Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part One
Studio: Warner Bros. Animation
Runtime: 93 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: Digital – January 9, 2024; 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, Digital – January 23, 2024
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Synopsis: Based on DC’s iconic comic book limited series ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’ by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, join DC Super Heroes from across the multiverse in the first of three parts of DC’s new animated film Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One, which marks the beginning of the end to the Tomorrowverse story arc.
Death is coming. Worse than death: oblivion. Not just for our Earth, but for everyone, everywhere, in every universe! Against this ultimate destruction, the mysterious Monitor has gathered the greatest team of Super Heroes ever assembled. But what can the combined might of Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern and hundreds of Super Heroes from multiple Earths even do to save all of reality from an unstoppable antimatter Armageddon?
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One features returning popular voice cast members: Emmy winner Darren Criss as Superman & Earth-2 Superman, Stana Katic as Wonder Woman & Superwoman and Jensen Ackles as Batman/Bruce Wayne. Aside from the returning voice cast, a star-studded ensemble takes shape including Matt Bomer as The Flash/Barry Allen, Meg Donnelly as Supergirl & Harbinger, Jimmi Simpson as Green Arrow and Zachary Quinto as Lex Luthor.
Additional cast includes: Jonathan Adams as Monitor, Ike Amadi as J’onn J’onzz/Martian Manhunter, Amazing Man & Ivo, Geoffrey Arend as Psycho Pirate & Hawkman, Zack Callison as Dick Grayson/Robin, Alexandra Daddario as Lois Lane, Alastair Duncan as Alfred, Matt Lanter as Blue Beetle & Ultraman, Ato Essandoh as Mr Terrific, Cynthia Hamidi as Dawnstar, Aldis Hodge as John Stewart/Green Lantern & Power Ring, Erika Ishii as Doctor Light/Dr. Hoshi & Huntress, David Kaye as The Question, Ashleigh LaThrop as Iris West, Liam Mcintyre as Aquaman & Johnny Quick, Nolan North as Hal Jordan, Amazo & Homeless Man, Lou Diamond Phillips as The Spectre & Owlman, Keesha Sharp as Vixen and Harry Shum Jr. as Brainiac 5.
Justice League Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One is produced by Jim Krieg and Kimberly S. Moreau and executive produced by Butch Lukic, Sam Register, and Michael Uslan and directed by Jeff Wamester from a script by Jim Krieg. Casting and voice direction is by Wes Gleason.
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By James Harvey
A riveting watch, Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One lays the groundwork for what looks to be an intriguing (albeit quite different) take on one of the biggest events in DC Comics history. By keeping the story focused and the cast relatively contained, Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One is able to successfully mine plenty of action and drama from this intergalactic-scaled adventure. Viewers expecting a faithful adaptation of the classic 1980s DC Comics event Crisis on Infinite Earths will likely be disappointed, but the film’s creators have crafted a legitimately heartfelt and compelling kick-off here to the three-part event.
It’s the beginning of the end in Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One, the first installment in an animated trilogy adapting the classic 1980s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event from DC Comics. An anti-matter wave threatens to destroy all life everywhere, and the mysterious Monitor has gathered the greatest team of Super Heroes ever assembled to combat it. But even the combined might of Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern and hundreds of heroes from across the multiverse may find themselves outmatched by this apparently unstoppable armageddon!
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One puts The Flash front and center of its sizable cast as we follow him through a host of key moments and major life events (such as the unveiling of the Justice League and his relationship with Iris West), all leading up to him and his fellow heroes executing their plan to halt the encroaching anti-matter wall that threatens to end existence. And this is all done in a nonlinear fashion, with the movie bouncing back and forth between different points in order to provide a rather clever framing device to make the wealth of new characters and mountains of exposition go down a little easier. There’s even a cause for The Flash pinballing through time and it becomes a crucial plot detail later in the film.
Please note that while this review will remain as spoiler-free as possible, there will be mention of specific events and plot points.
Without a doubt, Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One covers an impressive amount of ground. Not only does it loosely adapt the first four issues of Crisis on Infinite Earths, it also does a lot of heavy lifting in terms of fleshing out the universe established in Superman: Man of Tomorrow. Every in-continuity “Tomorrowverse” title is referenced in some way, ranging from cute nods to throwaway lines to big reveals (including two which expand upon scenes from Batman: The Long Halloween and Justice League: Warworld). Writer Jim Krieg does legitimately impressive work typing everything together as smoothly as he does, even with a couple unavoidable bumps.
And really, the major bump in Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One‘s script comes from the excessive (though understandably so) exposition to keep viewers caught up with the non-linear narrative. There are more than a few scenes where The Flash will pop in and narrate what’s happening (as he basically pieces it back together himself), but unfortunately it tends to sound unnatural and awkward. However, the movie can get a little tricky to follow at times, especially when it references events or moments that haven’t happened yet (but do unfold a few scenes later), so these clunky moments do feel kinda necessary to keep everyone on the same page.
Outside of that, and a fight scene between our heroes against Luthor and Amazo (kinda) that runs a little too long, Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One has a pretty strong script front to back. Krieg wisely uses The Flash as the film’s lead character, instead of introducing a new Luthor variant as in the source material, who serves as a strong anchor for the movie’s plot as well as gives it heart. Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One is essentially told from The Flash’s perspective, which helps to ground the larger-than-life stakes into something more tangible, relatable and even emotional.
Even with the changes, Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One nicely pays tribute to the original comics while setting out to be something entirely its own. Still, many events from the comics are included here in some fashion, including a lot of great moments on Earth-3, or are cleverly streamlined, such as Harbinger’s quest to collect heroes from throughout the multiverse, while others are ripped straight from the page. Again, just don’t expect things to play out in exactly the same way, nor should it be a strike against the film when it doesn’t.
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Besides, this affords Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One the ability to take some of its own big swings and to bring the story more in line with the other DC Universe Movie titles, and then some. There are plenty of nods to not just other “Tomorrowverse” titles, but thematic links to Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox and Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. Not only that, but even some DC Showcase characters get roped into the chaos here. It’s an impressive feat by Krieg that he’s able to skillfully balance so much material without it collapsing under its own weight.
The only other shortcoming really to befall Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One is the animation quality. As with other latter entries in the DC Universe Movie line, the clearly lower budget results in a film that looks pretty substandard at times. Director Jeff Wamester is clearly crafting a massive story here, and putting in admirable work, so it’s a shame to see that partially undone by visuals that can’t hit those big moments. Whether it’s the frequently stiff and jerky movements, lack of detail, or just plain awkward or clumsily animated moments (including some truly cringe-worthy crowd shots and background character cycles), it’s a little disappointing Warner Bros. was unwilling to dish out a few extra bucks to give this movie an extra polish, especially considering the iconic comic it’s adapting.
Still, that level of animation quality is to be expected, especially in recent years, but that doesn’t excuse it. It is however a little easier to overlook when the writing and acting here is just that strong. It goes without saying that Matt Bomer, who voices The Flash (aka Barry Allen), puts in a jaw-droppingly pitch-perfect performance that does a lot of work in making this whole movie work.
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One puts Bomer through quite a lot here, as he has to not only portray The Flash at various stages of his life, but also as he endures an emotional rollercoaster as he deals with his role in the life-ending crisis coming to annihilate all things. Bomer sells every last bit of it, no matter how out there the story gets, providing the depth and heart needed to make the audience relate and want to follow his story through to the end. The Flash’s relationship with Iris West, wonderfully played by Ashleigh LaThrop, drives a lot of the choices he makes during Part One and even becomes a stirring example of what these heroes are fighting to protect.
Bomer and LaThrop lead a considerably hefty cast, with the heroes who make up the Justice League understandably getting the lion’s share of screen time. Darren Criss’s Superman, Jensen Ackles’ Batman, Jimmi Simpson’s Green Arrow and Stana Katic’s Wonder Woman all nail their respective roles without skipping a beat, though Simpson deserves an extra nod for bringing some humor and levity to the film’s weighty story. Jonathan Adams, as the Monitor, also deserves marks for his surprisingly layered performance as a god-like forced to face his own potential mortality.
There’s just so much going on in Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One but, almost miraculously, it all comes together without any real significant problems. Things just … click together as it feels like they should. The characters, the story, the tremendous score by Kevin Riepl, the acting, it all comes together superbly even with a couple slips here and there. Yes, it’s not a straight one-to-one adaptation, nor was it ever going to be since it’s clearly intended to be more an “inspired by” the closing chapter for this particular continuity than a slavish retelling. Besides, what we get here is an arguably stronger iteration of the classic comic event, or at least the first quarter of it so far.
That said, viewers familiar with the source material will likely be disappointed that Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One sticks with its own in-universe character designs instead of trying to mimic the late George Perez’ artwork from the original comic series, but it’s the right choice. Given the low-budget-induced uneven animation output of the DC Universe Movie line, especially over the last few years, the likelihood of the film being able to successfully bring Perez’s style to life never really seemed likely (there is a nice nod to Perez after the end credits, though). What’s here may not be to everyone’s liking, but it’s really the best approach to adequately pull a story of this magnitude off.
The end of existence may be what brings our characters here together, but Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One belongs to The Flash and his story, and the movie’s better for it. While the animation may be a shade lacking and the script hits a bump or two, the end result still makes for an immensely rewarding viewing experience. There is still clearly a lot more ground to cover, with a lot more questions to be answered and characters to appear, but what’s here is an excellent, surprisingly emotional and satisfying start to arguably the most ambitious DC Universe Movie title yet. Highly Recommended!
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Hold up, the review isn’t done just yet! Click the link below to take a look at Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part One‘s 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release!
Please note a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray copy of Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part One was provided by Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment for the purpose of this review. The author also purchased an iTunes edition of the film for comparison and completion purposes.
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