Common Sense Media Review
By Brian Costello
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Violence in interactive noir story and other animated shorts
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Batman: Death in the Family
What's the Story?
In BATMAN: DEATH IN THE FAMILY, Jason Todd (Vincent Martella) is being trained to be the next Robin, but his thirst for justice and revenge get the better of him. Todd goes rogue and tries to track down Joker to Bosnia, where he's soon captured by Joker (John DiMaggio) and held prisoner in a warehouse. As Joker beats Robin with a cane and leaves him for dead as the warehouse is set to be detonated with bombs, Batman (Bruce Greenwood) must risk his life to save Todd. On DVD and Blu-Ray, this is an interactive movie in which you get to choose the fates of Batman and Robin. Each of the three outcomes leads to very different results, but each are connected by mediations on fate, justice, and the nature of evil. This also includes four bonus animated short features starring other characters in the DC Universe. Sgt. Rock, with the help of an unusual platoon, must stop the Nazis from reanimating corpses for the war effort. In an Arctic mining town, Adam Strange teeters on the brink of sanity as he obsessively works on inventing a Zeta Beam. The Phantom Stranger must save a seemingly impressionable teen girl from a Manson-esque death cult in 1960s California. Death pays a visit to a down-and-out artist struggling with the demons of his past.
Is It Any Good?
Aside from the interactive features, Batman: Death in the Family is standard noir fare for our modern-day Caped Crusader and Boy Wonder. The themes are familiar and should be easily recognized by anyone who hangs out in the DC Universe: the nature of good and evil, the blurred lines between the two, vengeance, redemption, how vigilante justice is no justice at all, fate versus free will, and so on. These are the recurring themes, and the interactive aspects to this movie simply amplify them, but don't really bring anything new to the table. It's enjoyable enough, but feels padded.
Speaking of padded, this also includes four short animated features from other characters in the DC Universe: Sgt. Rock, Adam Strange, The Phantom Stranger, and Death. These explore similar themes as the title story, only with more zombies, aliens, Manson-esque death cults, and tortured artist angst. These are not interactive, and vary in quality in terms of storytelling originality. But if anything connects them all, it's the blurred lines between good and evil that coexist within each of these heroes and antiheroes. After decades of a Batman franchise rebooted to convey just that, to say nothing of all the line-blurring we've witnessed in The Sopranos, The Wire, and Breaking Bad, etc., one can't be faulted for shouting, "OK, I get it!" after yet another exploration of this theme on the streets of Gotham. Still, fans will find lots to take in and talk about.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in animated features. Was the violence necessary for the stories, or did it seem gratuitous?
What are some of the common themes connecting each of these short animated features? How do the stories communicate these deeper ideas?
Did you like the interactive nature of the movie? Why or why not?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : October 14, 2020
- Cast : Bruce Greenwood , Vincent Martella , John DiMaggio
- Director : Brandon Vietti
- Studio : DC Entertainment
- Genre : Action/Adventure
- Topics : Fantasy
- Run time : 96 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : strong bloody violence, and some drug material
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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