCAU outing, February's Legion of Super-Heroes, the mostly muted and earth-toned Doom unavoidably struggles to make a strong visual impression on WB's Blu-ray. Compressed onto a meager single-layered disc -- with more demanding source material than DCAU's cleaner, flatter productions -- the result yields somewhat underwhelming results, though some deficiencies seen in these screenshots aren't as noticeable in-motion. Even so, the basics are fine enough: image detail is serviceable and color reproduction gets the job done, from its smattering of brown and blue-tinted scenes early on to a fuller range of vivid hues during its more fantastical later moments. Black levels don't reveal any noticeable amounts of posterization and only trace levels of banding, which is admittedly kind of surprising. But compression artifacts can easily be picked out, rendering some of Doom's crisper edges with more of a grungy appearance that doesn't hold up to intense scrutiny. These artifacts tend to affect other aspects of the transfer too, including solid mid-range values and even a few small background details. It's obvious that this Blu-ray's encoding could've been handled with more care (and certainly would have benefitted from a dual-layered disc), but luckily the separate 4K edition fares better in that department.

Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

While its DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track scores higher marks, Doom's sound design isn't particularly engaging or even all that smooth. It has a bit of a patchwork quality that, at most, gets the job done but won't be mistaken for a truly cinematic big-screen effort. Even so, it's more than good enough for DTV and serves up crisp dialogue, decent discrete placement, and occasionally impressive use of the surrounds. LFE levels vary, however: most moments land with the necessary amount of weight, but a few others -- including explosives detonating during the opening sequence -- are decidedly less impactful. Still, this seems to be more of a baked-in issue than a fault of the Blu-ray encoding, so it's harder to find real fault with what's a mostly pleasing yet objectively kind of average audio mix.

Optional subtitles, including English (SDH), are offered during the main feature and select extras.

Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This two-disc release ships in a dual-hubbed keepcase with illustrative cover art, a matching slipcover, and a Digital Copy redemption code. All bonus features listed below can be found on the Blu-ray only.

• Audio Commentary - A casual but lively and informative full-length commentary track featuring producer/co-director Sam Liu, screenwriter Jase Ricci, DC creative director Mike Carlin, and producer Jim Krieg. A few bits and pieces are repeated in the next extra, but it's a solid track worth listening to when the movie's over.

• Batman: Shadows of Gotham (13:12) - A shorter installment of WB's usual well-produced behind-the-scenes featurettes, this new piece talks about the main feature's Lovecraftian themes and characters with comments from screenwriter Jase Ricci, producer/co-director Sam Liu, voice director Wes Gleason, and others.

• Previews - Two promotional featurettes recycled from earlier DCAU Blu-rays.

• Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (8:29) - Available on Blu-ray and 4K.
• Superman: Red Son (11:21) - Available on Blu-ray and 4K.

• From the DC Vault - Two vintage episodes from the first season of Batman: The Animated Series, available separately on Blu-ray as part of the complete series. Presented in HD with Dolby Digital audio.

• The Demon's Quest: Part One (22:18)
• The Demon's Quest: Part Two (22:14)

Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

WB's The Doom That Came to Gotham, based on a limited comic series co-written by Mike Mignola, feels like it has enough interesting ingredients to work: a unique backdrop, supernatural twists, and even a few refreshing takes on well-established DC characters. But the end result is only fitfully successful, with somewhat sloppy pacing and a story that all but demands its viewers be fairly familiar with the source material. That's not to say it's anything close to a failed effort -- I mean, it's still better than February's underwhelming Legion of Super-Heroes -- but it still could've used more spit and polish to truly stand out in the franchise's crowded back catalogue. WB's Blu-ray likewise won't exactly turn heads in any department, but the separate 4K edition at least offers improved visuals.