Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Justice League vs the Fatal Five 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Randy Miller III April 12, 2019

Note: All screenshots are taken from the 1080p Blu-ray. Please read my separate Blu-ray review of this title for 20 additional images.

As the 34th entry in DC’s Animated Universe (which dates back to 2007’s Superman: Doomsday) and the eleventh to feature some variant of its ever-changing title team of superheroes, Sam Liu’s Justice League vs. the Fatal Five (2019) understandably has big ambitions. This 77-minute adventure kicks off during a conflict between members of the Legion of Super-Heroes (Star Boy, Saturn Girl, and Braniac 5) and three-fifths of the Fatal Five (Mano, Persuader and Tharok), who have recently attacked the Legion’s headquarters to steal their time-travel device. They partially succeed and are on their way back almost a full millennium to 21st century Metropolis…but not before Star Boy hitches a ride and ends up in Gotham City, even managing to trap the Fatal Five members in their machine during the journey. As in most time-travel stories, however, the real enemy is culture shock: Star Boy is fresh out of a mind-stabilizing medication that, as it turns out, has not been invented yet. After his erratic outburst at a nearby drugstore, the police approach Star Boy but he’s eventually hauled off to Arkham Asylum courtesy of Batman himself.

The other half -- or one-third, more accurately, since things eventually get pretty complicated -- concerns the fate of young Jessica Cruz, who’s still fighting the horrific memory of an attack several years ago that left two friends dead. She’s depressed, paranoid and, won’t even leave her apartment some days. The therapist isn’t helping much, either. To make matters worse, she was recently chosen by a Green Lantern ring and even approached by Wonder Woman to join the Justice League. The stories eventually converge when the Fatal Five Three escape Star Boy’s trap (even Superman is injured by their 31st century weapons), Jessica Cruz finally decides to follow her true calling, Star Boy is revealed to be a secret weapon, and the remaining Fatals (Emerald Empress and Validus) join the party.

There’s more to Justice League vs. the Fatal Five -- a lot more -- which ultimately forms a bloated plot that’s far too complex for a 77-minute production. The film’s wildly varying tone also leads to a few surprising moments: the cliched time-travelling plot and C-list characters give it a high cornball factor (can anyone make Mister Terrific cool?) that would be more at home in a kids’ show, but its most violent scenes are closer to R than its PG-13 rating implies. There’s nothing extremely graphic here, but these moments stand in much greater contrast because of Justice League vs. the Fatal Five’s softer elements. The “Timm-Verse” style of artwork is also a factor, but another key element hurts this film as well: its stiff animation, which renders a number of action scenes less than fluid. It’s kind of petty to criticize any film for budgetary limitations, but I’d have traded a few of the more well-known voice actors for slicker animation. Luckily, the stray effects shots and excellent original score carry more weight than usual, which ends up giving Justice League vs. the Fatal Five an almost big-screen atmosphere that exceeds the story’s grasp.

Still, those already attached to the DCU’s Justice League animated movies should enjoy themselves. The scattershot story and bad pacing are kind of a mess but it has a few great moments, not to mention lots of little details that will please and/or infuriate those who closely follow DCU continuity. As an aside, I also appreciated the plot elements featuring mental illness, a topic rarely covered in films of this type; it’s handled maturely and, though unsurprisingly overshadowed by superhero and sci-fi tropes, still manages to stand out for all the right reasons. All things considered, Justice League vs. the Fatal Five is a flawed but decent continuation of DC’s animated run and gets another solid 4K release from Warner Bros. Featuring a stellar A/V presentation and an assortment of quality bonus features (though very few of them focus on the film itself), it’s a solid effort that improves upon the studio's already-great Blu-ray.

Justice League vs the Fatal Five 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warner Bros.' 4K presentation of Justice League vs. the Fatal Five pushes an already-great visual presentation into stronger territory with the benefit of high dynamic range (Note: the studio's press release advertised Dolby Vision, but all signs point to this being a standard HDR10 presentation). Although the aforementioned "Timm-Verse" art style isn't heavy on fine details and looks flatter than most DCAU movies, that doesn't mean that 4K increased resolution can't give it an overall more stable and eye-catching appearance. Additionally, the better encode also substantially cuts down on banding, which gives both subtle and strong color gradients a much smoother and more natural appearance. Black levels are also deeper on occasion, revealing a bit more shadow detail without succumbing to obvious crush in the process. But perhaps the biggest beneficiary is Justice League vs. the Fatal Five's palette, as the wider color gamut made possible by HDR gives almost every scene a deeper and more complex appearance than the Blu-ray in direct comparison. It's a worthwhile improvement, especially given the film's flatter animation style, and the added punch of its already-vivid colors are quite noticeable. While the bonus features and audio on this release are the same as its Blu-ray counterpart, the visual improvements make this 4K edition the best one available.

Justice League vs the Fatal Five 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Likewise, the DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track is a clear winner from every angle; while the Atmos mix originally advertised in Warner Bros.' press release was unfortunately scrapped (it's not the first time this has happened to a WB animated title), this basic surround track certainly does the job well enough. Dialogue is cleanly recorded with no defects, drop-outs, or sync issues and is mostly anchored squarely up front with occasional separation between the left, center, and right channels. As expected, surrounds are largely reserved for outdoor ambiance, heavier action scenes, and the original score by Michael McCuistion, Lolita Ritmanis, and Kristopher Carter. Plenty of well-placed and dynamic panning effects keep things lively from start to finish, while the low end is represented strongly during several key moments. Although an Atmos mix would've put Justice League vs. The Fatal Five one over the top, there's almost nothing to complain about here – it's a great-sounding track that complements the visuals nicely.

Optional English (SDH), French, and Spanish subtitles are included during the main feature and extras, as well as both foreign Dolby Digital 5.1 dubs during the film only. The former are cleanly rendered with no sync issues.

Justice League vs the Fatal Five 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

All bonus features listed below are included on the Blu-ray disc only.

• Audio Commentary with Executive Producer Bruce Timm, Director Sam Liu, and Screenwriters Jim Krieg & Eric Carrasco - This scene-specific commentary covers a lot of ground including the original score, Star Boy's costume and the digital tools used to create it, covering a butt, character development, assembling the voice cast, setting the film in Portland (and avoiding copyright infringement), how to win a No-Prize, maintaining and/or breaking continuity, avoiding disaster porn, visual effects and animation, favorite and least favorite moments, laughing at dialogue, abandoned ideas, and much more. It's a very lively and entertaining track with almost no lapses into silence, even though they end up narrating a few scenes along the way.

• A Sneak Peek at Batman: Hush (9:18, 1080p) takes a quick look at the DC Universe's upcoming animated movie, offering comments from select members of the voice cast and crew including director Justin Copeland, producer James Tucker, voice director Wes Gleason, and writer/producer Jim Krieg, who talk about developing the original story, assembling the voice cast. and other topics. There's also artwork from the original comic series by Jim Lee and Jeph Loeb, concept designs, and a few short clips from the soon-to-be-released product.

• Battling the Invisible Menace (8:05, 1080p) seems like it might be a standard overview of the movie's plot, but actually ends up examining the mental challenges faced by its main characters in addition to physical ones. It doesn't dig much deeper than surface-level but the refreshing subject matter is certainly welcome.

• Justice League vs. Fatal Five: Unity of Hero (15:11, 1080p) talks about the diversity of Justice League members, both from the perspective of social/cultural responsibility and as a way to tell a greater variety of stories. This piece occasionally threatens to become one of those annoying PSA-style "cover your ass" featurettes (a clinical psychologist is even featured at one point, and also appears in the previous supplement), but other comments by members of the creative team bring this one down to a more tolerable level.

• Sneak Peek Revisited: A Preview of Justice League Dark (8:12, 1080p) - A quick overview of the 2018 occult-themed DCU animated movie featuring John Constantine, Deadman, Zatanna, Jason Blood, Swamp Thing, and more. Like the Hush preview, it includes concept art, comic panels, highlight clips, and words from producer James Tucker, DC creative director Mike Carlin, director Jay Oliva, and other members of the creative team.

• Sneak Peek Revisited: A Preview of Justice League vs. Teen Titans (11:31, 1080p) similarly examines the 2016 DCU animated movie and features comments from key members of the cast and crew, a brief overview of the Teen Titans throughout comic history, clips from the finished film, and glimpses of early artwork.

• From the DC Vault: Legion of Superheroes, "Man of Tomorrow" (22:44, 1080p / Dolby Digital 2.0) - This first episode of the series premiered on September 23, 2006 and features a few familiar characters including Superman, Saturn Girl, and of course The Fatal Five as their primary villains. It looks solid in 1080p, too.

• From the DC Vault: Justice League Unlimited, "Far From Home" (22:57, 1080p / Dolby Digital 2.0) - Another animated episode from 2006 that serves as the 10th episode of JLU's third season in which Supergirl, Green Lantern, and Green Arrow are sent to the 31st century to help the Legion of Superheroes battle The Fatal Five. Unlike the previous extra, this episode is already on Blu-ray but still nice to see here.

Justice League vs the Fatal Five 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Although its story has big-screen ambitions, Justice League vs. The Fatal Five ends up feeling less substantial than it wants to be, largely due to the stiff animation and several lower-tier primary characters. Still, this direct-to-video production has its moments and, if nothing else, often feels like a spiritual continuation of DC's earlier animated series. Warner Bros.' 4K edition offers the best A/V presentation currently available and a slew of bonus features (including an enjoyable audio commentary), although many of them focus on related animated films and TV shows. Despite my reservations about the main feature, it's a decent value for the asking price and comes recommended to established fans of DC's ever-expanding animated universe.