Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths – DVD Review

The Film:

If anything in terms of the superhero animated films, DC/WB and Bruce Timm know how to successful juggle an assemble of characters. While Batman: The Animated Series is constantly applauded, I found their work on Justice League to be nearly superior in many ways. It’s tough balancing all of those characters and yet they did it, episode after episode. This film was long in-development as it was meant to bridge the first Justice League series into the newest one (at the time) Justice League Unlimited, and one should recall a couple of these alternative universe stories from that show. They reworked the idea, erasing links to the show for a solo adventure in Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, and while this film really offers nothing new story-wise, it’s nearly a pure 70-minute action fest.

Basically, we get trouble on one universe and they ask for help to the other universe’s heroes. Eh, been there, done that. The film isn’t quite the best DC Animation has done for that reason alone. The animation is still on par with past efforts and the overall film is pretty decent. Usually it’s hard to argue any imperfections in these DC Animated films because the stories are so good. But this one really doesn’t excite as it should have, especially after a mini-arc in the television show dealing with this very dueling universe idea. Lex Luthor is good in this other universe and the Justice League are bad. That dynamic isn’t interesting anymore.

Luckily, the action is incredible and constant. The fights are really this film’s selling card. Maybe it’s all we really want at this juncture. But the flaws continuously pop up. Not just in the story, but the voice acting isn’t well cast as previous films from this team. William Baldwin is a weak Batman, plain and simple. I won’t get into the whole debate on keeping Kevin Conroy, but Baldwin doesn’t have the menace and pain needed in Batman’s voice. On the other universe, Owlman (a mock Batman) is wonderfully voiced by James Woods. In fact, he and he alone possible save this film from being a passable time-waster to you should watch this. Woods is creepy, witty, and a perfect villain.

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths is a decent watch, but you might have to forgive it’s flaws to really enjoy it. Plot holes, a half-developed love story subplot, weak voice casting aside, I guess one can say at least with this film, DC Animation was on cruise control. Not entirely a bad thing, but this idea and film needed some zest to succeed.

The DVD:

Audio/Video: Warners always puts on a superb disc, and this is no exception. Bold, bright colors, decent level of detail, no source flaws, making it look as good as standard def can allow. The audio is equally as good, featuring plenty of bass and surround activity.

This is the one-disc release. The two-disc Special Edition and Blu-ray feature a slew of extras.

DC Animation First Look: Here’s a preview of the next animated film from them called Batman: Under the Red Hood. Like all of their previews, they show more than just a trailer. I can’t help but be really excited for this one, even though Batman has been used in animation ad nausea.

Conclusion: With a weak story, this film is passable due to the constant action and James Woods as Owlman.

The Film: Rating:

The DVD: Rating: