Justice League: Warworld [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Jeff Wamester

Cast: Jensen Ackles, Darren Criss, Stana Katic (VOICES)

Release Date: July 25, 2023

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 7/10
Disc Rating: 6.5/10

Synopsis:

Until now, DC’s Justice League has been a loose association of super-powered individuals. But when they are swept away to Warworld, a place of unending brutal gladiatorial combat, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and the others must somehow unite to form an unbeatable resistance able to lead an entire planet to freedom.

Please Note: Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray I reviewed in this Post. The opinions I share are my own.

‘Justice League: Warworld’ rejoins three of the Justice League’s key heroes; well, sort of. Following three initially separate storylines, the tale joins individuals who seem to be Wonder Woman, Batman and Superman, with each awakening in an unusual time and place without any knowledge of who they truly are and with threats approaching at every turn in addition. Now, each of these lost heroes will have to fight to survive as well as to uncover their true identity amid being forced to tackle the dark and dangerous forces that Warworld throws at them.

Directed by Jeff Wamester (Legion of Super-Heroes) from a screenplay written by Jeremy Adams, Ernie Altbacker and Josie Campbell, Wamester does a capable job at the helm of ‘Justice League: Warworld’ guiding along the new tale. The film features a collection of new and returning DC Animated Universe stars contributing to the voice cast including Jensen Ackles, Darren Criss and Stana Katic along with Ike Amadi, Troy Baker, Matt Bomer, Roger R. Cross, Brett Dalton, John DiMaggio, Robin Atkin Downes, Frank Grillo, Rachel Kimsey, Damian O’Hare and Teddy Sears who each offer fitting voice performances for the most part in their respective roles.

‘Justice League: Warworld’ is an intriguing, largely enjoyable and in many ways a very different sort of Justice League tale with the majority following three separate and seemingly unconnected storylines that join heroes Wonder Woman, Batman and Superman lost within apparent illusions that find them in dangerous and unfamiliar places and timelines with no recollection of their true identities. The story jumps from an old west setting where Wonder Woman is forced to take on the deadly Jonah Hex as he reigns terror upon the citizens of an innocent town, along with an ancient gladiator Batman who must join forces with a warring factor to save his own skin; and lastly Superman/Clark in an old-school black and white world where he believes himself to be a government employee hunting aliens.

While the tale(s) may initially seem self-contained and irrelevant to the current ongoing DC Animated Universe storyline (or the Tomorrow-Verse as some have dubbed it) it all eventually comes together into a mostly rewarding conclusion that not only makes some sense of what begins as a very nonsensical and odd collection of stories and ties them adequately together, but also teasing some big things to come. It may not be perfect and the manner in which it plays out can be hit or miss along the way, but it deserves credit for its unique approach as well as its ability to connect it all together nicely enough by the conclusion. Not to mention its willingness to do something truly different and take things to some fairly dark places along the way which all eventually builds to another enjoyable outing in the DC Animated Universe that fans should enjoy as a whole.

Overall, ‘Justice League: Warworld’ is an entertaining new installment in the latest interconnected batch of DC Animated Universe titles that delivers a unique and curious new tale that doesn’t perfectly hit every mark but provides more than enough action, excitement and fun to definitely make it worth taking the time to give a chance. ‘Justice League: Warworld’ is recommended for DC Comics fans and particularly for those that have been following and enjoying the latest ongoing storyline within many of the animated movies who should each find plenty to appreciate about this latest installment, even if it may not be utterly extraordinary or monumental at every turn. If you’re a fan and are already looking forward to this one in the slightest, then ‘Justice League: Warworld’ should definitely be well worth checking out whenever you have the chance.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Justice League: Warworld’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with HDR-10, presented in its original 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks quite good as a whole and provides a largely clean, sharp and well detailed presentation that’s in line with the other DC Animated Movies on 4K UHD. The release shows noticeable improvement in comparison to the Blu-ray in many departments including some nice clarity and detail in everything from character specifics to backgrounds and surroundings that look generally solid for the most part. The HDR-10 addition also contributes a nice color palette that features sharper, more lifelike colors in many instances which are complemented by adequately deep and problem-free black levels. Overall, this is a solid Ultra High Definition video presentation that should satisfy fans of these DC Animated offerings who are typically pleased with what the releases have to offer.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This multichannel soundtrack makes a great complement to the animated feature and delivers a crisp, clean and frequently immersive audio presentation throughout. It repeatedly takes full advantage of all five available channels in order to send music, action effects and plenty more regularly zipping throughout the various speakers without every causing any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously to become distorted or negatively affected along the way. Overall, this is a very nice 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack that does its job well and should easily excite viewers.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Justice League: Warworld’ includes a couple of extras in the way of 2 Featurettes exploring the basis for the film which can both be found on the included Blu-ray disc. The included Featurettes are ‘Illusions on Warworld’ (running approximately 8 minutes in length) and ‘The Heroic, The Horrible and the Hideous’ (running approximately 8 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray disc included in the 4K UHD Combo Pack and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally 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 the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

–

Film Rating: 7/10
Disc Rating: 6.5/10

–

‘Justice League: Warworld’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & Digital from DC Comics & Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment

–

*Screen-Connections.com is an Amazon Associate that earns from qualifying purchases