LEGO Batman: The Movie - DC Super Heroes Unite Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

LEGO Batman: The Movie - DC Super Heroes Unite Blu-ray Movie Review

Kids rejoice! Parents... find something better to do.

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown May 18, 2013

The tiresomely titled Lego Batman: The Movie - DC Super Heroes Unite isn't as fun as the multi-console videogame from which its derived, or as funny, entertaining or clever for that matter. A combination of videogame cutscenes and new bits designed to fill in the gaps left by the missing gameplay, the 71-minute CG-animated feature works well enough when parodying Batman (Troy Baker) and his quirks, his relationship with a much too eager Boy Wonder (Charlie Schlatter), and his shaky on-again, off-again bromance with bounding boyscout-in-Blue, Superman (Travis Willingham), but falls apart in the punny, villain-y-villain slog between laughs. If my eight-year-old's reaction is any indication, kids will do just fine, cracking up early, often, and without fail. Parents, though -- even the Lego-savvy moms and dads among you -- may want to come up with an excuse to duck out of the room.

Jealous of Bruce Wayne's "Man of the Year" award, the ever-opportunistic Lex Luthor (Clancy Brown) teams up with Batman's arch nemesis, the Joker (Christopher Corey Smith), to bring down the Dark Knight, Robin and the Man of Steel. In addition to Luthor, the Crown Prince of Crime and a giant gas-spewing, kryptonite-powered robo-Joker, the heroes have to contend with Batman's most dangerous rogues: Two-Face (Troy Baker), Harley Quinn (Laura Bailey), the Penguin (Steven Blum), Catwoman (Katherine Von Till), the Riddler (Rob Paulsen) and Poison Ivy (Bailey). But fear not, kiddies. The newly formed dynamic trio will find assistance by way of Commissioner Gordon (Townsend Coleman), Batgirl (Kari Wahlgren) and their powerful JLA allies: Green Lantern (Cam Clarke), Wonder Woman (Bailey), Flash (Schlatter), Martian Manhunter (Clarke) and Cyborg (Brian Bloom). Soon it's all out war, with Gotham's future at stake and the U.S. presidency on the line.

Mistake 1: re-purposing so many videogame cutscenes, which kills much of the pacing and plotting. Mistake 2: relying on Lego-game gags in an Lego animated feature. Mistake 3: benching the JLA until late in the game, which even then proves to be a tragically short-lived burst of much-needed energy. There are other missteps along the way too, chief among them the heavy focus placed on Lex and the Joker, and it all translates into a stilted movie; one so trivial and one-note that it makes its 70-minutes feel bloated. It's all harmless, of course, and I'd take Lego Batman over the dozen or so unbearable animated films that just leaped to mind. But in this case, harmless is a bit synonymous with pointless. Rather than use pre- existing assets to create a new adventure, the recycling reeks of laziness and a quick cash grab. The kids who will love Lego Batman are the same kids who already own -- and have presumably already obliterated -- its videogame counterpart. Even my son, who had a blast watching the flick, lamented how much he had already seen (or played).

The voice actors do an excellent job with what they're given (groan-inducing one-liners and all), and the lively animation style is exciting (far more exciting than anything it actually depicts). Moreover, the banter between Bruce and Clark is golden, Robin's childlike enthusiasm had me laughing out loud, and a handful of pop culture references elicited a grin from my son's dear ol' dad. It's just a shame the script and superheroics are too tame to stir up many thrills, the movie-parody beats are few and far between, and most of the jokes fall dutifully, dreadfully flat. As direct-to-video family fare goes, you could definitely do much worse. But as animated superhero adventures go, there are too many must-have releases on the shelves to give this one a lot of consideration. Sure, a low price point and a Lego figure go a long way, but it takes more than that to declare a recycled videogame production worth the cost of admission.

LEGO Batman: The Movie - DC Super Heroes Unite Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Banding is really the only issue that mars Warner's shiny new 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation, and there's so much going on at any given moment, the stair-stepping is only noticeable on a few occasions. Otherwise, all is as it should be. Better even. Colors are bright and bold, primaries pack plenty of punch, black levels are deep, and contrast pops. Detail is strong too, with crisp edges, well-resolved cape and brick textures, and very, very little in the way of aliasing or ringing. All told, there isn't much to complain about, which bodes well for future direct-to-video Lego movies released on Blu-ray.

LEGO Batman: The Movie - DC Super Heroes Unite Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Lego Batman's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track isn't all that remarkable, but it does get the job done, and then some. Voices are intelligible, well-prioritized and nicely grounded in what could have been a floaty, disjointed mix. LFE output is decent, latching on to the movie's action and lending some welcome heft to the weightless battles. The same goes for the rear speakers, which have some fun and get a bit rowdy when a fight breaks out, but tend to just eek by rather than ruling the soundscape. If I have any gripe it's that the music sounds flat and canned much of the time, and only surges forward when it isn't competing with dialogue or more aggressive sound effects. Ultimately, it's an effective track, particularly considering its humble origins and lingering limitations.

LEGO Batman: The Movie - DC Super Heroes Unite Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Building Batman (SD, 15 minutes): Stop-motion animator Garrett Barati, Grand Prize winner of the DCU Lego Video Contest, takes a group of kids on a tour of his Lego studio and works on a Batman short.
• Winning Shorts: DCU Video Contest (SD, 15 minutes): The grand prize winner's animated short, as well as the shorts of the contest's second, third, fourth and fifth placing runners-up.
• Additional Episodes: From the DC Comics Vault (SD, 69 minutes): "Triumvirate of Terror" and "Scorn of the Star Sapphire" from Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and "Overdrive" from Teen Titans.
• Lego Batman Jumps into Action (SD, 1 minute): This brief promo features a bit of stop-motion animation.

LEGO Batman: The Movie - DC Super Heroes Unite Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's better superpowered family fare on the market than Lego Batman: The Movie - DC Super Heroes Unite. But there's also much worse, making this recycled videogame production a decent purchase if you've exhausted other options. Younger kids will at least get a big kick out of it, so there's that. Warner's Blu-ray release is a bit more enticing -- with a strong video presentation and able-bodied DTS-HD Master Audio track -- but only marginally so, and the special features are a bust. Still, I've reviewed more unworthy contenders for the direct-to-video animated throne, so a blind buy isn't a complete loss. You might even enjoy yourself, providing you didn't catch the story the first time around with Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes.