Justice
League - War (2014/Warner/DC
Comics Blu-ray w/DVD + Digital Copy)
Picture: B-/C+
Sound: B/B- Extras: B Film: B-
As
protective and conservative as Warner/DC may have been in the past
with their characters, over the past decade they have been
increasingly stylistically open to let artists and writers explore
the superhero worlds. This is to say that each animated film that is
released has a very different style about it. From voice acting to
tone, the many ventures into the DC worlds can be night and day; and
here with Justice
League: War
is no different. What does differ is the direction the film takes
with continuity within this particular DC Universe.
Whereas
we had plenty of one-off
presentations in the past, Warner/DC decided (for the better) to take
their straight to video, animated films (starting with Justice
League: Flash Point Paradox)
in a direction that emphasized continuity. Characters will now
reflect on the events of the previous films; impacting on who they
are and what is currently taking place in that universe.
Justice
League: War
introduces us to a world in which Superheroes are among us; each with
their own agenda. While the non-super powered humans grow skeptical
of and protest costumed heroes like Wonder Woman and Superman; the
supers don't even speak to each other. That abruptly changes once a
demonic force named Darkseid enters the picture. He intended to
strip the earth of its natural resources and make humanity his
mindless slaves who will help him on his future conquests. The
supers quickly realize that no one hero can face and defeat Darkseid
on their own; forcing them to join together for the sake of humanity.
The
story then rockets off on a fight-fest for about 70 minutes. Battle
after battle, we don't get the normal my
parents are dead
Batman, I'm
an Amazon Queen
Wonder Woman, or Truth
and Justice!
Superman. Instead we get an all-out battle between good and evil as
our heroes establish The Justice League. If DC holds true to their
word, this will be the first of many ventures into the world of the
Justice League in this particular universe.
Whereas
I don't think this was the best straight to home video animated
feature to date; it had heart and was entertaining. I can't wait to
see what the future has in store for our heroes.
The
technical features here on Blu-ray are not as great as fans would
expect. The picture is presented in a 1080p, 1.78 X 1 image that
demonstrates solid colors and inky blacks; but concurrently has an
inconsistent image that appears soft, while also displaying some
banding issues. The sound is somewhat better in its 5.1 DTS-HD
Master Audio track; presenting crisp, clean dialogue and solid use of
the surrounds for both panning effects and ambient noises. My gripe
(as with other DC releases) is that it lacks that extra umph
as it is not nearly as aggressive as it should be for a superhero
feature.
The
DVD and Digital copies included in this set are merely downgrades of
the nice Blu-ray release.
The
extras include:
Justice
League War Act D: From Animatic to Pencil Test
A
Sneak Peek at future Warner/DC animated films
Deconstructing
War (featurette)
Creating
Heroes: The Life and Art of Jim Lee (featurette)
From
the DC Comics Vault
-
Michael P. Dougherty II
