Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths DVD Review

After a couple of lack-luster films (lack-luster in comparison to the VFH Seal of Approval winning Wonder Woman film at least), Warner Bros. Animation's DC Universe line is taking another crack at a completely original animated film, instead of adapting a pre-existing comic book story-arc, this time with the Justice League. Note, this is a review of the DVD edition, as have all the other DC Universe films on DVD and collector's OCD won't let me go Blu.

As stated, Crisis On Two Earths isn't based on a pre-existing DC book or story-arc, so it requires a bit more explaining. It should be noted that the general idea for this film was penned back when he Justice League animated series was on television, and a TV-movie, titled Justice League: Worlds Collide, was written as a bridge between that series and the then-upcoming series, Justice League Unlimited. But obviously that never came to fruition, and we now have this film, which follows a similar story as planned, but completely removes itself from the series by having new character designs, voice actors, and characters (i.e, no Jon Stewart Green Lantern, it's Hal Jordan).

The Movie
The film mainly centers around an alternate world's Lex Luthor, who has come to the familiar Earth after losing the final member of his Justice League to the Crime Syndicate, evil parallel versions of the good Justice League. The primary Justice League is a bit weary of this Luthor, but is soon in agreement to save his world, all except for Batman.

But, once in this alternate world, our Justice League learns that things are much different from their world, and this Crime Syndicate isn't afraid to use lethal force, even against the President of the United States and his family. But what seems like a regular Justice League TV plot soon gets a bit heavier, when the evil universe's anit-Batman, Owl Man, carries out his plot to not only destroy the good universe, but reality as we know it.

Overall, the film holds together pretty well, even if it does feel over-reminiscent of the television series, albeit a bit heavier and more mature in tone. I also found that due to the diversity of characters, there's never a big focus on just one, other than Owl Man (James Woods), and you end up forgetting that these characters have completely new voices from what you're used to. Like I'd like to say that Mark Harmon and William Baldwin did good jobs portraying Superman and Batman respectively, but you never even get to hear them that much. Even Nolan North, playing both the Green Lantern and his evil version, Power Ring, who you may be tired of by new after playing games like Uncharted, Prince of Persia, and Dark Void, isn't on screen long enough to even have an opinion. But, James Wood's Owl Man, who does get plenty of screen time is perfect, as the subtle, menacing mad man that he is. As for character design, gone are the super-bulked up characters from the animated series and Public Enemies, and these trimmed down designs move a bit more fluidly.

My only complaint about the movie is that there's some subplots that really don't have time to flesh out in this 75 minute film, and would have to rely on an unlikely sequel movie to make sense of their inclusion. I also found that the characters a persuaded a bit to easily, perhaps to make up for the short run time. And, please, some of the lines in this are just stupid, "well, I'm a murdering psychopath..." the whole thing that makes a murdering psychopath a murdering psychopath is that they aren't aware that they're a psychopath; you should know better Super Woman.

The Spectre
For the first in what I assume will be a regular feature on these DC Universe animated release, is a DC Showcase short, which focuses on lower-tier DC characters. The first one, included here is The Spectre, a ghostly crime fighter at night, and a detective by day. Running at just over 11 minutes, the film doesn't really have time to express itself storywise, but visually this short was awesome. It takes a page from Grindhouse, adding in film grain/scratches, lo-fi sound track, funk music, and surprisingly gory violence. It's a really nice treat, and hearing Gary Cole trying to be menacing in what is essentially a 70s noir is just awesome. Definitely worth watching.

Extras
As usual, the first disc extras are crap. Other than The Spectre short, you have re-hashed previews for previous DC Universe films, an interesting preview of the next film, Batman: Under the Red Hood, and trailers for other Warner Bros. projects, like the recently released Halo Legends. Otherwise, no commentary whatsoever.

The second disc is of course the actual special features disc, well at least you'd think it was. But when you boot up this disc, you'll be surprisingly shocked to only see two options on a bare menu. First is a 25 minute documentary called DCU: The New World which focuses on the various "Crisis" story-arcs in the DC Universe as well as the people and background behind the major events in the DCU. It's really informative if you're looking into the back-story of major comic book stories, but if you're someone that just likes the DC characters in film/animation, and don't care for the actual comics, then you might not have much interest here.

Then there's he two-part Justice League episode, "A Better World," which features a similar parallel universe storyline and is one of the better episodes of that series. But it also feels like a cop out for new content. If you want features, like more JL episodes and un-aired TV pilots, get the Blu-ray.

Final Thoughts
Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths is definitely a step above Green Lantern: First Flight and Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, both in visual appeal and storytelling, and just overall is a better film. However, it still falls flat in the extras department. Sure, The Spectre short film is worth the asking price, but the somewhat alienating Crisis documentary and the Justice League episode being the only features on the second disc is really upsetting. If there's one thing DC should learn from what made Wonder Woman so good it's that not only was the film great, but the extras were both informative and plenty. And it's a shame that a good film like Crisis On Two Earths suffers from a lack of proper supplementary material.

Overall Score: 8.3/10

Wonder Woman review

After years of taking a back seat to Batman and Superman, Wonder Woman finally gets her own spotlight in the animated DC Universe. But will her film stand tall against the work of her fellow heroes?

As a first note, I'm reviewing the two-disc DVD edition of the film; which is the same as the Blu-ray, but not in HD. The standard edition of the film only contains the movie, and few special features. On with the film shall we? The film opens up with a very 300-esque battle, which is actually in the past, setting up as to how the island of Themyscira came to be. Though unlike the previous DC outings, the battle lacks the blood we're used to seeing, despite overly brutal violence. And yes, I mean brutal, like beheadings, and axes to the face; don't let the title fool you.

It is soon after that the tale of Princess Diana (voiced by Keri Russell) is told. It's all here, from pilot Steve Trevor (voiced by Nathan Fillion) crash landing, to the famed contest to become Themyscira's emissary to the United States, even the invisible jet comes along; oh, and let's not forget Ares, the God of War (voiced by Alfred Molina), has escaped from his imprisonment. It is after this that Diana and Steve fly to New York, where Diana learns just how different man's world is from her own; and soon learns of Ares' plot to unleash Hell. And, as usual I'll have to stop there for spoiler reasons, but I assure you, the story will keep you engaged till the last frame.

As with previous DC Universe releases, Wonder Woman is not without a myriad of special features. On the first disc (same as the standard edition) you'll find audio commentary, and a new featurette on the next DC animated film Green Lantern: First Flight; the disc also includes rehashes of Wonder Woman, New Frontier, and Gotham Knight featurettes, as well as some trailers for other Warner Bros. films; a.k a. if you get the standard edition, sorry you.

However, the second disc is a whole other story, as it's specifically for special features (as well as the bonus Digital Copy). First on the disc is a 25 minute documentary, "Wonder Woman: A Subversive Dream," which focuses on Wonder Woman's creator, Dr. William Moulton Marston, and Wonder Woman as an iconic symbol. It's actually a really interesting documented, and one to watch for those that are interested in the character's upbringing. Next on the disc is another documentary, "Wonder Woman: Daughter of Myth," which focuses on the character's fictional origins, and is just as informative as the former. Lastly on the disc are two episodes from Justice League Unlimited, which focus on Wonder Woman's character, and are decent episodes in their own right.

Overall, Wonder Woman is not only a great addition to the animated DC Universe films, it's the best yet. The film excels in its storytelling in that it's straight forward and keeps you interested till the very end. In a sense, it work's better than the previous films, Superman Doomsday and Justice League: The New Frontier, in that the creative team isn't worrying about adapting a known story arc, they keep to the mythos of the character, but yet are able to do it, in a sense, without a boundary. But it's not just the story that does justice, the cast works really well too. Kari Russell sounds great as a serious Princess Diana, while Nathan Fillion counters that with his Captain Hammer-like charm and comedic sass that he channels into Steve Rodgers, and last but not least is Alfred Molina, who does just as menacing and foreboding a job as Ares as he did as Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2. This movie stands well enough on its own, that I feel if a live action film of the character ever comes to fruition, this is the film to beat, hands down.

Overall Score: 9.6/10

I'll be honest, I didn't care much for Wonder Woman prior to this, but the film, as well as the two documentaries have given me a renewed respect for the character. However, I don't think I can explain enough how much higher the bar has been set for future DC animated films because of this. And the funny thing is, I actually planned to not purchase this, because of my disinterest, but I bought it anyways because I have the previous DC Universe films and felt it would be unfair to skip one. Sure, as an animated film, I've seen better visually, but it works for what it is, and excels everywhere else. Not to mention, we failed to give out a VFH Seal of Approval for February; so we'll just call this belated, but much deserved.

Wonder Woman trailer

The first footage of the DC Universe direct-to-DVD series' latest project, Wonder Woman, is now online and at VFHvideo. The movie, as told by it's title, is basically the origin story and first adventures sort of deal, but animated. So insted of a Batman Begins, or Superman movie treatment, Wonder Woman goes animated and right to DVD. It's almost fair though, it's not like there's ever been a Wonder Woman animated series. And not to be whatever, but I'm not sure if I plan to get this DC Universe entry. Sure, I probably will because I have the first three films of the DC Universe series, but the fact that Warner opted for this instead of the Teen Titans: Judas Contract film still bugs me. The February 2009 release date is still months away.


And yes, you may notice, this video has broken our chain of PixelJunk Eden videos, but no worries; as soon as I finish the rest of the Gardens, an Eden Playlist will be made.