Review of Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010) by Alejandro F — 25 Feb 2010

I admit to being a sucker for all things Justice League. And most things superhero. So I'm not really sure how impartial I'm being here but I really enjoyed this DC Animated. More so than most of the others in the series.

Two of the biggest high points for me are weirdly at opposite ends of the spectrum. I enjoyed the main villains deeply philosophical nihilism and the way various characters reacted to it. And I loved the fights. Both were well crafted and showcased the story. In a simple way that's what I love about superheroes: Surprisingly complex moral frameworks. And kicking ass.

The voice acting was generally quite good. Sure, it wasn't the same as the JLU Animated Series, but I still enjoyed it. But really, if you're married to earlier versions of these characters and the like, guess what? Nothing new will ever make you happy.

Batman was a bit weak at times, but even he had his moments and while it took Mark Harmon a bit to get into Superman when he did it was pretty much spot on. Everyone else was at least decent and in some cases very good. James Woods are Owlman was among these standouts, but then that's to be expected.

The story was a bit rushed, but it still worked well in the time frame given.

Also, since this was a direct to DVD/Blu Ray animated I think its fair to review the other included features with it and factor that into the rating. And really, the extras here are well worth it. The short original feature, The Spectre, was an excellent film noir style detective story. The inclusion of four very good episodes of the Justice League TV show, including two that are a thematic fraternal twin the main feature, was also welcome. And if that's not enough you also get some making ofs, previews, and two DC comics based pilots for Wonder Woman (the Linda Carter one from the 70s) and Aquaman (which never got made into a series but whose star Justin Hartley impressed enough to be cast in Smallville as a totally different hero, Green Arrow).

So yeah, hard not to recommend this to folks even a bit interested, especially once one looks at the whole package.