2015 marks seventy-five years since comic readers first laid eyes on Batman's loyal second-in-command, Robin. Though originally conceived as a way for young fans to insert themselves into the Dark Knight's adventures, one wonders if the powers that be were aware of how vital to the mythos the character would soon become. Robin and the duties he (or sometimes she) assumed evolved over the decades, as those who adopted the mantle also took on the roles of confidant, crime-fighter, pupil, and surrogate family member. More than a sidekick, this hero worked best when positioned as a reflection of the Caped Crusader's teachings, an angle on which DC's new animated feature Batman vs. Robin aims to capitalize. As one can gather from the title, this film sees the Dynamic Duo at an impasse, their relationship strained due to an ever-expanding gulf in how each approaches handling the criminal element. But despite its promising premise, Batman vs. Robin blows its shot at stripping one of pop culture's most enduring partnerships down to its foundation by going about its business in a joyless and self-serious fashion that regards "fun" and "escapism" as four-letter words.

Some kids would love for Batman (voice of Jason O'Mara) to be their dad, but try telling that to Damian Wayne (voice of Stuart Allan). Having been raised in the League of Assassins, Damian sees his father's attempts at training him to help battle Gotham's forces of evil under the guise of Robin as useless. The lad is fed up with being told to rein in his violent impulses, yearning to go solo and punish criminals without Papa Wayne's restrictions. Unfortunately, the boy's impatience has made him a perfect target for the Court of Owls, a secret society seeking to seize control of Gotham. The group's top lieutenant Talon (voice of Jeremy Sisto) is assigned to coerce Damian into their fold -- unaware that he's the son of Bruce Wayne, whom they're also trying to recruit. Batman sees right through the Court's lies, but convincing his boy is another story, as the youth is swiftly wooed by promises of more power and no limitations. Can Batman repair the damage of his own failings as both parent and mentor before his flesh and blood becomes totally consumed by the dark side?

The exhaustingly uninspired temper tantrums that Batman vs. Robin mistakes for drama are no different than what last year's Son of Batman also supplied. The film recycles the same tiffs and covers similar thematic ground while gaining scant traction, making its aggressive requests to be taken seriously as a "mature" and "edgy" work that much harder to accept. It isn't that the story itself is toxic, as it can easily be fashioned into a fun but cautionary tale teaching kids looking up to superheroes that going too far has its consequences. But Batman vs. Robin isn't up to the challenge of examining Bruce and Damian's relationship beyond just stating what stubborn jerks they both are, nor does it seem fond of dropping its grim demeanor to simply have a good time. Instead of embracing the inherent silliness of having the Caped Crusader take on a sinister cabal of owl-masked villains with an army of zombie ninjas at their disposal, this movie tries taking the whole enterprise in earnest, a fool's errand if there ever was one. It's indicative of a greater issue comics have suffered from since before their silver-screen adaptations expressed more concern, that merely presenting a character in a darker light than the norm is the same as doing something interesting with said slant. When this film does eventually touch upon a thought-provoking point or dish out a riveting action sequence, the effects have been almost rendered moot by its sloppy handling dozens of other times it tried doing so.

Batman vs. Robin doesn't come close to providing a narrative deserving of that gloriously epic title. The two butt heads often and do battle in one scene that carries some of the dramatic weight the movie so desperately desires to possess, but it's really just a continuation of the bickering that began in Son of Batman. Damian is too impetuous to realize that his dad is trying to save his soul, Bruce is too distant to fulfill his boy's emotional needs, and the two arrive at a stalemate over and over until the story decides to end. The final moments do go to an intriguing area, but the journey there ends up being a slog on a super scale. As far as the acting goes, Allan still sounds a little on the stiff side, but O'Mara continues to lend an effectively gruff tone to Batman without overdoing things. Sisto (who, ironically, voiced the Dark Knight in DC's much superior Justice League: The New Frontier) gives Talon a subdued aura of menace, and Robin Atkin Downes pitches in a creepy turn as the Court's lead lunatic. The design of the group's secretive world looks  rather cool, and credit is due to making Talon's owl-themed get-up look as neat as it does, but the animation as a whole appears fairly choppy. There's a rigidity reflected in the movie's action sequences, which only really cut loose in a finale pitting the Court's undead assassins against the Caped Crusader and his own personal mech.

In the end, Batman vs. Robin seems more concerned with putting up a gloomy front than with deconstructing its characters in a truly compelling manner. I'm all for introducing heavier themes into stories that are often disregarded as mere kiddie fodder, but instituting a "no smiles allowed" rule and replacing high-energy heroics with brooding and bloodshed isn't the way to do it. While I wouldn't go so far as to call Batman vs. Robin awful, it is a supremely uninteresting letdown, a disappointment considering the high that DC's animated features rode on just a few short years ago.

(Released by Warner Home Video and rated "PG-13" for intense action and violence, suggestive images and thematic elements.)