Justice League Vs. Teen Titans [Blu-Ray]

Director: Sam Liu

Cast:  Rosario Dawson, Jason O’Mara, Stuart Allan (VOICES)

Release Date: Available on Blu-Ray & DVD April 12, 2016

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 8/10
Disc Rating: 7.5/10

Synopsis:

Justice League vs. Teen Titans welcomes the Teen Titans to the ever-expanding canon of classic DC Comics characters within the DC Universe Original Movies. When Damian’s over-aggressive tendencies almost destroy a Justice League mission, he is sent to learn teamwork by training alongside the Teen Titans. However, adjusting Damian’s attitude turns out to be the least of the Teen Titans’ troubles as Raven’s satanic, world-conquering father Trigon begins an escape from his inter-dimensional prison. To complete his return, Trigon must have Raven’s assistance – and to accomplish his goal, he spreads his demonic forces across the globe, infiltrating the minds and bodies of the Justice League to do his bidding. To save the universe and prevent a literal hell on Earth, the Teen Titans must rescue – or defeat – the Justice League, and intern Trigon for all eternity.

The latest entry in the ongoing series of animated DC Universe Original Movies ‘Justice League Vs. Teen Titans’ introduces the ‘Teen Titans’ into the mix, while (for the most part) indirectly connecting the film with the last few Batman titles with Damien Wayne picking up the Robin mantle within the Titans for the first time. Fed up with being underused and underappreciated within the League, Damian reluctantly joins with a team of fellow teenage heroes including Raven, Blue Beetle, Beast Boy and Starfire just as the hidden past of one of the members puts the entire team, as well as the Justice League and possibly the entire world at risk. Now, Damian will have to learn to trust his new teammates as they are forced to face off against their allies at the League, in addition to far more terrifying foes.

‘Justice League vs. Teen Titans’ delivers all of the action-packed excitement we’ve come to expect from the DC Universe Animated films, wisely taking advantage of the Damian character in order to somewhat connect the ongoing story we’ve seen develop between throughout the last few Batman animated titles, while allowing the creative team to also add in key members of the Justice League, as well as introducing the Teen Titans into the universe for the first time, and I must say they fit quite well into the world and contribute some goofy humor that many will likely appreciate and also fits perfectly with the teenage characters. While ‘Justice League vs. Teen Titans’ may not be the most impressive DC animated Universe installment in recent memory, largely due to the challenges of introducing so many new characters in such a short film, it nonetheless manages to deliver nearly everything the fans have come to expect and is another thoroughly entertaining ride from start to finish.

Fellow DC fans in general and fans of the DC animated universe of original films will likely want to make certain to pick up a copy of ‘Justice League Vs. Teen Titans’ on Blu-ray to add to their collection. The release delivers the usual solid high definition video and audio presentations along with some notable extras including a few Behind the Scenes Featurettes as well as ‘A Sneak Peek at DC Universe’s Next Animated Movie: ‘Batman: The Killing Joke’ and more (more detailed information regarding the bonus content can be found in the special features section of the technical specification coverage below), likely to easily make this one a must own for many of the fellow fans. Those fans who may be hesitant to make a blind purchase will definitely want to make sure to at least check it out when they have the opportunity to do so, it’s certainly more than worth the cost of a rental at the very least.

Overall, ‘Justice League vs. Teen Titans’ is a solid addition to the ever expanding library of DC Universe Original Movies, delivering all of the action-packed excitement and fun that fans have come to expect, and doing a solid job of introducing the Teen Titans into the universe, even if the time limitations don’t allow for the most thorough of introductions. While many fellow fans will surely want to simply pick up a copy of the Blu-ray release to add to their collections, those who are hesitant to cough up the cash for a purchase will still want to rent a copy or at least give it a watch at some point when possible.

VIDEO:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Justice League vs. Teen Titans’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the film’s original 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks pretty great as a whole, delivering a sharp and detailed presentation throughout that holds up impressively aside from the usual banding which is noticeable on numerous occasions, yet never to an overwhelming degree and the picture always remains generally gorgeous with no other notable faults to be found within. Overall, this is another solid high definition video presentation that returning fans of the animated films should be generally satisfied with.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a lossless 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This lossless multichannel soundtrack sounds fantastic and delivers a consistently crisp, clean and aggressive audio presentation. Regularly utilizing all five available channels in order to fully immerse the viewer within the action and sending no shortage of effects whirring throughout the channels, while never resulting in any dialogue which may be occurring simultaneously to become distorted or rendered inaudible. Overall, this is an impressive and fun 5.1 channel DTS-HD MA soundtrack that shouldn’t disappoint.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-ray release of ‘Justice League vs. Teen Titans’ includes some enjoyable extras. Included on the release is ‘A Sneak Peek at DC Universe’s Next Animated Movie: ‘Batman: The Killing Joke’ which includes comments on the project with the cast and crew, footage from the film and more (running approximately 10 minutes length). We are also treated to a few a few Behind the Scenes Featurettes including interviews/comments with the creative team, each exploring different aspects of the film. The included Featurettes are: ‘Growing up Titan’ (running approximately 24 minutes), ‘Heroes and Villains: Raven’ (approximately 6 minutes), and ‘Heroes and Villains: Trigon’ (5 minutes). As usual, there are also a couple of bonus cartoons included in ‘From The DC Comics Vault’; this time around featuring an episode of ‘Batman: The Brave and the Bold’ titled ‘Sidekicks Assemble’ (23 minutes), and the ‘Teen Titans’ episode ‘The Prophecy’ (23 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They additionally will suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

Film Rating: 8/10
Disc Rating: 7.5/10

‘Justice League Vs. Teen Titans’; Available on Blu-ray & DVD April 12, 2016 & Now Available on Digital HD from from DC Comics & Warner Bros. Entertainment

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