Batwoman: The Third and Final Season Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Batwoman: The Third and Final Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Batwoman – The Third and Final Season brings back the DC television series for one last outing with the caped hero. Developed for television by Caroline Dries (Gotham Knights, Smallville), Batwoman brings something unique to the table for Batman fans: a female led superhero tale. Based on comic book characters created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, Batwoman might not be a perfect tale but it does provide audience with something fresh and different from other Batman adaptations.

Ryan Wilder (Javicia Leslie) continues to fight crime and pursue justice in a city overridden with rampant corruption and injustice. Ryan fights for the future of Gotham while leading a special Bat Team on the mission. With a scary and menacing group of villains now menacing Gotham and all of its citizens, the stakes are higher than ever and Ryan could end up dead if she doesn’t play her cards right.

When an assortment of weapons are lost, Ryan must gain the help of the dysfunctional Alice (Rachel Skarsten). Luke Fox (Camrus Johnson) continues the good fight too – but the real turn of events is Batwoman teaming up with Alice. Can the two work together to lead a new Bat Team forward?

The casting for Batwoman was handled by Lyndsey Baldasare (Titans, Arrow) and David Rapaport (The Flash, Riverdale). The pair are often the heads of casting: in charge of finding the right actors for the roles. Batwoman was a distinct challenge for the pair compared to most other DC television series. Considering the drama behind the scenes and the absence of the original actor who played the Batwoman role, the casting directors had an especially challenging situation in front of them for approaching the series as it continued forward without the original lead. Finding a new Batwoman was the only possible scenario while keeping the title character. For Batwoman – The Third and Final Season, the challenge for the producers was continuing with the new performer.

Despite some criticisms some viewers might have for the new actor in the Batwoman role, the performance by Javicia Leslie is decent enough. Javicia might not be an exceptional actress but the performance is modestly entertaining and she does a solid enough job in the central role. Sometimes, that is the best one can expect with lower-budget television productions. Given that the series diverged from the original Kate character, Batwoman had to find the puzzle pieces to interconnect and continue forward without actress Ruby Rose.

One of the more flamboyant and interesting creative elements of the production is the costuming. The costumes by Maya Mani (The Flash, Arrow) are certainly unique and tend to provide the series with a distinct vision for the production. The costumes are certainly noteworthy and are better than some television productions. The Batwoman hair and make up also makes a visual impression – for better or for worse.

Under the art direction by Peter Andringa (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Flash Gordon: A Modern Space Opera) and Carlos Bolbrugge (Riverdale, Psych), Batwoman can’t compare in quality to big budgeted Hollywood films but the efforts here are surprisingly good for a DC television series. The production certainly has some compelling artistic elements.

With production design by Ian D. Thomas (Fringe, Almost Human), Batwoman showcases some compelling creativity from the design team. The Arkham Asylum, for example, is well designed and makes a strong impression on the production. There was clearly a lot of effort made to provide the series with an effective sense of world building.

The cinematography by Mark Berlet (Circle, Take Two) and Michael C. Blundell (The 100, Stargate: Atlantis) is one of the most essential components. The cinematography provides Batwoman with decidedly dark and mysterious visuals. The visual element certainly gives a goth tone and one that certainly fits in line with the grittier comic book genre stylings.

The score composed by Sherri Chung (Kung Fu, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai) and Blake Neely (The Flash, Greyhound) isn’t earth shattering but the music is enjoyable and provides a solid backdrop for Batwoman. The composers understand the mythology and the essence of the series concept. The compositions provide the series with a sense of scale that is better than expected.

Caroline Dries (Gotham Knights, Smallville) serves the production as the chief screenwriter. Dries might not be perfect with dialogue but the storytelling pace and rhythm is enjoyable. Batwoman is a decent series and one with good enough writing that it is able to provide viewers with some entertainment. Perfect? No. The writing is worthwhile, though.

Directed by Holly Dale (Dexter, The Americans), Batwoman comes to a close with the help of its chief filmmaker. Dale pushes the story forward to reach its conclusion. The filmmaking might not be as impressive as some DC productions but it is enjoyable and still reasonably engaging. Fans of the Batwoman franchise will want to see the series final episodes.

Batwoman: The Third and Final Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Warner Bros., Batwoman: The Complete Third and Final Season is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television aspect ratio of 2.00:1 widescreen. The Blu-ray presentation is robust and satisfying. The video quality is exceptional and has crisp detail. Though there are a few moments of minor banding, these drawbacks are slight and most viewers won't even notice.

The presentation is mostly engaging and exceptionally sharp looking. The series has a good use of color as well. The gothic sensibilities of Gotham are brought to life with a strong encoding. Fans will be pleased that the Batwoman presentation offers an improvement over streaming service options, which all present the series with lower bit-rates and more compressed data. The Blu-ray provides the best video presentation available. Warner Bros. has done a great job with presenting the series and ensuring it looks its absolute best for decades to come.

Batwoman: The Third and Final Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The series is presented in English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound. The release benefits from the lossless audio encoding. The high- resolution audio tracks sound exceptionally crisp and detailed. Dialogue is well reproduced. As crisp modern production, the soundstage is remarkably effective.

The surrounds are not as actively engaged as I would have preferred. Nonetheless, the surround channels do have some occasionally interesting effects and it does help make the series more enveloping (especially in regards to the score being well integrated in to the soundtrack).

Batwoman: The Third and Final Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release includes a small selection of bonus features. The release would have benefited from some more extensive supplemental features. Instead of offering an impressive behind the scenes making-of documentary or an assortment of audio commentaries, Warner Bros. has instead opted for a small and average-quality EPK style supplemental package. The release isn’t going to impress anyone looking for a more extensive assortment of extras. This may be especially disappointing to series devotees as this is the final season outing and there won’t be future seasons for the creative team to provide additional behind-the-scenes material.

Disc 2:

Deleted Scenes (HD, 1:42)

Disc 3:

Batwing: A Hero’s Journey (HD, 13:45)

Gag Reel (HD, 4:58)

Deleted Scenes (HD, 1:47)

Batwoman: The Third and Final Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Batwoman – The Complete Third and Final Season brings the conclusion to the DC television program. Though the series was critically lambasted by many as woefully inadequate, Batwoman does have a number of interesting things going for it – including a strong female lead for the title character. The presentation is impressive (with quality video and audio). The release includes a small supplemental package. The supplemental package is mediocre at best and offers nothing of that much value to the package. This is one area where the set disappoints. For Batwoman fans looking for the best video and audio quality, Batwoman – The Complete Third and Final Season is well worth adding to their collection. Recommended.