Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		2.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

LEGO DC: Batman - Family Matters Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 7, 2020

In Family Matters, the LEGO and DC brands once again join forces to tell a tale of crimefighting, redemption, and reunification in Gotham City. The film blends zany action with silly gags but also finds a bit of heart along the way. It's a simple story, really, and one that is kid friendly not simply for its visual style but for the basic themes that define the tale. It's compact, colorful, and careful to offer everything a modern Superhero story demands without pushing too dark or offensive in any way.

Batman (voiced by Troy Baker) thwarts Solomon Grundy from stealing a valuable staff, which he donates to the Gotham museum. He has to make an appearance as Bruce Wayne which puts a damper on his day. So does a meeting at Wayne Enterprises. Bruce dislikes being Bruce. He daydreams about being Batman in meetings. “He’s a billionaire waste of space,” Wayne says of himself. His solution: sell Wayne Enterprises to focus on crimefighting as Batman. He instructs Alfred (voiced by Nolan North) to sell the company, which he does. Now liberated, Batman is free to conduct business as usual around the city. But he’ll face his most difficult task yet when Red Hood (voiced by Jason Spisak) and Two-Face (voiced by Christian Lanz) team up to wreak havoc around Gotham. Meanwhile, Batman learns that Bruce Wayne’s work around the city may not have been in vain.

LEGO DC: Batman - Family Matters folds in a veritable who's who of the Batman universe. A number of familiar faces pop up in both key and ancillary roles. It's a character grab bag and quite impressive for a film that runs under 80 minutes to pack so much in. There's a core focus on Bruce Wayne's life outside of the Batman suit and what it means to individuals and the larger Gotham community. The film engages in various action set pieces which do tie back to the core story, such as the robotic helpers introduced during the sales pitch seen towards film's start that Wayne ignores at his own peril and which ultimately become one of the villainous focal points for the heroes to combat later in the film. The action is appropriately robust, underscored by a good bit of silly content and very black-and-white morality lessons, but the film does explore a few shades of gray which help it along and see it rise above more generic kid-friendly fare.

One of the film's areas of interest is found the relationship between the protagonist, Batman, and one of the story's chief antagonists, Red Hood (those without an extensive background knowledge in all things DC should check out the larger comic book origins story and background on the character and his past iterations). There's a firm foundational complexity in play that gradually reveals deeper truths about the characters' relationship that plays into the larger theme of Bruce Wayne's lack of interest in anything that doesn't involve him donning the mask and cape and fighting crime. Another such point of interest comes when Wayne is confronted by young Billy Batson, reporting for his own WHIZ newscast, lamenting that Wayne Enterprises has been sold and the negative impact the sale has had on the city, and most immediately on Billy’s mind the sudden lack of funding for his orphanage. It turns out Wayne Enterprises’ philanthropic endeavors were making a difference after all and that Wayne’s positive impact on the city does not start and stop with fighting crime under the Batman guise. It's a good scene that deserved more screen time (watch for a mid-credits scene) but it is a vital instrument in defining the larger narrative.

LEGO DC: Batman - Family Matters Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

LEGO DC: Batman - Family Matters arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080p, 1.78:1-framed video transfer that looks good at-a-glance but shows signs of struggle upon closer, and oftentimes not so close, inspection. The biggest culprit is undoubtedly banding, a constant, dense eyesore throughout. Look at the sky in the opening moments when Batman confronts Grundy for the first of countless examples. Look along the hood of Wayne's limo minutes later. Look anywhere, really. The image is plagued by severe bands of curved mess strewn across most every background. It's not a pretty sight. Aliasing is a problem, too, though nowhere near so severe and regularly occurring as the banding. The picture otherwise looks rather good, yielding a clear image that presents the various LEGO textures with impressive complexity, particularly in close-up but even at medium distance where fine brick details are in evidence. Capes and other one-off elements not made of plastic are impressively complex, too. Colors are bold in traditional LEGO style. The various superhero and super villain costumes enjoy excellent pop and saturation. Black levels are strong, too. If only the picture weren't besieged by all that banding it would probably rate at about a 4.5/5.0.

LEGO DC: Batman - Family Matters Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

LEGO DC: Batman - Family Matters features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It's quite good in sum, delivering a steady stream of high power intensity, certainly not up to Hollywood Action film standards but delivering enough core activity and subwoofer usage to satisfy requirements, and then some. The track is surprisingly dynamic and large, with the first action scene, pitting Batman against Solomon Grundy, delivering healthy low end response and plenty of activity throughout the entire stage. It's a trendsetter and the rest of the track follows, offering well versed surround implementation, both in support of the fronts and in delivering many examples of discrete excitement throughout the stage. Music enjoys wide front end coverage and well balanced surround and subwoofer content, too. A few little atmospheric effects poke in here and there but the dynamic action effects and music generally define the presentation. Dialogue is clear and center focused for the duration. It is well prioritized even above action din.

LEGO DC: Batman - Family Matters Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

For this Blu-ray release of LEGO DC: Batman - Family Matters, Warner Brothers has only included the film's Trailer (1080p, 2:32). A DVD copy of the film and a Movies Anywhere digital copy code are included with purchase. This release also ships with a non-embossed slipcover. Additionally, this version includes a fun LEGO build of the Batmobile. There is another release that doesn't include the LEGO toy and, at time of writing, actually costs a little more.

LEGO DC: Batman - Family Matters Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There are several good dramatic beats in LEGO DC: Batman - Family Matters, enough to keep adults interested in the movie but not so interruptive and complex as to drag younger audiences out of the film. They're here for the action and humor, which the film supplies in more than adequate volume. The picture is fun in total and should appeal to a wide audience gamut, including kids, parents, and DC comics fans. Warner Brothers' Blu-ray is all but featureless but does include an awesome LEGO Batmobile build that every LEGO and DC collector will want to own. The Blu-ray's video is problematic as it's besieged by a steady barrage of banding but otherwise looks good. The 5.1 lossless audio offering is perfectly good. Recommended, particularly as it's relatively inexpensive and ships with that LEGO toy.