6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.4 |
The fate of the earth hangs in the balance when the Justice League face a powerful new threat – the Fatal Five! Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman seek answers as Mano, Persuader and Tharok terrorize Metropolis in search of budding Green Lantern Jessica Cruz. With Cruz's unwilling help, they aim to free remaining Fatal Five members Emerald Empress and Validus and carry out their sinister plan. Meanwhile, the Justice League discover an ally in the peculiar Star Boy, who's brimming with volatile power. Could he be the key to thwarting the Fatal Five? An epic battle against ultimate evil awaits!
Starring: Kevin Conroy, Susan Eisenberg, George Newbern, Elyes Gabel, Diane GuerreroComic book | 100% |
Animation | 64% |
Fantasy | 58% |
Sci-Fi | 58% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Note: Please read my separate 4K UHD review of this title for 20 additional 1080p screenshots.
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.
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 Blu-
ray from Warner Bros. Featuring a strong A/V presentation and an assortment of quality extras (though not all of them focus on the main
feature),
it’s a well-rounded disc that’s only bested by its separate 4K counterpart.
Presented in its original 1.78:1 aspect ratio, Justice League vs. The Fatal Five looks very good on Warner Bros.' 1080p transfer; it's easily on par with the studio's more recent animated titles, although the aforementioned "Timm-Verse" art style lends it a much difference appearance than most of them. The film's ultra-clean and sleek character designs and backgrounds aren't exactly loaded with fine detail or texture but the colors and striking line-work make up for it. Colors are vivid and well-saturated with no obvious bleeding, from bold primaries to subtle background variances that keep things visually interesting from start to finish. What's more is that Justice League vs. The Fatal Five doesn't suffer from many common digital imperfections such as compression artifacts, aliasing, or edge enhancement and, though obvious examples of banding can be spotted in some of the color gradients, this is almost expected in 1080p and really not all that distracting. Black levels run extremely deep with many scenes displaying a strong amount of depth despite the fundamentally flatter style of animation used. Overall, this is a solid effort that only looks more impressive on the separately available 4K edition, but even those limited to Blu-ray will enjoy themselves.
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) and French subtitles are included during the main feature and extras, as well as a Dolby Digital 5.1 French dub during the film only. The former are white and cleanly rendered with no sync issues.
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.' Blu-ray adds a lot of support including a solid A/V presentation and a slew of extras (including an enjoyable audio commentary), although many of them focus on related animated films and TV shows. It's still a pretty decent value for the asking price and comes recommended to established fans of the DC animated universe.
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