Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem Blu-ray Movie Review

Even the Clown Prince of Crime can't lift Batman Unlimited out of the toy aisle...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown August 17, 2015

The diversification of the DCU animated multiverses continues with Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem (sequel to Animal Instincts) and LEGO Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom!, two original movies aimed squarely at kids. Each one is a toy commercial through and through, and a successful toy commercial at that. My ten-year-old came away wanting Batman Unlimited action figures and a dozen LEGO sets. But as all-ages entertainment goes, one movie -- Attack of the Legion of Doom! -- succeeds far more than the other. Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem struggles to find its identity, tossing together quasi-futuristic heroes and villains en masse without a very compelling story or a very captivating endgame. Attack of the Legion of Doom! knows exactly what it is and who it means to delight, and does so with plenty of LEGO and DCU inside jokes and references, tongue-in-cheek spins on a variety of iconic characters, and a spirit of both play and playfulness that ratchets up the rewatchability. Kids'll love both flicks cause... 1) superheroes, 2) toys come to life, and 3) superhero toys come to life. The parents in the room, though, will have a far better time with LEGO's spry Justice League offering than the latest Batman Unlimited adventure.

Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem Synopsis: It's Halloween night in Gotham City and Scarecrow, Clayface, Silver Banshee and Solomon Grundy have hit the streets to stir up trouble! Batman is on the trail of the city's spookiest villains while, further complicating matters, the clown prince of crime himself, The Joker, is ruling over this mysterious crew of misfit criminals. It's up to the Dark Knight to stop this gruesome gang before they unleash "digital laughter," a computer virus that's part of a diabolical plan to jeopardize all of Gotham City's vital technology. Batman, Green Arrow, Cyborg, Nightwing and Red Robin must combine forces to battle these baddies and save the city. The movie's voice cast features Roger Craig Smith as Batman, Troy Baker as Joker, Khary Payton as Cyborg, Chris Diamantopoulos as Green Arrow, Will Friedle as Nightwing, Yuri Lowenthal as Red Robin, Kari Wuhrer as Silver Banshee, Fred Tatasciore as Solomon Grundy, Brian T. Delaney as Scarecrow, Dave B. Mitchell as Clayface, Noel Fisher as Gogo Shoto, and Alastair Duncan reprising his Batman TV series role as Alfred.

Both Monster Mayhem and Attack of the Legion of Doom! assemble an enormous cast of characters, pitting good against evil in an increasingly action-packed, quip-riddled battle to bring truth and justice to their respective universes. But ALD lands more jokes, sells more gags, winks more sharply at its audience, and has more fun with its premise. Monster Mayhem isn't meant to be the parody ALD is, mind you, but it also isn't a humorless affair. Just a surprisingly joyless one. Laughs abound... if you're ten. Monster Mayhem is a Scooby-Doo! crossover in the making, albeit without Scoob and the gang. Batman's sidekicks are often used for comic relief -- sadly with diminishing returns -- and the baddies never quite surpass the level of punching bag, even when they're running circles around Bats Inc. early in the movie. ALD, on the other hand, takes impish shots at comicbook clichés, having a chuckle at everything from DC's New 52 reimagining to rotating costumes, villain team-ups, Superman's boyscout charms, Flash and Green Lantern's rivalry, and Cyborg's second tier hero status. The jokes are designed to be digested by a younger audience than those in Monster Mayhem, yet ALD is funnier. (In that patented low budget LEGO movie fashion.)

The action in Monster Mayhem is strangely wooden too. The same could be said of ALD, of course, but Attack of the Legion of Doom! features characters who literally can't bend their knees and can barely touch their hands together in front of their chests. The action is meant to be stocky and stilted. Pure LEGO. Monster Mayhem simply feels like a hurriedly animated television misfire with very little in the way of interesting character designs, intriguing world building or thrilling superhero sequences. Will kids care? Absolutely not. If you're entire decision boils down to, yeah, but will my son dig it? Rest easy. The junior DC fanboys (and girls) in your house will enjoy Monster Mayhem as much as they enjoy ALD So yes, both will be money well spent. But if you're sitting down to watch either movie with your family, just be aware that Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem will produce a lot of groans while LEGO Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom! will produce a lot of grins. (Groans too, but the right kind of groans; cheesy, punny, LEGO-style groans that go down easier thanks to all those grins.)

Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Like Animal Instincts (May 2015), the Blu-ray release of Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem features a solid 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation that suffers from very few issues other than several inherent anomalies, chief among them mild, intermittent banding. Otherwise, the animation is as crisp, colorful and clean as it should be. Splashes of color are bright and bold, primaries pop with toy-aisle punch, black levels are inky and satisfying, and contrast is consistent. The animators' line art is fairly sharp and largely free of aliasing too, with only a handful of shots being the exception. The movie's CG-animated elements aren't prone to any serious issues of note either, nor is there any significant macroblocking, ringing or other eyesores.

Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Monster Mayhem's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is also extremely similar to its Animal Instincts predecessor. Dialogue is clear and intelligible. LFE output is robust at all times, rear speaker activity is decently enveloping, and the soundfield is surprisingly engaging. The mix dutifully captures the power and punchy oomph of everything thrown its way, and without sounding canned or overly processed. The results are more in line with DC's television productions, but no matter. The action beats take welcome advantage of every channel, offering a loud, bombastic string of kicks, arrow thwangs, engine wheens, energy shield thrums, and dino (and mecha-dino) roars.

Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Gotham of Tomorrow: Designing a Future World (HD, 11 minutes): Writer Heath Corson, background supervisor Robert Haverland, background designer John Paik, and producer and director Butch Lukic reveal their approach to creating a futuristic Gotham, as well as its ties to the city previously seen in Batman Beyond.
• DC Nation Shorts (HD, 19 minutes): A series of shorts are included: Shazam!: Courage, Shazam!: Wisdom, Shazam!: Stamina, Green Arrow: Onomatopoeia-Bot, Green Arrow: Brick, Green Arrow: Cupid, Riddler: Riddle Me This!, Deadman: Deadman Catch, Animal Man: Bank & Train and Animal Man: Beach & City.
• Mayhem of the Music Meister! (HD, 23 minutes): An episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I remain unimpressed with the Batman Unlimited films. My son thinks I'm insane. Is there much more to say than that? Fortunately, Warner's Blu-ray release is decidedly decent; light on supplements but strong in the AV department. Monster Mayhem won't provide as much entertainment for the whole family as LEGO Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom!, but kids won't care in the least. Pick up both. Just beware committing yourself to watching this half of your son or daughter's DC double feature.