Justice League: Warworld
Studio: Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment
Runtime: 90 minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, Digital – July 25, 2023
Synopsis: DC’s Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman find themselves in mysterious lands and precarious circumstances with no memory of how they arrived there and only vague recollections of their true selves in Justice League: Warworld, available to purchase Digitally and on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack and Blu-ray from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment.
Special Features
4K, Blu-ray and Digital
-Illusions on Warworld (New Featurette) – Go behind the scenes and inside the process of designing and creating three distinct genres for the Justice League to inhabit on Warworld.
-The Heroic, the Horrible and the Hideous (New Featurette) – Dive deep into the origins and histories of the key players on Warworld and learn how the filmmakers brought them to life.
Justice League: Warworld 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review
By James Harvey
For those looking to own Justice League: Warworld, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has put together a small, tidy home media release for the animated movie. Bonus content is light in comparison to some recent titles, but the presentation for the feature itself is again commendable.
Looking first at the video and audio quality of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray edition and, to no surprise, it’s solid work. In terms of video, Justice League: Warworld looks smooth, crisp and clear. The colors nearly jump off the screen, especially in the comparatively colorful final act, and blacks are nice and deep, and are especially impressive in the Superman’s black and white-heavy “world.” Really, there’s nary an issue to be found when it comes the visuals.
Comparatively, the quality on 4K is significantly and noticeably better than the included regular 1080p transfer, which is fine but suffers from noticeable compression and banding issues. The iTunes digital quality is roughly the same as the Blu-ray.
When it comes to the movie’s audio transfer, it’s just as slick as the video. The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix here sounds nice and heavy, and there’s even some great channel work sprinkled throughout, especially when we visit Batman’s “world.” The big action beats sound hefty and boisterous throughout, as they should, and the quieter moments (and there are a few) are as crystal clear as they can be. The 4K Ultra HD edition can’t be beat when it comes to the movie’s overall presentation.
Moving to the special features, the studio has tossed on couple small featurettes offering closer looks at both the animated feature and of the Warworld itself and not much else. First up is “Illusions of Warworld,” which runs for 7:45 minutes and touches on the production of Justice League: Warworld. Producer Jim Krieg, Executive Producer Butch Lukic, director Jeff Wamester, and writer Tim Sheridan (who all also appear in the other featurette) chat about the inspiration of behind the different worlds the heroes find themselves in, plus we get a closer look at the movie’s fantastic design work, along with a few details on some of the other characters who pop up during the Trinity’s respective journeys.
Up next is “The Heroic, the Horrible and the Hideous,” running 7:52 minutes, which digs a little into the concept of DC Comics’ Warworld and how it was adapted for this movie. Given their respective roles in Justice League: Warworld, the featurette also gives Martian Manhunter, Lobo, Mongul and Harbinger each a little attention with a quick break down of their origins and motivations (including the nifty reasoning behind Mongul’s redesign). Both featurettes offer some neat tidbits and insights, but nothing truly in-depth. Worth noting, however, is Lukic hints here that the forthcoming “crisis” has been in the works since Superman: Man of Tomorrow…
And that’s it for special features. There’s no bonus episodes or previews for upcoming DC Universe Movie titles. It’s a little baffling there’s no episodes included given there’s a two-part Justice League “War World” episode that would fit right in here. And given the teased “crisis,” why not a quick glimpse at 2024’s Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths animated movie? It’s disappointing to see the continued lack of previews, which were once staples for these titles.
Fans looking to dig deeper into Justice League: Warworld might be a little letdown with the small amount of extras, but at least what’s here is good. The featurettes cover a nice amount of ground, admittedly, but the extras just feel a little incomplete overall without the usual bonus episodes and previews. Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment’s home media release is a little slight when it comes to bonus content, lighter than usual for the studio’s animated DC Comics titles, but thankfully the presentation still hits all the right marks.
Justice League: Warworld might not be the best effort to come from the DC Universe Movie line, but there’s still plenty to enjoy still for those who opt to check it out, including some great character designs and some intriguing ideas sprinkled throughout. For those who want to own the movie, the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray is the way to go due to a clearly superior overall presentation, especially in comparison to the other editions available. Recommended, but with reservations.
Hold up, the review isn’t done just yet! Click the link below to read the Justice League: Warworld animated feature review!
Please note a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray copy of Justice League: Warworld was provided by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment for the purpose of this review. The author also purchased an iTunes edition of the film for comparison and completion purposes.
[ Continue on to the Justice League: Warworld Animated Feature review ]