Justice League 3D Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		2.5

Justice League 3D Blu-ray Movie Review

Not Much More to See Here

In addition to a 4K/UHD upgrade, Warner Brothers is releasing its cinematic money pit, Justice League, on 3D Blu-ray, although, like all of the studio's recent 3D releases, JL 3D has arrived under the radar, available primarily through Amazon and other online outlets. Warner's continuing commitment to the embattled format is admirable, but JL 3D will do little to strengthen its appeal. The film's 3D post-conversion is as tepid as JL itself, and once again Warner has chosen to shortchange 3D fans by depriving them of the best available audio track.

Justice League 3D Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

(Note: Screenshots accompanying this review are 1080p captures from the standard Blu-ray. Additional captures can be found here.)

I have already discussed Justice League's cinematography and translation to Blu-ray and UHD in earlier reviews. The 3D presentation is a product of post-conversion, and its most striking feature is how little it changes what's already there. An occasional object flies out of the frame—a bullet fired at Wonder Woman by a terrorist, an artillery shell ejected from the cannons atop the Batmobile, or Barry Allen's hand reaching out to grab the batwing projectile that Bruce Wayne has hurled at him—but what's common to all such elements is that they already appeared to be flying out of the screen in the film's standard presentation, because that's how the shots were designed. The 3D conversion adds a slight accent to the existing dimensionality, but it never opens up the frame. Interior spaces acquire a fraction more depth, while outdoor vistas are largely unchanged. Even sequences that one would expect to be eye-catching in 3D, such as the extended battle with Steppenwolf in the tunnel under Gotham Harbor, don't look much different than their flat rendition. An occasional view looking downward from a great height (e.g., the opening scene of Batman luring a Parademon with a terrified burglar) provides a noticeable sensation of enhanced distance, but such moments are few.

It's too bad that nobody thought to make something more interesting out of the destructive tendrils emanating from the so-called "Mother Box" in the film's final act. They're visually banal in the 2D version, and a hefty dose of 3D "pop" would have added greater interest—and maybe even a sense of danger—to a conclusion that is notably lackluster.

JL 3D does offer some of the usual dimensional details that will be familiar to any fan of the format: snowflakes swirling in the foreground as Bruce Wayne journeys to find Aquaman, or flowing seawater—again, in the foreground—as Aquaman and Mera converse in an underwater air pocket, or dust and debris falling—yet again, in the foreground—during the Amazons' efforts to keep the Mother Box away from Steppenwolf. Making objects dance at the front of the frame is one of the most basic techniques in the 3D handbook. But if that's the best a 3D disc has to offer, you might as well save yourself the bother of putting on the glasses.

Justice League 3D Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As has become customary with Warner's 3D discs, the studio has dropped the Dolby Atmos track featured on the standard Blu-ray and UHD and retained the lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 alternative. And here too, as with other such audio downgrades, if one had not heard the Atmos track, one might find the DTS track reasonably satisfying. It's every bit as loud and powerful, with broad dynamic range and deep bass extension. However, as noted in the standard Blu-ray review, JL's mix is unusually restrained when it comes to surround activity, and it's even more so without Atmos' ability to localize discrete effects. The occasional effects that were definitively off-screen in the Atmos mix bleed into the foreground in DTS. Even more noteworthy is the treatment of Danny Elfman's score. In the Atmos mix, it was clearly and distinctly differentiated from the explosive superhero hijinks, but here it blends into the sonic overlay and is occasionally overwhelmed by the din. That's not an uncommon effect with bombastic action soundtracks, but a comparison of the two encodes makes you appreciate anew how effectively Atmos is able to maintain the separation of a soundtrack's individual audio components. If Warner truly wants to support 3D, it needs to start sharing that enhanced capability with the format's fanbase.

Justice League 3D Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The 3D disc contains no extras. The accompanying standard Blu-ray contains the extras previously discussed here.

Justice League 3D Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Where Justice League's 4K treatment added visual spice to a consistently bland enterprise, its 3D conversion has little to offer. And with the removal of the superior Atmos soundtrack, I can't even recommend buying the disc to encourage the studio's continued support for the 3D format. If Warner truly wants to help keep 3D alive, they have to stop cheating its fans of the best available audio.