Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths – Part One (Limited Edition Steelbook) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Jeff Wamester

Cast: Matt Bomer, Darren Criss, Stana Katic (VOICES)

Release Date: January 23, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 7.5/10
Disc Rating: 6.5/10

Synopsis:

Death is coming. Worse than death: oblivion. Not just for our Earth, but for everyone, everywhere, in every universe! Against this ultimate destruction, the mysterious Monitor has gathered the greatest team of Super Heroes ever assembled. But what can the combined might of Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern and hundreds of Super Heroes from multiple Earths even do to save all of reality from an unstoppable antimatter Armageddon?!

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.

THE MOVIE/ REVIEW:

‘Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part 1’ joins The Flash, aka Barry Allen as he finds himself slipping between timelines and worlds and re-experiencing various key elements in his life including the day he met his true love Iris and the formation of the Justice League. But when Barry discovers that something far more sinister seems to be building throughout the multiverse, he must join forces with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow and countless other notable Earth-1 heroes as a powerful being called the Monitor brings every heroic individual together in an effort to try and stop a cataclysmic event that has the power to eradicate not only their world, but every world throughout the entire multiverse.

The first installment in the animated event trilogy (with the other two installments expected to arrive later this year) is directed by Jeff Wamester from a script written by Jim Krieg, and Wamester does a capable job at the helm of ‘Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part 1’ guiding along the tense and emotional tale. The film’s voice cast features numerous new and returning stars from the TomorrowVerse films and includes Matt Bomer, Darren Criss, Stana Katic, Jensen Ackles, Meg Donnelly, Jimmi Simpson and Zachary Quinto, along with many more who each offer generally solid and fitting voice performances in their respective roles.

‘Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part 1’ kick starts the massive event and culmination of the ongoing ‘TomorrowVerse’ line of DC Animated Movies and introduces a terrifying new threat for our heroes to tackle that’s unlike anything they’ve ever encountered. The animated film typically has its heart in the right place, although it starts off on a somewhat rocky and curious note that joins The Flash as he jumps throughout time and timelines; something that continues for much of the film’s first act or two with results that are both rewarding and confusing in their own right; with the confusion helping the viewer to relate to Barry’s situation, while also leaving us baffled and lost for quite some time which may require some extra dedication and patience from many viewers in order to reach the point where things start to click and line up. It’s a powerful first installment in the animated trilogy that may not hit every mark flawlessly but as a whole provides a rewarding, somewhat emotional and at times appropriately bleak tone that offers a hint at what’s to come.

There’s no question that The Flash is the star of ‘Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part 1’ as the story focuses primarily on the choices and events revolving around Barry (and Iris) and the film takes viewers on a fairly emotional journey through various timelines and segments of Flash’s life from happy earlier moments and gatherings that eventually culminate in the dire threat looming and Barry’s part in trying to stop it. Make no mistake, many of your other favorite heroes certainly come into play and everyone from Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman to Vixen, Supergirl and Green Arrow all have their time to shine, although the majority of the tale is primarily seen through Flash’s perspective and actions, with a handful of twists and turns served up along the way, although some are notably more effective than others.

OVERALL:

‘Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part 1’ delivers a high-stakes animated adventure that serves as a culmination of the recent TomorrowVerse line of DC Animated Movies. The first film in the trilogy (of which the subsequent two installments are planned for release later this year) focuses on The Flash and his journey through various worlds and timelines which builds to the biggest threat he and his fellow heroes of the Justice League have ever been faced with. It struggles at times earlier on, but finds its way to a fittingly powerful and emotional conclusion that does a decent job of setting up the next two films. ‘Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part 1’ may not be the most outstanding DC Animated offering in recent years, but it does a commendable job as a whole and is definitely worth checking out for the DC fans out there, especially those that have been following the TomorrowVerse animated films in recent years and likely won’t want to miss out on the first chapter of this monumental conclusion to the series.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part 1’ 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 clean, sharp and richly colored presentation from start to finish that never suffers from any unexpected issues arising throughout (although it does still feature some of the more common imperfections that fans are accustomed to with these DC Animated Movies). It shows solid detail and clarity noticeable on character specifics and backgrounds, surroundings and plenty more, while the HDR-10 addition contributes some notable, more accurate colors that are recognizable on character costumes and landscapes. Overall, this is a very nice Ultra High Definition video presentation that’s in line with what fans of these animated features have come to expect and most should be generally pleased with the result.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This multichannel soundtrack sounds good in its own right and delivers a crisp, clean and occasionally quite aggressive audio presentation throughout. It repeatedly utilizes all five available channels in order to send music, action and world traveling (multiversal travel?) effects, along with some crowd chatter and more throughout the various speakers whenever appropriate, while never resulting in any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously becoming distorted or rendered problematic in the process. Overall, this is a fully capable 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack that makes a nice complement to the tale and should leave fans fairly satisfied.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part 1’ includes a couple brief extras in the way of Behind the Scenes Featurettes that explore bringing the iconic storyline to the screen and featuring interviews/comments with the cast and crew, plus some behind the scenes footage and more. The included Featurettes are ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths Part One: Crisis Prime(r)’ (running approximately 9 minutes in length) and ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths Part One: The Selfless Speedster’ (running approximately 8 minutes).

*Please note: The above images are taken from the film’s Trailer and are not reflective of the actual 4K Ultra HD release or its quality. A standard Blu-ray copy of the film was not included in the release that could be used for screenshots therefore the above images were utilized. All content and images from the film are the property of DC, Warner Bros. Discovery and any other respective owners.

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Film Rating: 7.5/10
Disc Rating: 6.5/10

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‘Justice League: Crisis On Inifnite Earths – Part One’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD Steelbook, Blu-ray & Digital from DC & Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment

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You can purchase your copy of ‘Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths – Part One’ 4K UHD Steelbook on Amazon Right Here!*

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