Although the Lego franchise seems to have sputtered as a theatrical endeavor, the direct-to-video market remains strong. This brings us another release via 2019’s Lego Batman: Family Matters.

Batman (voiced by Troy Baker) and other heroes receive perplexing notes. These come from Red Hood (Jason Spisak), a mysterious villain determined to harm Batman and the rest.

As we see these complications, we flash back to learn Red Hood’s origins. In addition, another menace emerges from Brother Eye (Cam Clarke), a new villain in Gotham.

In general, I’ve been less than enamored by the various big-screen Lego movies. All offer decent entertainment, but I don’t think any rise above the level of “pretty good”.

To my surprise, the TV-based or direct-to-video Lego tales worked better for me – some of them, at least. For instance, efforts like the Star Wars Lego projects turned into fun, amusing programs.

I hoped Matters would follow that path, but unfortunately, it offers a disappointment. Though not a stinker, the movie lacks much creativity or wit.

Honestly, I can’t figure out what goals the filmmakers hoped to achieve with Matters. Maybe since the live-action DC TV series have opened up to the broader “Bat family”, someone figured we needed a Lego tale to spread those characters to kids, too?

I don’t know the motive, but I do know Matters brings a fairly erratic narrative that fails to move in a particularly coherent manner. It flits from one scenario and character to another without much to hold it together, so it mainly meanders along as it goes.

To my surprise, Matters attempts less of the usual winking wit found in other Lego projects. Perhaps I should applaud the movie’s slightly more dramatic nature, but instead, it feels like a bad choice.

Make no mistake: Matters still offers plenty of the usual kind of comedy, so this doesn’t become a Chris Nolan take on the Lego universe. It just features fewer jokes than usual.

Which might be a good thing given how few of the existing gags actually amuse. Most follow obvious paths and fail to deliver anything creative or witty.

None of the actors do much with their roles. Baker creates an odd take on Batman/Bruce, as he seems to channel J. Peterman from Seinfeld. It’s not an effective version of the role, and none of the others seem memorable either.

Not that I’m sure a more vibrant cast would save Family Matters. A dull Lego tale, the movie disappoints.

Lego Batman: Family Matters appears in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This was a consistently excellent visual presentation.

Sharpness consistently appeared immaculate. Even the widest shots demonstrated good clarity, as every aspect of Matters looked detailed and distinctive.

No issues with jagged edges or shimmering materialized, and I saw no edge haloes or processing concerns. Of course, print flaws weren’t a factor, as they stayed away from this unblemished presentation.

With its many settings, the film boasted a vivid array of hues. These always looked terrific, as the shows provided consistently full, rich colors.

Blacks were deep and dense, while shadows looked clear and appropriately defined. I felt totally delighted with the visuals of these episodes.

Though not quite as impressive, the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack still succeeded. It came with a wide variety of sequences that gave us chances for vivid material, and it brought those out in a reasonably satisfying way.

The shows used action scenes to allow vehicles to zoom around the room, and other action set pieces threw vivid components at us. These didn’t use the stereo nature of the surrounds in a terrific way, so don’t expect feature-film quality separation, but they added pizzazz to the package.

Audio quality was solid. Music appeared bright and rich, with good highs and warm lows. Speech was consistently distinctive and natural, while effects showed great range.

Those elements appeared accurate and dynamic, as they packed a strong punch. Overall, the film offered pretty good audio.

The disc opens with ads for Lego Movie 2 and Shazam. We also get a promo for Pokemon Detective Pikachu.

Though no other disc-based extras appear here, the package does include a Lego Mini-Ultimate Batmobile. The box claims this retails for $10, but as I write, it actually goes for $14 on Amazon, so its inclusion adds real value to the release.

Largely devoid of the series’ trademark wit, Lego Batman: Family Matters becomes a stale adventure. It never musters much sense of comedy, excitement or drama. The Blu-ray brings top-notch visuals along with good audio and a bonus toy. This movie turned into a sluggish dud.