Beware the Batman: Season 1 Part 2: Dark Justice Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Beware the Batman: Season 1 Part 2: Dark Justice Blu-ray Movie Review

Out-Gothaming Gotham...

For all the press and fandom chatter Fox's Gotham has been drumming up since its premiere, it's Beware the Batman that's suddenly doing all the heavy Elseworlds-lifting. After a shaky, altogether problematic 13 episodes, the second half of Beware's first -- now only -- season is stronger and more absorbing. The heroes are more compelling, the villains more menacing (with a nice mix of familiar and more obscure rogues), the storylines more effective, the writing sharper and the animation... well, the animation's still lacking. That said, four outta five? I can live with it. Not every episode of Dark Justice is on point, mind you, and not every fresh take on Gotham City's iconic characters works. (Harvey Dent is especially disappointing.) But so many elements in the series' final 13 episodes delivers that the show's cancellation is beginning to sting. After the first half of the season, I had all but written the series off. And now here I am, eight months later, a bit sad to see it go. That's quite a turn around.

Beware the Batman: Season 1 Part 2: Dark Justice Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Banding and aliasing are once again the villains of Beware the Batman's 1080p/AVC-encoded adventure. Each one traces back to the source animation, sure. But distractions are distractions, and with all the dark, noir-cast blues and purples that hang heavy over Gotham, every distraction, however minor, is that much easier to spot. Fortunately, any criticism ends there. Colors are subdued but faithfully saturated, contrast is consistent, black levels are nice and inky, and detail is excellent all around, with crisp edge definition and well-resolved textures. (Not that the series has many textures to offer in its world of plasticized action figures.) Macroblocking, noise, shimmering and other anomalies are nowhere to be found either, making Dark Justice as capably encoded and presented as Shadows of Gotham.

Beware the Batman: Season 1 Part 2: Dark Justice Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Like Shadows of Gotham, the Blu-ray release of Season 1, Part 2: Dark Justice features a decidedly decent DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo track that, at best, delivers to the fullest of its capabilities and, at worst, won't warrant much praise for what's essentially a somewhat unremarkable two-channel mix. Dialogue is clean and clear at all times and punches, explosions and other action-oriented sound effects are smartly prioritized, with plenty of room to breathe. Frederik Wiedmann's score doesn't crowd the proceedings either, and the track accomplishes everything it aims to accomplish very well. The lack of LFE support and 5.1 surround is a detriment, of course, with Batman leaping into an all too flat, all too front-heavy fight, but so it goes.

Beware the Batman: Season 1 Part 2: Dark Justice Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Warner Archive Collection release of Beware the Batman doesn't include any special features.

Beware the Batman: Season 1 Part 2: Dark Justice Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Beware the Batman joins a growing list of cancelled DCU animated series. But while outcries over this particular DCU show's cancellation may forever be in short supply (blame its very rocky opening 13-episode stretch), Beware managed to pull off at least one all too rare TV trick. Rather than lay down and die, the Batman-series-that-might-have-been goes out swinging with 13 episodes that are not only better than the 13 that precede them, but are good enough to have saved the series... if anyone had still been paying attention. Viewers had already migrated elsewhere, though. Regardless of how dramatic its improvements, the second half of Beware the Batman's first and only season was all but doomed from the get-go. That doesn't mean it can't be enjoyed on Blu-ray. Just know its three-part season finale clearly wasn't constructed as a series finale. Cliffhangers come in waves and the series ends in nebulous disappointment. Thankfully, the Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray release is solid, with a strong video presentation and decidedly decent DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. There aren't any supplements, but you could certainly do worse.