Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Justice Society: World War II Blu-ray Movie Review

Time travel, no DeLorean needed.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III May 5, 2021

In DC's growing animated universe, time travel stories are nothing new... and Jeff Wamester's Justice Society: World War II isn't even the first one to span multiple Earths. But a lot of Nazis get punched, and that's never a bad thing. Its dual setups begin on Earth-2, where President Franklin Roosevelt is urged by Colonel Steve Trevor to assemble a team of superhumans to combat Hitler, and thus the Justice Society of America is born: Wonder Woman, Hawkman, Black Canary, Hourman, and Flash (the Jay Garrick version), as well as decidedly non-super Steve Trevor himself.

Meanwhile on Earth-1, modern-day Flash (Barry Allen) and his longtime girlfriend Iris West are enjoying a picnic in the park until Brainiac comes to town. He's met by Superman, who's nearly shot with a Krytonite bullet before Flash speeds to the rescue. Unfortunately, Flash goes a little too fast and limit-breaks his Speed Force, ending up smack-dab in the middle of Earth-2's France during a full-on Nazi occupation. Soon enough, the JSA temporarily grows by one.

At least that's how it starts. Justice Society: World War II travels a short and winding road to its destination, with the end result being a somewhat uneven and patchy adventure that, while not without its bright spots, feels like a handful of brainstorm sessions somewhat awkwardly fused together. A few good pieces are in place: modern-day Flash makes for a pretty fun straight man, the presence of war correspondent "Shakespeare" and his later reveal is a nice diversion, much of the hand-to-hand fight combat is fantastically hard-hitting, and the third act features an over-the-top monster invasion capped off with an admittedly fun and efficient ending sequence that ties everything up nicely.

But the mediocre almost ends up outweighing the good here, starting with Justice Society's relatively bland supporting characters -- a complaint that applies to the movie and the actual group. Wonder Woman and maybe Steve Rogers are the only semi-bright spots here, with lame ducks like Black Canary and Hourman feeling more like bit players that wandered in from another movie. (Even a third-act sacrifice by one of the JSA members lands somewhat flatly, and is only exacerbated by Black Canary's laughably inept scream-fest.) And aside from those last-minute monsters, Justice Society lacks a compelling villain: Advisor -- the Earth-2 version of Psycho-Pirate -- is OK at best, as is the superhuman under his control, but aside from that it's basically just nameless Nazi soldiers... which again, get hilariously decimated. But when mostly bland heroes do battle with mostly bland villains, who's surprised by the end result?

While the movie as a whole is decently entertaining during several key stretches, there's a lack of polish here that makes it much closer to mid-tier DC animated fare; this is more of a "complete the collection" title than some kind of hidden gem. But its fleeting moments of greatness -- most of which occur within the first and last 20 minutes -- might be enough to win over more ardent fans of JSA, and if nothing else Warner Bros.' Blu-ray edition serves up passable (but not perfect) A/V support and a surprisingly nice collection of bonus features. Justice Society still isn't exactly the most essential DCAU production or purchase in recent memory... but it'll do until a better one arrives.

Justice Society: World War II Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

I'm not sure about the general fan consensus for the art style used for DCAU films like Superman: Man of Tomorrow which continues with Justice Society, but I find it appealingly bold and eye-catching. Sure, the character designs are mostly flat, but they contract nicely with WB Animation's painterly background and create an and result that, to me, looks really good. (The animation, on the other hand, can be quite stiff and choppy at times, but I'd chalk that up to budget limitations rather than artistic shortcomings.) Either way, it's rendered decently on this 1080p transfer which showcases the persistent lack of color built into most WWII-themed productions; there are exceptions, of course, but anyone expecting vivid primaries and other bold hues will probably walk away disappointed. But the line-heavy artwork comes through with very few stability issues and fine detail is limited to its source material; most wide shots aren't exactly loaded with flourishes, nor are the disarmingly featureless close- ups of many main and supporting characters. Where the Blu-ray occasionally runs into trouble is compression: I noticed more obvious artifacts on certain flat colors and gradients alike, which usually resulted in a slightly chunky appearance for otherwise smooth colors, as well as more than a few moments of mild banding. It's not distractingly bad, especially in-motion... but these issues aren't as apparent on the separate 4K edition, which makes that disc the better option for die-hard fans.

Justice Society: World War II Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Justice Society's mostly straightforward DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix offers a pretty predictable blend of front-heavy dialogue, supportive music cues, and a dialed-up presence during most of the film's chaotic fight sequences, which utilize a lot more punches and kicks than typical WWII encounters. Paired regularly with these fights -- and to great effect during one particularly satisfying Nazi beat-down -- is Flash's super-speed, which often ventures into the rear channels to create a more immediately dynamic atmosphere. Elsewhere, gunfire and explosion pack a decent punch, with outdoor locales showcasing reasonably good depth -- even though almost none of these battles are especially crowded, likely due to budget limitations. Like the visuals themselves, the overall sonic effect does travel to a few unexpected locations but, for the most part, this surround mix sounds very similar to most recent DCAU productions: definitely good enough to get the job done, but lacking the more immersive heft of an Atmos track.

Optional English (SDH) and Spanish subtitles are included during the main feature and extras.

Justice Society: World War II Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This two-disc release arrives in a dual-hubbed keepcase with a matching slipcover and two inserts including a Digital Copy redemption slip. All bonus features listed below can be found on the included Blu-ray disc.

• DC Showcase – Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth! (18:03) - This enjoyable throwback adventure, based on the 1970s comic series created by (and strongly mimicking the visual aesthetic of) Jack Kirby, features the title character's adventures in a post-apocalyptic dystopia. Along with a few non-humans such as mutant Ben Boxer, tiger prince Tuftan, and hulking gorilla-man Zuma, Kamandi competes in a physical contest to crown "The Chosen One", heir to the throne of a supreme being who saved Earth ages ago. Featuring a colorful roster of characters and great visuals, it's another one-shot winner I hope to see more of in the future.

• Adventures in Storytelling (30:04) - An entertaining roundtable discussion with five members of Justice Society's creative team: director Jeff Wamester, producer Jim Krieg, supervising producer Butch Lukic, and co-writers Meghan Fitzmartin and Jeremy Adams. All five speak candidly about the story's patchwork creation and their love for its characters, as well as several challenges and successes during production.

• A Sneak Peek at DC Universe's Next Animated Movie (10:29) - This promo is for DC's upcoming Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One, based on the seminal comic mini-series by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. A few cast and crew members (including writer Tim Sheridan, director Chris Palmer, producer Jim Krieg, and members of the voice cast including the late Naya Rivera) offer their thoughts, while glimpses of the upcoming film are seen as finished clips, storyboards, and rough animatics, some of which are compared to original comic panels. But geez, they couldn't have stretched out the running time another two seconds? So close!

• Preview - Justice League vs. Teen Titans (11:29) - This outdated promo for DCAU original movie #26, Justice League vs Teen Titans, originally appeared on WB's Blu-ray edition of Batman: Bad Blood.

• Preview - Wonder Woman - Bloodlines (9:59) - Another recycled featurette, this preview for Wonder Woman: Bloodlines originally appeared on WB's 4K and Blu-ray editions of Batman: Hush.

• From the DC Vault - Two full-length episodes of Justice League - "Legends", parts 1 (21:57) and 2 (21:45), which originally aired in 2002 during the show's first season. Like the other recycled extras in this collection, these episodes look identical to the earlier counterparts but are limited to lossy Dolby Digital audio.

Justice Society: World War II Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jeff Wamester's Justice Society: World War II was, according to its creative team, created from multiple source elements including a WWII-era Wonder Woman series that, like many ideas, was pitched but never materialized. Its patchwork origins really show in the finished product, giving it an uneven episodic flow that's only fitfully exciting and populated by mostly lackluster supporting characters. But there are some unsurprisingly great moments here (Nazi punching!) and the finale hits all the right notes... so at the very least, it'll leave you smiling at the end and that might boost its replay value and staying power a little. Warner Bros.' Blu-ray edition offers decent A/V support and many of its bonus features are very enjoyable. Even so, I'd recommend the 4K edition over this Blu-ray; although its colors don't get a huge boost, the line-heavy visuals are rendered more cleanly with no compression issues.