Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Batman and Harley Quinn Blu-ray Movie Review

Delicate Flower

Reviewed by Michael Reuben August 27, 2017

Batman and Harley Quinn ("B&HQ") is the thirtieth entry in Warner's and DC Comics' DCU Animated Original series, and it will be the closing chapter in the upcoming thirty-film DC Universe: 10th Anniversary Collection scheduled for release in November 2017. (Wikipedia's designation of the film as entry 29 is erroneous; the site's numbering has been off by one ever since the two-part Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.) The film was directed by DCU/AO veteran Sam Liu from a story by Harley Quinn's co-creator Bruce Timm, who also co-wrote the script. Melissa Rauch, best known as Bernadette Wolowitz on The Big Bang Theory, supplies Harley's voice in a comic portrayal offering a light-hearted departure from the doom and gloom of recent DCU/AO entries, e.g., the R-rated Batman: The Killing Joke. B&HQ is rated PG-13, less for violence than for "sexual references" and "rude humor"—which is exactly what one would expect from DC's favorite bad girl.

In addition to completing a 30-film box set, B&HQ marks the debut of the DCU/AO series on UHD. It's questionable whether the visual style of these films receives any meaningful benefit from 4K up-conversion or HDR enhancement, but the choice is there for those who want it.

Kevin Conroy and Loren Lester return as the voices of Batman and Nightwing, having placed a memorable stamp on these roles in Timm's acclaimed TV show, Batman: The Animated Series. The story opens with Poison Ivy (Paget Brewster) and Jason Woodrue/Floronic Man (Kevin Michael Richardson) breaking into S.T.A.R. Labs to obtain information about Dr. Alec Holland, a/k/a "Swamp Thing". Called to the scene of the crime, the Dynamic Duo uncover a plot to save the Earth from the ravages of humanity by transforming its entire population into plants—although there's a risk that the serum being developed by Ivy and Floronic may kill everyone instead of turning them "green".

To help track down Ivy, Batman and Nightwing enlist the aid of her former friend, Harley Quinn (Rauch), who has disappeared since her release from Arkham Asylum. Nightwing finds Harley working as a waitress at a Hooters-like café called Superbabes, which is the only job that the convicted felon can get, despite her psychiatry credentials. (The latter sets up an extended post-credits gag that is one of the film's best sequences.) After initial hostilities, a wary alliance is formed. The pursuit leads to the Florida swamps, where tears and an epic smackdown ensue.

The villains' plan in B&HQ isn't all that sophisticated or original, but it's really just an excuse to showcase the Joker's former girlfriend in her signature harlequin outfit, as she trades insults and quips with her latest pair of frenemies. As the fate of the world hangs in the balance, there's always time for entertaining detours like Harley's revenge on her former prom date, not to mention her seduction of Nightwing (who barely resists) and a little bit of random flatulence. For much of the film, Batman is relegated to the same role of disapproving onlooker that he played in Justice League Dark, as Harley's fretting and attitude dominate the foreground. Rauch deploys an intonation familiar to any viewer of her TV series—a hard-edged combination of helium and fingernails-on-a-blackboard, here liberally accented with Yiddish and New York attitude—to create a caricature of a villain with the heart of a sweet little girl to whom life has dealt a series of bad breaks. (Hence the massive chip on her shoulder.) She claims to be a sociopath, but in fact she's dripping with emotion, which is a quality that ends up serving her well in her confrontation with Poison Ivy. Rauch's portrayal is a far cry from the murderous psycho played by Margot Robbie in Suicide Squad, and it has divided critics and audiences who saw B&HQ during its one-night theatrical engagement. But the actress is performing the character as written, and she does it with gusto. She's the best thing in a movie that repeatedly references the original Sixties Batman TV show and has obviously drawn much of its inspiration from that camp classic.

Batman and Harley Quinn Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warner's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray of Batman and Harley Quinn maintains the style and quality of its previous DCU animated features, with clean lines, solid blacks and reliable contrast. Much of the story plays out at night or in shaded environments like Harley's apartment or the Louisiana swamp, and the film displays the muted, noir-ish palette familiar from Bruce Timm's animated Batman series. Flashes of brighter color stand out by contrast, e.g., the Superbabes decor, Harley's costume, Ivy's hair, Floronic's display of vegetable teleportation and various outfits worn by suspicious characters at the nightspot where Harley goes looking for information—but even many of these hues are dialed down. As with most previous DCU Animated Original films, minor banding appears occasionally.

Warner's animation group continues to starve their bitrates, apparently making it their goal to compress every feature as tightly as possible without regard to available space. The Blu-ray of B&HQ presents a particularly stark (and ridiculous) example, with the feature placed on a BD-50 and almost half of the disc's capacity left unused (about 21 GBs). The average bitrate of 15.989 Mbps is typical of DCU/AO releases.

Batman and Harley Quinn Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

B&HQ's lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack arrives with robust dynamic range and deep bass extension that provides power and punch to the film's battles and supplies deep resonance to the voice of Floronic (and another famous presence who appears briefly near the end). Throbbing bass helps establish the environment of the roadside dive where Harley leads Batman and Nightwing on a search for information and finds that she has to sing for her supper, literally. (Her rendition of "Hanging on the Telephone" won't keep Deborah Harry up at night, but it's an amusing performance.) The surrounds are mostly used for ambiance and to extend the front soundstage. The dialogue is mostly clear, although I occasionally found that some of Floronic's words were buried in the rumbling (not that you need to hear every word in a story like this one). The jokey score is credited to DCU regulars Kristopher Carter, Michael McCuistion and Lolita Ritmanis, who do a fine job of invoking the Sixties Batman TV show without actually using any of its signature cues.

Batman and Harley Quinn Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• A Sneak Peak at DC Universe's Next Animated Movie (1080p; 1.78:1; 8:30): And the winner is . . . Batman: Gotham by Gaslight.



• The Harley Effect (1080p; 1.78:1; 21:15): A look at the character's history, featuring her co-creators, Bruce Timm and Paul Dini.



• Loren Lester: In His Own Voice (1080p; 1.78:1; 11:46).



• A Sneak Peak at Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part I (1080p; 1.78:1; 12:36): A vintage preview for DCU/AO #15.



• A Sneak Peak at Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part II (1080p; 1.78:1; 6:52): A vintage preview for DCU/AO #16.



• A Sneak Peak at Batman: Assault on Arkham (1080i; 1.78:1; 7:29): A vintage preview for DCU/AO #21.



• From the DC Comics Vault: Batman: The Animated Series, "Harley and Ivy" (480p; 1.33:1; 22:23).



• From the DC Comics Vault: Batman: The Animated Series, "Harley's Holiday" (480p; 1.33:1; 21:15).



• Trailers: The first two of these trailers also play at startup.
• Teen Titans: The Judas Contract
• Justice League Dark
• Justice League
• Wonder Woman

Batman and Harley Quinn Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As Harley Quinn's creators discuss in the Blu-ray extras, the character's popularity has exceeded everyone's expectations. She was a rare bright spot in Suicide Squad, and she's the main attraction in B&HQ. Too many of the disc's extras are promotions for other films (and old ones at that), but the overall audio/video presentation is satisfactory, if nothing special. Fans of the DCU/AO don't need anyone's recommendation to add its thirtieth entry to their libraries, but I'll give it anyway: Recommended.