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Reviews - Two-Disc DVD Special Edition
Street Date: February 23rd, 2010
Languages: English
Subtitles: English SDH
Run Time: 75
Rating: PG-13
Media Quantity: 2 (DVD 5, DVD 9)
Packaging Type: Double Eco Amaray Case |
Aspect Ratio:
Original Aspect Ratio - 1.78 Widescreen [16:9 Transfer]
Sound Quality:
Dolby Digital: English 5.1
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Special Features:
●The Spectre (11:51)
● Bruce Timm Presents - Four Bonus Episodes ("A Better World,"
"Twilight") (1:31:00)
● DCU: The New World (33:14)
● A First Look at Batman: Under the Red Hood
(13:46)
● A First Look at Green Lantern
● A First Look at Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
● A First Look at Wonder Woman |
Review (James Harvey)
 There’s something about this new animated feature from the DC Universe
Animated Original Movie line that feels like slipping on a familiar pair
comfortable shoes. There’s a sense of warmth that comes from it. To see the
Justice League back in action, in a great world-hopping thriller, is
exhilarating. We get the big ones, too. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green
Lantern, and so on. In addition, we get to see their twisted counterparts from
an alternate earth, criminal overlords who use fear to dominate the populace. As
you can probably already guess, the Justice League and their evil counterparts
collide and, well, as exciting as this movie manages to make that tired concept
seem, it gets much better from there.
For many, it will be difficult to view this movie without thinking of what could
have been. Originally planned as a direct-to-video animated feature to bridge
the gap between the classic Justice League and Justice League
Unlimited animated series that aired a few years ago on Cartoon Network, Justice
League: Crisis on Two Earths is a riveting adventure with the Leaguers
facing off against their evil doppelgangers from an alternate reality.
Personally, I’m not going to review this feature as “what could have been” but
instead “what is.” And just “what is” Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths?
Well, likely the most enjoyable direct-to-video animated feature to come out of
the “DC Universe Animation Original Movie” line since Wonder Woman.
Right away, before I go any further, I need to acknowledge the writing for this
feature. Writer Dwayne McDuffie, a familiar name to animation fans thanks to his
work on Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, among other
series, brings a touch to the dialogue that adds such a flare to the movie. The
dialogue here has such smoothness to it, such a casual, comfortable feeling to
it. Straight dialogue scenes come off just as engaging as the fisticuffs. Never
feeling stilted or stiff, it all plays out rather natural. Sure, some of the
expository dialogue can feel a bit clunky, but those instances are few and far
in-between. Executive Producer Bruce Timm calls McDuffie one of the best
dialogue writers in the business and Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
definitely reminds us of that.
I suppose, to continue with a general overview of the film, I have to say I
found it incredibly satisfying. The story works on many different levels,
there's a more-than-satisfying conclusion, some nice winks toward the audience,
and boatloads of action and satisfying character work. Everything is already
established when the film starts, allowing Justice League: Crisis on Two
Earths to just dive into the story without having to spend time filling
viewers in on characters they likely already know about. And true, it is a
pretty straight-forward story, but giving it room to breathe and naturally
expand does this feature a world of difference.
And, since we have room to breathe, we get plenty of action. And, boy, there’s
some brutal action. The Owlman/Wonder Woman plane fight stands out to me as one
of my favorites. It’s not the biggest, brutal, most complex sequence, but it’s
so wonderfully animated and the voice acting from Woods (“Get off my plane.”) is
golden. There’s a fair amount of face smashing, pummeling, and fisticuffs to
keep action-lovers engaged. It’s amped up above the usual television standards,
resulting more than a few instances of bloodletting from both sides. Again, the
fluidity of the Wonder Woman/Owlman fight just really catches my eye. There’s a
handful of iffy moments here and there, but those are quickly lost in some
genuinely beautiful action choreography. It's no Green Lantern: First
Flight, but it's still looks sharp.
 While there’s some heavy, heavy violence, it doesn’t seem gratuitous. Rather, it
feels appropriate for the adult tone the creative team is striving for. The
story itself can be considered pretty heavy, too, especially Owlman’s ultimate
plan. Sure, the film does look pretty colorful, but that helps to deftly balance
what’s actually a real weighty tale. We also get some comedic relief, which
provides the odd break from some of the more stunningly dark moments we see
here. Some moments, especially when Owlman and Superwoman are discussing
Owlman’s real agenda, give off a definite sense of unease and general creepiness
(with major props the voice talents of James Woods as Owlman). Compared to the
previous efforts under this line, Justice League: Crisis Under on Two
Earths is definitely darker than what we’ve seen before.
As I mentioned in the previous email, James Woods does a spectacular job as
Owlman here, bringing a sense of controlled insanity, unhinged but an absolute
ingenuity to his character, and will likely be considered a favorite by many
here, and with good reason. While Woods did an absolutely phenomenal job as
Owlman, I thought the majority of the voice cast turned in strong performances.
To lightly touch upon a few here, I found Gina Torres was suitably twisted as
Superwoman, Vanessa Marshall really impressed me as Wonder Woman, and Mark
Harmon sounded almost identical to George Newbern. And, the biggest surprise to
me, was William Baldwin as Batman. Once again, Andrea Romano really, really
knows how to cast that role. We saw it with Jeremy Sisto in Justice League:
New Frontier and now here with Baldwin as the Dark Knight. Baldwin just
pulls it off without a hitch. Even Chris Noth as a very respectable Lex Luthor
nails it on every turn. Not once did I find any of the voice work distracting,
nor was I ever pulled out of the picture when I recognized the face behind the
voice, another strong sign of great casting on Romano’s part.
The movie brings a sense of likeability to each of the main Justice Leaguers,
even a “love to hate” vibe to the villainous Crime Syndicate. Each has their own
quirks, allowing each of them to stand out in the crowd, despite the relative
small screen time some of them receive. And, believe me, what will come in handy
since viewers are essentially flung into a story that offers little background
fill-in. However, based on who this animated feature is geared towards, I doubt
that will be an issue.
For all the positives found here, there are a couple shortcoming here and there.
While the 75 minute running time really allowed for the story to breathe, I
found there was some material that felt unnecessary and slow, particularly a
subplot with Martian Manhunter. Despite giving him a more human side,
Manhunter's romantic subplot with the President’s daughter felt underdeveloped
and superfluous. The absolutely sublime third act makes up for it, though. Once
the film rolls toward its endgame, it becomes a tightly-paced, perfectly
executed thriller. Additionally, I found there were a handful of moments where
the use of CGI, along with some noticeable glitches or jerky movements in the
animation, were distracting. There are only a few, that’s true, but some are
particularly jarring. There’s one action sequence, where we see the Justice
League duke it out with the villainous Crime Syndicate in the clouds, the
background seems to change between painted backgrounds, line art, and CGI at
random.
I can’t help but take pause for a moment, though. Since the crew behind this
animated DTV dusted off an old treatment to bring this movie about, I wonder if
any other abandoned episode of movie scripts will be resuscitated and given a
second life. I can think of quite a few abandoned stories and ideas that would
find a suitable second life under the “DC Universe Animated Original Movie”
banner.
 To get this review back on the topic at hand, Justice League: Crisis on Two
Earths is a grand adventure for sure, one fans of both the beloved animated
series and popular comic series can easily enjoy. Sure, it kind of felt like a
three-part Justice League episode, it was still a rollicking’ ride from
start to finish. The sublime score is worth noting, as is the nifty directing.
The animation was good, though a noticeable step down from the likes of Green
Lantern: First Flight, but the story is compelling and the characters
engaging. McDuffie hits nearly all the right notes here, and what we’re given is
a solid Justice League adventure that fans of the comics or previous
animated adventures can enjoy. As you can likely guess, this film easily
deserves the Recommended stamp. Go out and give Justice League: Crisis
on Two Earths a spin, and I guarantee you will find a wrenching
world-hopping adventure.
And now, to the DVD…
The DVD
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths arrives on DVD from Warner Home
Video, the disc placed in a standard Amaray case which itself is housed in a
foil cardboard slipcover. Once again, a nice, shiny package that will help the
release stand out on shelves.
Diving in, Warner Home Video has provided the main feature with a solid audio
and video presentation. For the video transfer, colors appear full and vibrant
with a nice amount of detail. The transfer does suffer from a few blips I found,
mostly some aliasing and ghosting, but those are infrequent. It’s a good
transfer, but not the best. As for the audio, we get a well-rounded Dolby
Digital 5.1 track. It definitely delivers for the most part, though the quieter
scenes can be a bit too quiet at times. Despite that, I found the dialogue still
came through easy to understand and the action scenes resulted in some great use
of the speaker system. The aerial battle mid-way through the film boasts a few
impressive moments in the audio department.
Moving to the bonus features on this release, we get a mix of new and repeated
content, sadly more repeated content than new. Spread over two discs, first up
is the utterly excellent DC Showcase: The Spectre animated short, the
first in an ongoing series of animated shorts slated for inclusion on all
forthcoming DC Universe Animated Original Movie home video releases, in addition
to other venues. Presented as a creepy 70s supernatural thriller, DC
Showcase: The Spectre is a short-but-sweet affair that’s fairly predictable
but hard to turn away from. Every little aspect of the animated short – the
music, the dialogue, the voice-over, the fonts, all of it – are all used to
successfully mimic the era it’s placed in. The short even uses special effects
to make the film look ragged and over-exposed. All in all, it’s a solid start to
what should be a thrilling line of animated shorts. I’m already looking forward
to the next installment.
The “DCU: The New World” featurette looks at the long-established “Crisis”
events that tend to plague the DC universe. Starting with “Crisis on Infinite
Earths” and running to “Final Crisis,” this featurette looks at the
ever-changing landscape of the universe and how these monstrous events affected
those characters. Creators old and new, including Paul Levitz and Geoff Johns
among others, share their two cents on these comic stories and the real-life
events that shaped them. All in all, it’s really interesting, with some of the
more compelling discussion coming from Dan DiDio’s memory of the events of
September 11th and how that eventually played in a role in DC’s current
landscape. Please note the version on DVD is an abbreviated version, with the
full version on Blu-ray.
 The last of the new content is the “A First Look at Batman: Under the Red
Hood” featurette, which has definitely caught my interest. The featurette
takes a quick look at two popular Batman storylines that serve as inspiration
for this flick and provide a nice helping of behind-the-scenes details. It’s
your standard fluff piece, yes, but there’s plenty of artwork and production
content to look at. Sure, the featurette makes no real attempt to hide the
mystery behind the film’s antagonist, but I doubt that will deter anyone’s
interest.
The rest of the content here is made up of a couple Justice League
episodes and a collection of “First Look” featurettes for previous releases
under the DC Universe Animated Original Movie line.
Now, I’m of two minds with the bonus features for this release. On the one hand,
I really enjoyed the”DCU: The New World” featurette, especially as a
long-time comic book reader. It serves as a nice look into the world of DC
Comics that is both entertaining to those who are long-time readers, like
myself, or those interested in checking out the four-color adventures of DC’s
best. Sure, the featurette could have actually delved a bit further into what
these events were actually about, deeper than the broad comments made about
each, but there should be enough there to whet anyone’s appetite. The inclusion
of animated shorts under the “DC Showcase” banner is also a great addition to
the bonus content for these releases. It’s a great idea on Warner Home Video’s
part, and I hope these remain a permanent fixture on these releases for years to
come. And, like all fans, getting a look at the next animated feature is always
a major plus.
However, I feel that there’s not enough bonus content directed toward the main
feature. Why isn’t there a new featurette for the main feature? Maybe a look at
the voice cast? What about deleted scenes or outtakes? More thoughts from the
cast and crew, perhaps? Given the rather colorful history of Justice League:
Crisis on Two Earths, there is plenty of meat here for a solid featurette or
even a commentary. I just cannot help but feel a little let down that we do not
get to see a look at the production behind this animated feature. Hopefully
we’ll see this change in future releases.
Overall, for those picking up Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths on
DVD, you’ll want to spring for the Two-Disc Special Edition release. The DC
Showcase: The Spectre animated short is worth the extra couple bucks, hands
down. And, hey, the movie itself is a solid addition to the DC Universe Animated
Original Movie line, so that should also be enough incentive. Plus, thankfully,
Warner Home Video served up a very respectful audio and video transfer for the
flick. As I mentioned above, we just need to start seeing more bonus content
focused on the actual movie itself. Thankfully, the main feature is easily worth
the price of admission alone, and DC Showcase: The Spectre definitely
warrants picking up the Special Edition DVD release of Justice League: Crisis
on Two Earths. Highly Recommended.
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