Justice League vs. The Fatal Five Home Entertainment Release
Studio: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Release Date: March 30, 2019 – Digital; April 16, 2019 – 4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DC Universe Streaming Service
Synopsis: The fate of the planet rests on the shoulders of a reluctant Green Lantern and an unstable hero from the future in Justice League vs. The Fatal Five, The DC Universe Movie title inspired by the classic Justice League/Justice League Unlimited animated series. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC, the feature-length animated film arrives from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.
Justice League vs. The Fatal Five Enhanced Content
Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack and Digital
-Battling the Invisible Menace (Featurette)– This featurette will explore the nuanced hero as many characters must deal with the everyday feelings of anxiety, depression, and other incapacitating emotions that we all must battle and overcome.
-Justice League vs. Fatal Five: Unity of Hero (Featurette) – A look at how the pantheon of DC heroes has never been more diverse and inclusive, as writers and artists break boundaries and smash stereotypes.
-Audio Commentary – Bruce Timm, Sam Liu, Jim Krieg and Eric Carrasco share their thoughts and insights on Justice League vs. The Fatal Five.
-A Sneak Peek at the next DC Universe Movie, Batman: Hush – An advance look at the next animated film in the popular DC Universe Movies collection.
-Sneak Peek Revisited: A Preview of Justice League Dark – John Constantine leads a group of misfit characters that use magic to vanquish their opponents. This is the dark version of The Justice League taking on the malevolent forces that go beyond our plane of existence.
-Sneak Peek Revisited: A Preview of Justice League vs. Teen Titans – A glimpse into the characters known as the Teen Titans.
-From the DC Vault: Justice League Unlimited, “Far From Home”
-From the DC Vault: Legion of Superheroes, “Man of Tomorrow”
Justice League vs. The Fatal Five 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray Review
by James Harvey
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment brings Justice League vs. The Fatal Five home in a wealth of formats, including Digital, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD, and tosses in a nice heaping of extras. In addition to a fantastic commentary, the home media release offers up two interesting featurettes that explore the new story-telling beats introduced in the movie.
In terms of video and audio, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has put together a stellar release. The visual presentation is fantastic, with the HDR presentation offering off a vibrant picture with minimal banding and deep blacks. The deeper color palette also beefs up the overall appearance of the movie, adding extra flare to already hefty use of color, and giving the appearance of more detailed and natural backgrounds. Audio is great thanks to a killer DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track. Dialogue and clean and clear with no errors or muffled sounds, and the quiet moments sound just as good as any of the action scenes. It’s a solid track that nicely compliments the visuals. The score also sounds amazing and would’ve loved to hear an isolated score track. Between the reviewed Blu-ray, iTunes 4K digital copy and the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release, the best presentation of Justice League vs. The Fatal Five is clearly the 4K physical media release.
Looking at the bonus features, the commentary is a must-listen for fans. Featuring producer Bruce Timm, producer and director Sam Liu and writers Jim Krieg and Eric Carrasco, the commentary touches upon the film’s production, inspirations and offers up more than a few cool anecdotes and stories from the included crew members. Great bits include how Bloodsport was inspired by current-day conspiracy theorists like Q-anon, the film’s use of language, the score, how it originally started as a Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths sequel, continuity, Carrasco meeting Eisenberg and his goal to try and change the stigma around mental illness and how it’s usually used as a shorthand for villains in entertainment media. It’s an insightful, easy-going and fun discussion on how Justice League vs. The Fatal Five came to be.
The two included featurettes – “Battling the Invisible Menace” (roughly 8 minutes) and “Justice League vs. The Fatal Five: Unity of Hero” (roughly 15 minutes) – look at importance of inclusion, diversity and the struggle of mental illness both on the four-color page and in every day life. The featurettes include members of the film’s creative team, comic book creators and professionals discussing these topics, mixing in their own experiences with the importance of proper representation. On top of a loving nod to the late Dwayne McDuffie, topics include the diverse and inclusive history of the Legion of Super Heroes, influential characters like Oracle, Renee Montoya and Maggie Sawyer, among others, and more. Both are extremely informative and interesting featurettes and will likely hit pretty close to home for some viewers.
Also, in the featurettes, keep an eye out for Jim Krieg’s amazing green screen shirt.
The home media release of Justice League vs. The Fatal Five also includes a preview of the next DC Universe Movie title Batman: Hush. The preview includes a mix of finished animation, comic book artwork and discussion from both the film’s creative team but also DC Comics creators.
Other features include an assortment of trailers and previews for Justice League Dark and Justice League vs. Teen Titans. Two bonus episodes – Justice League “Far From Home” and Legion of Super Heroes “Man of Tomorrow” are included on Blu-ray release. It’s worth noting both bonus episodes are included in 1080p, marking a first for Legion of Super Heroes in the physical media format.
Anchored by an fun, insightful commentary and two excellent featurettes, Justice League vs. The Fatal Five offers up some great bonus content that support the film’s production and the themes it tackles. Clocking in at nearly two hours, including the commentary, there’s a solid amount of bonus content for fans to flip through after their first viewing of Justice League vs. The Fatal Five. The featurettes, while somewhat brief, do make an impact and will undoubtedly leave an impression on viewers. Viewers hungry to learn more about the film’s production and DC Comics’ overall history with representation will find great material to chew on here. Highly Recommended!
Note: This review covers the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of “Justice League vs. The Fatal Five,” along with the iTunes 4K digital copy and the Blu-ray release. The iTunes edition was purchased by the reviewer and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided a review copy of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray edition.
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