Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Justice League Unlimited: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 23, 2017

There was a time, really not all that long ago, when if you asked a generalist comic book fan to name their favorite DC imprint, they’d almost invariably choose either Batman or Superman. Similarly, many Marvel fans would have probably opted for Spider-Man, despite the fact that Marvel, much like DC in fact, had a pretty “deep bench” of other characters trotting through various publications. Not to state the obvious, but times have changed, and in fact they have been changing for several years now. Think about the glut of Marvel characters who have had their own films, with both the aforementioned Amazing Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk getting more than one version of their stories to cineplexes, and any number of other franchises, some inextricably linked, offering an almost ungainly array of various superheroes. While certain DC characters have fairly recently made it to the small screen (Supergirl, (Green) Arrow), aside from current phenomenon Wonder Woman, DC’s big screen outings have tended to be limited to those two caped characters (crusaders or otherwise) mentioned a bit earlier as DC icons. For a kind of supermarket of DC characters, though, there’s probably no better place to start than Justice League Unlimited, the retooled version of the earlier animated series Justice League: Season One and Justice League: Season Two. My Justice League: Season One Blu-ray review gives a little background on Bruce Timm and some of the creative decisions that went into the first iteration of Justice League, and some brief but interesting supplements on this current disc under review feature Timm and others discussing how they wanted to rejigger the existing format as Justice League became Justice League Unlimited, with one of their prime motivations being the chance to give screen time to a wider variety of DC superheroes. “Wider variety”, as generic as it is, may be a bit of an understatement nonetheless, as Justice League Unlimited juggles what some may describe as, well, an ungainly array of various characters traipsing through three seasons’ worth of episodes. As with the original Justice League, there are both more or less standalone episodes as well as longer story arcs that play out over the course of several episodes. While the continually changing focus on this or that DC character may cause some to experience whatever the viewer version of attention deficit disorder might be called, Justice League Unlimited is actually a surprisingly involving and satisfying series, one whose occasionally too brief visits with individual characters are probably offset simply by dint of the fact that so many lesser recognized DC heroes are in fact part of the story.

The often quite interesting commentaries included in this three disc set discuss fans’ reactions to suddenly having to deal with literally scores of “new” (at least to the television series) DC characters in Justice League Unlimited, and I have to say as a probably not very representative casual fan, there were indeed characters appearing in various episodes with whom I had little (if sometimes any) familiarity. That said, these same commentaries also address what was a simultaneous complaint by a lot of fans, namely that even with this glut of characters, the show really tends to focus on only a couple at a time. (There are some notable exceptions, as the commentary on “The Return”, one of the episodes “stuffed” with a ton of DC heroes, makes clear.)

The series has a dash of the old and the new as it gets underway, utilizing the Green Arrow as the starting point for a “new, improved” Justice League and a definitely “new, improved” Watchtower. The first episode also at least hints at recurring romantic elements that will spring up between a number of characters throughout the subsequent seasons, in plot points that some fans may feel add little to the proceedings, but which others may find at least somewhat amusing. (The series has a slightly more salacious feel, sometimes almost subliminally, than the first two seasons of Justice League. Some of the interplay between Green Arrow and Black Canary, for example, especially in the Season 2 opener, is at least a bit on the suggestive side.)

Lovers of the new smash film starring Gal Gadot will be pleased to hear Wonder Woman is a regular feature throughout the series, including in what is arguably the silliest if still enjoyable episode of the entire Justice League animated franchise, the supremely ridiculous “My Little Piggy”, which sees the superheroine transformed into something some wags might call that “other” white meat. Another recent live action outing based on a DC franchise which wasn’t met with as much approval as Wonder Woman, namely Suicide Squad, also has an analog in some episodes here, and some fans may in fact prefer the treatment in this supposedly “lesser” form to that offered in one of last year’s biggest budget misfires.

There’s an intentional emphasis on comedy in several episodes of the series that some fans may not prefer, but that said, Justice League Unlimited at least tries to explore some relatively weighty arcs at time, including elements of mind control, drug use, staying employed while aging, and even the presidential aspirations of Lex Luthor which some at least may feel are oddly reflective of our current fractured political climate. The series is perhaps slightly too fragmented, at least at times, to really sustain some of its more potent through lines, but taken as a whole, the three seasons of Justice League Unlimited offer some exciting vignettes and they certainly come close to offering that vaunted advertising slogan from days of yore, “a cast of thousands”.

Justice League Unlimited: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Justice League Unlimited: The Complete Series is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of the Warner Archive Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. While the 3.5 I'm giving this is not that much different from the 4.0 grade I gave to Justice League: Season One, even this lowered score comes with one major caveat: there is repeated line detail instability sprinkled at odd moments throughout various episodes that is noticeable if never downright distracting. This gives at least some isolated moments an upscaled look, something that kind of boggles my mind, especially due to the fact that the odd thing is this is a transitory issue that often only accrues on straight lines (or at least is most noticeable on them). Otherwise, the transfer looks nicely sharp, with an especially well saturated palette. There are occasional "special effects" shots where, for example, a spaceflight encounters turbulence and things are intentionally blurred to indicate that (see screenshot 18), or moments in various attack scenes where things can look relatively soft (see screenshot 15). Some of the CGI is also not especially convincing (see screenshot 5). The bottom line here is there's noticeable quality variances throughout any given episode, and individual tolerances will probably result in equally variant reactions to how problematic this is. Therefore, some fans who are more troubled by these variances may feel even 3.5 is too generous, while those who can overlook these anomalies may feel 3.5 is too harsh.

Justice League Unlimited: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Justice League Unlimited: The Complete Series' audio has both good news and bad news. While the series doesn't have the same lossy audio that the first season did, it also doesn't have even that season's surround track, nor does it have the full bore DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that the second season had. Instead a serviceable if arguably improvable DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track is included. Separation is very good, but low end is a bit anemic at times, especially during action sequences. Midrange and highs (like Black Canary's ear splitting birdcall) sound nicely full, and some of the effects have decent force, but some audiophile fans will certainly be wishing a lossless surround track had been included on the discs.

Justice League Unlimited: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One

• "This Little Piggy" Commentary features Bruce Timm, Producer; James Tucker, Producer; Dwayne McDuffie, Producer; and Paul Dini, Writer.


• "The Return" Commentary features Bruce Timm, Producer; James Tucker, Producer; Dwayne McDuffie, Producer; and Joaquim Dos Santos, Director.

Disc Two

• . . .And Justice for All (480i; 9:11) is an interesting featurette documenting the transition from Justice League to Justice League Unlimited, including some brief but decent interviews.

Disc Three

• Cadmus Exposed (480i; 23:24) is an interesting interview conducted by Mark Hamill with three producers, covering the multi-episode arc of Justice League Unlimited.


• Justice League Chronicles (480i; 33:46) features another group of producers talking about the Legion of Doom arc that followed the Cadmus arc.

Justice League Unlimited: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Justice League Unlimited is a lot of fun, and even occasionally maybe even meaningful, and it certainly offers screen time to a bunch of DC characters whom even longtime fans may not be that familiar with. With the one major caveat regarding the oddly variant video quality on this release, which may in fact cause some viewers to take this off a "must buy" list, Justice League Unlimited comes Recommended.