Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Justice League: Gods & Monsters Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown July 21, 2015

Justice Leagues: Gods and Monsters is a solid little Elseworlds tale. Bold even, considering Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne and Princess Diana are nowhere to be found. Superman is the son of Zod, not Jor-El, in a clever alteration to Supe's origin. Batman is Kirk Langstrom (in other realities, Man-Bat), a genetically altered vampire-like creature with super strength and a thirst for blood. Wonder Woman is scorned Princess Bekka, granddaughter of New God Highfather. And the Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and Martian Manhunter? MIA. This is certainly not the Justice League you know and love... although after this smartly conceived introduction, you may find yourself hoping executive producer Bruce Timm and co-producer Alan Burnett will dream up sequels that keep tabs on this darker, less righteous JLA in the future.

Witness the divergent reality where the Justice League protects the planet but answers to no one but themselves. Employing methods of intimidation and fear, this Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman deal brute force in the name of justice. When a group of famed scientists begin experiencing untimely "accidents," a government task force follows the trail of clues to the Justice League -- Superman (voiced by Benjamin Bratt), Batman (Michael C. Hall) and Wonder Woman (Tamara Taylor) -- but is there a more powerful player operating from the shadows? It's a high stakes game of intrigue, mystery and action that asks the question: how do you serve justice to those above the law?

Ideas are sharper than execution in Gods and Monsters, but fans familiar (and perhaps bored) with the tried and true JLA, particularly the New 52 JLA, will jump at the chance to meet Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett's new breed of bloodier, more brutal antiheroes. Each Leaguer earns a lengthy origin flashback -- though two, important as they are, come later in the movie and disrupt the flow -- and each one has an intriguing character arc, leading to the formation of a more principled, ahem "heroic" team. The action is nicely handled too, as is the central mystery, which involves three deadly, seemingly unstoppable, possibly alien assassins killing off scientists and framing the Justice League for the murders. The reveal of the plot's moustache-twirling mastermind is rather mwa ha ha, and a bit too left field, but it's deeply connected to one of the JLA members, skips right past a few giant red herrings, and pays off to one degree or another.

Also in the mix are variations of Lex Luthor (Jason Isaacs), a Metron-esque quadriplegic who's removed himself from public life; Steve Trevor (Tahmoh Penikett), a tough as nails commander tasked with reigning in the JLA if they go rogue; Dr. Will Magnus (C. Thomas Howell), whose Metal Men get a snazzy nanobot overhaul; Amanda Waller (Penny Johnson Jerald), President of the United States; Highfather (Richard Chamberlain), arranging a marriage between his granddaughter and the son of Darkseid, Orion (Josh Keaton); and a who's who of name-drop scientists, including Silas Stone (Carl Lumbly) and his son Victor (Taylor Parks), the once and future Cyborg. It's all good fun and DC Comics trivia junkies will be in name-that-cameo heaven. Villains are reimagined as heroes. Heroes reimagined as villains. And plenty of small, satisfying surprises lurk around every corner.

Gods and Monsters isn't without its flaws, chief among them some questionable voice casting, stiff dialogue delivery and a third act triple twist that isn't as climactic or impactful as it's meant to be. The visuals aren't the best Warner Bros. Animation has given us either, though the animation is more than serviceable. With a tighter script, a longer runtime, and a more compelling Big Bad, it might have entered the pantheon of great DCU animated original movies. As is, Gods and Monsters has a lot going for it, despite losing its power over multiple viewings. The first time through is easily the best. I doubt anyone will be pulling this one off their shelf over and over again, especially when several DCU original movies boast higher rewatchability.

Justice League: Gods & Monsters Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Banding and macroblocking, hurrah, hurrah. Once again, a 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video presentation of a DCU animated original movie proves itself tricky to evaluate and score. Color bands and artifacts are faint but rather common, though almost every instance appears to be inherent to the original animation and is not indicative of an issue with the encode. Mild distractions abound, yes (for those sensitive to such things), but the image quality couldn't be much better than it is. Colors are strong, primaries pierce an otherwise bland palette, black levels are inky, contrast is consistently satisfying, and detail is on point. The animators' line art is also quite crisp, while what little pixilation or aliasing there is, you guessed it, traces back to the source. (Typically these anomalies are limited to shots that utilize an artificial "camera" zoom or CG-animated elements.) Fortunately, most fans will be completely unsurprised by the issues the Blu-ray release of Gods and Monsters exhibits. It's become par for the DCU HD course.

Justice League: Gods & Monsters Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Warner's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is suitably engaging and exciting. Explosions resonate, sword strikes and laser fire ring true, super-powered fisticuffs rage, helicopters and tanks rumble and roar, and the movie's soundscape earns its keep. Voices are clean, clear and well prioritized (though Hall's monotone droning registers a tad low), effects are spread carefully throughout the soundfield, and directionality is decidedly decent. Ad to that plenty of low-end oomph and you have an action-packed animated spectacle that gets the job done. It's not jaw-dropping but it is fairly remarkable, at least as far as DCU animated original movie sound design goes.

Justice League: Gods & Monsters Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Alternate Realities: Infinite Possibilities (HD, 19 minutes): DC Entertainment Creative Director of Animation Mike Carlin, DC Entertainment Co-Publisher Dan DiDio, Gods and Monsters executive producer Bruce Timm, co-producer Alan Burnett, Throne of Atlantis writer Heath Corson and DC Entertainment CCO Geoff Johns dig into the history of DC Comics' Elseworlds stories and touch on several notable variations of its iconic characters.
• Calculated Risk: The Making of Gods and Monsters (HD, 24 minutes): "We're taking a chance with this one." Carlin, Burnett, Timm, Johns and others discuss the challenges of developing, writing, animating and marketing such a dramatically different take on the Justice League.
• The New Gods (HD, 22 minutes): Highfather, Darkseid, Orion and Mister Miracle... created by Jack Kirby in 1970 and embraced by fans ever since. DiDio, author Paul Levitz, comic book historian Alan Kistler and writer/artist Walter Simonson discuss Kirby's career, his innovative art, his approach to character design and visual storytelling, and, of course, the New Gods.
• From the DC Comics Vault (HD/SD, 44 minutes): Two episodes are available: "Phantoms" from Legion of Super Heroes and "Brave New Metropolis" from Superman: The Animated Series.
• Batman: Bad Blood (HD, 12 minutes): A sneak peak at the next DCU animated original movie, Batman: Bad Blood, which features the series' introduction of Batwoman.

Justice League: Gods & Monsters Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Justice League: Gods and Monsters is a leaner, meaner Elseworlds beast than I expected. It has its flaws, sure, but it also has enough killer ideas and cleverly reimagined heroes and villains to make it well worth watching. Here's hoping Timm and Burnett continue to revisit this alternate reality. Warner's Blu-ray release is less surprising. Its video presentation is striking but predictably problematic, its DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track delivers, and its supplemental package has several interesting documentaries about the history of Elseworlds stories, Jack Kirby's New Gods, and the making of Gods and Monsters.