DC SHOWCASE - BATMAN: DEATH IN THE FAMILY (2020) (Blu-ray Review)

DC SHOWCASE -  

BATMAN: DEATH IN THE FAMILY (2020)

Label: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE)

Region Code: A
Rating: R

Duration: 96 Minutes

Region Code: A

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 & Dolby Digital, 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles. 

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1) 

Director: Brandon Vietti

Cast: Bruce Greenwood, Vincent Martella, John DiMaggio,  Zehra Fazal, Gary Cole

Synopsis: Batman: Death in the Family, WBHE’s first-ever venture into interactive storytelling that allows fans to choose where the story goes through an innovative navigation guided by the viewer’s remote control. Central to the extended-length short is an adaptation of “Batman: A Death in the Family,” the 1988 landmark DC event where fans voted by telephone to determine the story’s ending.

When I first popped this animated flick in I got the feeling that I had seen it before, and I sort of had, at it's core this is a re-telling of Batman: Under The Red Hood (2010) told with a different framing device and with a novel choose-your-own-adventure schtick that allows for the story to unfold in several ways. When I was a kid I loved reading those choose-your-own-adventure books, and to have that idea translated into film and TV is not unheard of, recently Netflix went that direction with the Black Mirror film Bandersnatch, and the results were fun but not quite satiating for me. With this one we get that core story or Batman and Robin following the Joker to Bosnia where Robin is captured and beaten mercilessly by the rabid clown prince of crime,  once we get to the pivotal moment in the film a menu screen appears allowing you to use your remote to choose one of the following options: 1. Robin cheats death. 2. Batman saves Robin. 3. Robin dies. Depending on your choice you will get either a shorter abbreviated story or a longer Elseworlds style vignette with further branching storylines wherein you get to choose the path taken, determining the various fates of Robin, Batman, and the Joker. 

I had plenty of fun exploring the various storylines which offer a mix of the expected, the unexpected and straight-up shocking. I am unsure how this will play for adults, as I am just a big kid at heart, but I think that the youth will have fun choosing their own adventure, it's a cool idea, but perhaps not an idea I am going to be to keen on revisiting a bunch with that format.

Looking at the four shorts that accompany this man feature I was most impressed by the the properties I have cared so little for in the past, both the Sgt. Rock and  Adam Strange shorts were top-notch, with Sgt. Rock (voiced by Karl Urban of The Boys, Dredd) leading a makeshift team of Universal styled monsters against Nazi scientist. It's got some cool, gruesome imagery, and I would loved a full-length film of it, make that happen WB/DC. The Adam Strange short was pretty dang cool too, even though I know jack-shit about the character it had some great futuristic sci-fi elements  and some decent intestine-ripping gore to go along with it. With that said, I didn't care that much for wither Death or The Phantom Stranger though, but Death did at least feature some animation that brought to mind the work of Mike Mignola (Hellboy). 

Audio/Video: DC Showcase - Batman: Death In The Family (2020) arrives on Blu-ray from WBHE in 1080p HD framed in 1.78:1 widescreen, that includes the four animated shorts included as extras. The HD image looks fantastic, the animated colors are vibrant and well-saturated with animation lines, it's a great looking presentation. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA surround 5.1 with optional English subtitles, a properly immersive track with plenty of bombast and directional use of the surrounds. The four shorts get Dolby Digital stereo 2.0 tracks. 

Extras include four additional DC Showcase animated shorts, we get the 14-minute 'Sgt. Rock' which was originally on the Batman: Hush release, the 16-minute 'Death' which was  originally included with the Wonder Woman: Bloodlines release, the 15-minute 'The Phantom Stranger' which was a bonus feature on the release of Superman: Red Son release, and the 19-minute 'Adam Strange', which first showed-up on Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. Additionally, we get some digital-only extras, three non-interactive versions of the Batman: Death in the Family – entitled Jason Todd’s Rebellion, Robin’s Revenge and Red Hood’s Reckoning. The digital code was not yet active at the time of this review so I have not watched these. We also get an audio commentary 

on the main feature and the shorts from DC Daily hosts Amy Dallen and Hector Navarro, plus a 8-minutes of DC trailers including Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons The Movie, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, Mortal Combat Legends,  Superman: Red Son.

I think it was wise to have the three non-interactive stories available on digital, but I wish they had included them on the disc itself as well, as I would have been more likely to revisit those than I would have the interactive film, but at least we have the digital. 

The single-disc release arrives in a standard eco-case (ugh!) keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of cool-looking artwork which is glossily replicated on the slipcover. Inside you will find a digital redemption code for the film.  

Special Features

- Four Additional Shorts: Sgt. Rock (14 min), Adam Strange (16 min), The Phantom Stranger (15 min ), and Death (19 min)
- Audio Commentaries on the main feature and the animated shorts by DC Daily hosts Amy Dallen and Hector Navarro.

- Digital includes three non-interactive versions of the Batman: Death in the Family – entitled Jason Todd’s Rebellion, Robin’s Revenge and Red Hood’s Reckoning. (Note: not all Digital retailers offer bonus features with purchase).

- Trailers: Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons The Movie (2 min), Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2 min), Mortal Combat Legends (2 min),  Superman: Red Son (2 min)

I applaud DC Showcase - Batman: Death In The Family (2020) for doing something different if not altogether satisfying with the choose-your-own-adventure device. The core story is dynamite, the expanded storylines are cool, and the animation style is outstanding. While I ultimately was not a fan of the choose-your-own-adventure device the stories and artwork are phenomenal, and I would still give it a recommend. 

More screenshots from the Blu-ray: 

Screenshots from the animated shorts:

Choose-your-own-adventure menus:

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of this Blu-ray for the purpose of this review, however, the opinions I share are my own.