JUSTICE LEAGUE X RWBY: SUPER HEROES & HUNTSMEN, PART TWO
Studios: DC, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Release Date: Digital – October 17, 2023; 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray – October 31, 2023
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Description: The Justice League and Team RWBY take on their biggest adventure yet in Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two! Following Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One, the new animated film from Rooster Teeth Animation, DC and Warner Bros. Animation, will see the Justice League and Team RWBY team up again in a whole new environment to take on Grimm, who has arrived on earth with even more powers.
On the heels of successfully escaping a deadly digital trap, the members of the Justice League emerge in their own world to discover that Grimm, ravenous creatures from Remnant, have overtaken Earth! In order to defeat the monsters, they must call on their new friends – Team RWBY – for help!
Joining the voice cast in this second go around are Jamie Chung as Black Canary, David Dastmalchian as The Flash, Laura Bailey as Wonder Woman, Troy Baker as Batman and Travis Willingham as Superman. Returning from Part One are Ozioma Akagha as Vixen, Jeannie Tirado as Green Lantern and Tru Valentino as Cyborg alongside RWBY mainstays Lindsay Jones as Ruby, Kara Eberle as Weiss, Arryn Zech as Blake, and Barbara Dunkelman as Yang. The film also features the voices of Maxwell Friedman, Christopher Sabat and J. Michael Tatum.
The film was co-directed by Yssa Badiola and Dustin Matthews from a script penned by Meghan Fitzmartin. Producers are Kimberly S. Moreau, Ethan Spaulding and Jim Krieg with Laura Yates as supervising producer; and Sam Register and Michael Uslan executive producing.
Home Entertainment Special Features:
–“You look…Different: RWBY on Earth” – Earth is not exactly the same as Remnant, the world where Team RWBY live. The enemies are different. The Justice League heroes are different. And Team RWBY’s powers? They’re all extremely different. In this featurette, we get a closer look at Team RWBY on Earth.
–“I’ve Got Your Back” – In Part One, Justice League and RWBY members had to work together to save Remnant. Now in Part Two, on Earth, they all must work together to save each other. In this featurette, we get into the story behind so many of the characters saving each other both physically and emotionally.
By James Harvey
Wrapping up the two-part crossover, Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two not only brings this extra-length adventure to a satisfying close but it also outshines the initial installment. Viewers unfamiliar with the world and characters of RWBY will still feel occasionally lost, but the amped-up action scenes and solid writing still offer plenty of great moments for Justice League fans to bask in. In fact, even with a couple stumbles, this two-parter surprisingly stands as one of DC Comics’ strongest animated movies of the year!
Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two picks up with the Justice League reemerging in their own world after escaping a digital prison with Team RWBY, only to discover that ravenous creatures are attacking the Earth! Now, the Justice League and Team RWBY must again work together to stop the monsters and uncover the true mastermind causing all the chaos.
Spoilers here will be kept light, but a few specific scenes and character beats will be covered in this review.
Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two brings this unexpected partnership to a successful close, and even surpasses the first part in a myriad of ways. Thanks to a slightly more serious tone, coupled with heftier action scenes and solid character work, Part Two ends up a surprisingly riveting watch as our heroes work to uncover the mastermind behind their respective troubles. While the story doesn’t really break any mold, it’s executed in a way that makes it interesting without feeling like a retread of Part One.
Character relationships, between both the teams and among their respective members, are explored more closely here as we see the lingering effects of Justice League and RWBY’s first team-up while both teams face off against a deadlier Grimm. We see The Flash struggle here after having his body taken over by Killg%re in Part One, driven to stop him no matter the cost. Similarly, Superman and Ruby reconnect like old friends, with Superman helping Ruby strengthen both her confidence and role as RWBY’s leaders. There’s plenty of great little bits like this scattered throughout which help move both the characters and the film’s plot forward.
Co-directors Yssa Badiola and Dustin Matthews and writer Meghan Fitzmartin, all returning from Part One, hit the ground running here. Without the need to introduce a new world and characters, the film’s creative team is free to focus on the story, characters and also deliver some pretty strong set pieces. And, since the need for exposition is minimal this time around, in comparison to the first installment, the flow and pace here feels smoother and snappier. Plus, after a quick recap, the movie jumps right into the action with nary a hesitation.
Expectedly, there’s a couple neat twists to Team RWBY and the Grimm as they touch down in the DC Universe. Much like how the Justice League found themselves altered when they touched down on Remnant, Team RWBY here find their respective semblance abilities replaced with more superhuman-type abilities. RWBY fans will definitely enjoy seeing their characters handling new abilities – albeit temporarily – and the cool visuals that come with (especially Yang’s fiery powers). Similarly, the Grimm are evolving in real-time to counter the powers of the Justice League, adding a little spice to the fisticuffs.
It’s not all wall-to-wall action, however, as there’s a good chunk of character drama mined here. On top of The Flash’s aforementioned struggles, relationships between respective Justice League and Team RWBY members deepen as both teams essentially pick up where they left off at the end of Part One. Superman’s mentor-ish role to Ruby is especially effective, and leads to some genuinely sweet moments between the two. Batman and Yang also share some similarly eloquent character beats.
Helping to sell these beats is Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two‘s solid voice cast, which features a mix of new and returning cast members. Returning from Part One are Ozioma Akagha as Vixen, Jeannie Tirado as Green Lantern and Tru Valentino as Cyborg alongside RWBY mainstays. Joining the festivities for this second spin are Jamie Chung as Black Canary, David Dastmalchian as The Flash, Laura Bailey as Wonder Woman, Troy Baker as Batman and Travis Willingham as Superman. As with Part One, the cast here does excellent work across the board, though Willingham deserves a special shout-out for perfectly showcasing Superman’s soft and caring side.
When it comes to animation, Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two looks sharp, despite the odd hiccup. There’s the occasional lack of background detail, which can be distracting compared to some of the busier, more detailed environments, but they’re thankfully infrequent. Still, overall, environments look bright, colorful and easy on the eyes, and characters feel present and part of the world as they did with Part One.
The only real drawback to Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two is the same from Part One, which is those unfamiliar with RWBY might feel a little left out from time to time. The movie references specific events from the RWBY series that will more than likely go over the heads of a few, though thankfully this doesn’t hinder the movie’s plot in any substantial way nor get in the way of any character development. There’s still plenty here to grasp in order to understand the RWBY crew and their motivations, but some may find it hard to shake that sporadic “missing out” feeling.
Overall, Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two sticks the landing and nicely wraps up this two-part team-up, making for an unexpectedly enjoyable entry in the DC Animated Movie line. It’s still a fun story even though it’s not the most original, and the overall execution is commendable. There’s plenty of action to keep viewers engaged, and a good enough mystery to keep them around until the end credits.
For those looking to pick up a copy of Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has put together a tidy albeit slight home media release for the DC Animated Movie title. The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray edition includes a strong audio and video transfer, easily outshining the regular Blu-ray and digital edition, but the small batch of extras, the same across all releases, are a tad disappointing.
Looking first at the Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray video and audio quality, the studio has whipped up a consistently solid presentation. The 2160p/HDR transfer looks clean and smooth, and packs some hefty black levels and bright, vivid colors. Comparatively, the 4K edition is a noticeably better experience than both the regular 1080p Blu-ray and the digital edition, both of which are fine but suffer from a muted palette along with noticeable compression and banding issues.
As with video, the DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix here packs a nice wallop and makes good use of the different channels. Dialogue, action scenes, sound effects and the movie’s score (David Levy’s work here will definitely get the blood pumping) are all mixed well and bounce around from speaker to speaker appropriately, making for an enjoyable listening experience. The audio and video transfers here are a commendable effort by Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment.
Unfortunately, the studio falls short when it comes to the bonus features for Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two. Included are just two short featurettes. First is “I’ve Got Your Back: The Bond Between Justice League and RWBY,” which runs nearly seven minutes (6:45) and offers a quick look at the film’s overall development. Several members of the film’s cast and crew sound off on the film’s production, character beats, set pieces and the character changes.
Up next is “You Look… Different: RWBY on Earth,” which essentially picks up where the last featurette left off and dives into the film’s visuals. Running over seven minutes (7:12), assorted cast and crew members return here to discuss character designs and visuals, along with action scenes and the film’s different environments. Both featurettes are worth watching for fans of the characters and movie, but the short run time of each (barely 15 minutes total) is a let down (though not entirely unexpected).
After that, the disc wraps up with digital copy and … that’s it. There’s no packaged-in Blu-ray here, as there was with Part One, which makes Part Two‘s identical price point feel a shade higher than it should be. Especially for less than 90 minutes of content.
Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two wraps this unexpectedly enjoyable crossover on a strong note, offering up good character moments, big action beats and satisfying answers. The odd RWBY reference will still likely throw off the odd viewer, but it thankfully doesn’t impact the overall story. There’s a lot of fun to be had here, and it’s well worth giving a shot (even for the most reluctant), though it’s understandable if some will opt to wait until the price tag drops before scooping it up. Recommended!
Please note a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray copy of Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two was provided by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment for the purpose of this review.
Trailer
Images
Promotional Images
“Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack”
Available from Gardener Recordings
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