Bad Blood is an animated Batman feature that, by removing Batman (temporarily) from the scene, sets up a situation to force Bat allies Nightwing and Robin to cooperate with fringe hero Batwoman to figure out where he's gone.

It touches on -- but doesn't really resolve -- Batman's long-standing issues that keep him emotionally distant from his friends and allies. It tries to make us feel good for watching them work together by the end, but ... meh. Ultimately, the story feels more like a placeholder script, like maybe the writers needed another few rounds of polishing to make the story worthwhile.

The movie also sets up a plot with far-ranging ramifications -- the discovery of Batman's secret identity by several villains -- and neatly makes sure all of them (apparently) die by movie's end, so there's no danger of that coming back to haunt Bruce Wayne in the future. The stakes don't feel very high when we know there are never any long-term consequences for our heroes.

And once again, I find myself wondering where these animated movies fit in DC's canon. Are these slain villains gone from the Batman stables? Will their deaths have any impact on the use of those characters in the future? Again, what's the impact?

It's not a terrible way to squander an hour's time, but it feels like DC put this one out just for the sake of adding to its library of titles to choose from on HBO Max. Pro tip: It helps more when they're good.

Voice actors in Bad Blood include Jason O'Mara as Batman, Yvonne Strahovski as Batwoman, Stuart Allan as Robin, Sean Maher as Nightwing, Morena Baccarin as Talia al Ghul, Gaius Charles as Batwing, James Garrett as Alfred Pennyworth and Ernie Hudson as Lucius Fox.