JUSTICE LEAGUE: WAR
(2014, Blu-ray released February 4, 2014 – MSRP $24.98)
THE FILM:
- “When the powerful Darkseid and his massive, relentless forces invade Earth, a group of previously unaligned super heroes – misunderstood and, in some cases, hunted by the authorities – discover the only way to fend off the attack will be to work together as a cohesive unit. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Shazam and, in his origin story, Cyborg combine their respective talents in an all-out battle to save the planet. Based on the 2012 graphic novel, “Justice League: Origin,” by Geoff Johns & Jim Lee, JUSTICE LEAGUE: WAR provides a glance into the world before the Justice League was created, and offers the initial animated incarnation of DC Entertainment’s “The New 52.” “
REVIEW:
There’s a lot to like in this incarnation of Justice League but I don’t think it’s for me. Justice League: War is aptly named as most of its brief 79-minute runtime is taken up with battle scenes. Which is great in a comic book action adventure animated feature, don’t get me wrong. But the characters really suffer. There’s only so much you can do in such a short time with such a grand cast. And Justice League: War, for my money doesn’t quite succeed.
But the animation is bananas, with strong character designs by Phil Bourassa (Young Justice) and a powerful score by Kevin Kliesch. The voice acting, as usual, is top notch.
Justice League: War is a typical DC animation Blu-ray release with an encode that’s most likely faithful to a source that exhibits “flaws” like the occasional moment of colour banding or aliasing. It looks great for what it is – bright and colourful and very modern – and only suffers at the hands of the lower budget of the feature animation itself. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is suitably aggressive and dynamic. Excellent.
I enjoyed the special features on the Justice League: War Blu-ray but they’re not perfect. In lieu of a full commentary track, Jim Lee, illustrator of the original comics from which the film has been adapted, and director Jay Oliva sit down for a 20-minute long video examination of key scenes. They cover enough material that it feels like a nearly complete commentary track. Lee is also featured in a half-hour long biography doc which is only really relevant to the comic book crowd. The 24-minute long “Act D: From Animatic to Pencil Test” is often technical and offers a deeper look inside the creation of the film. There’s also a 9-minute long preview of the next DC animation project, Son of Batman, and four SD episodes of older DC Universe animated shows.
SCREENSHOTS:
Click to enlarge
(Note: All screenshots are created in the lossy jpg format which may cause additional compression artifacts and noise in the image.)
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- A Sneak Peek at Son of Batman – A look into the next DC Animated Feature with the creators and cast.
- Deconstructing Justice League: War with Jay Oliva & Jim Lee – Part commentary, part documentary, director Jay Oliva teams up with artist Jim Lee to compare and contrast the comic to screen process of some of the most memorable moments in the film.
- Creating Heroes: The Life and Art of Jim Lee – This documentary film explores the work of the master artist, from his early days to his current position at DC and collaboration with Geoff Johns.
- Justice League: War Act D – From animatic to pencil test.
- From the DC Comics Vault:
- Justice League Unlimited Season 3 “Destroyer”
- Batman: The Brave and The Bold Season 2 “The Malicious Mr. Mind”
- Young Justice Invasion: Destiny Calling Season 2 Part 1 “Happy New Year”
- Young Justice Invasion: Destiny Calling Season 2 Part 1 “Earthlings”
- Standard DVD and UltraViolet Digital Copy of the film
