JUSTICE LEAGUE:
CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS - PART TWO (2024)
Label: WBDHE
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: PG-13
Duration: 94 Minutes 44 Seconds
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: HDR10 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Jeff Wamester
Cast: Jensen Ackles, Darren Criss, Meg Donnelly, Stana Katic, Jonathan Adams, Gideon Adlon, Geoffrey Arend, Troy Baker, Zach Callison, Darin De Paul, Ato Essandoh, Keith Ferguson, Will Friedle, Jennifer Hale, Aldis Hodge, Jamie Gray Hyder, Erika Ishii, David Kaye, Matt Lanter, Liam McIntyre, Lou Diamond Phillips, Matt Ryan, Keesha Sharp, Harry Shum Jr., Jimmi Simpson
Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths Part Two (2023) is the second of a three-part trilogy that will wrap up the current Tomorrowverse story arc from DCAU that began with Superman: Man of Tomorrow (2020). It's very loosely adapted from DC’s iconic 12-issue comic book limited series ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’ (1985-1986) by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez, a massive crossover series that set out to eliminate the then out-of-control and overly expansive DC Multiverse to create a single, unified DC Universe, and one that blew my mind as a kiddo, and entertains in it;s adaptation here, but not without some flaws.
As where art one had a central character by way of The Flash and stakes that fely high this second entry lacks a true central focus, but starts off strong with Batman (Jensen Ackles) and the whole Bat-family, including the Batgirl (Gideon Aldon) and Batman Beyond incarnation of Bats Terry McGuiness (Will Friedel) facing off against the Joker (Troy Baker), Killer Croc, and Solomon Grundy to protect of the Monitor's (Jonathan Adams) anti-antimatter wave towers. We do get the introduction of Psycho-Pirate (Geoffrey Arend) as a major player, whose is given multidimensional powers by Dr. Fate (Keith Ferguson), plus having his own powers of telepathic emotional manipulation are supercharged by The Monitor in a further effort to save the Multiverse from the Anti-Matter wave. There's also the reveal of The Anti-Monitor (Ato Essandoh), and a shadow demon invasion force that attacks the Anti-Antimatter Towers in multiple dimensions at the same time.
There's lot happening here and quite an array of characters but the lack of a main throughline really puts a damper on it, without someone to get behind other than rooting for the heroes to prevail the stakes feel oddly low this go around. While the first film did a lot of the heavy lifting this second film suffers a bit a lack of a central character, and how it sort of devolves into multi-dimensional superheroes defending the anti-antimatter towers from endless hordes of shadow demons becomes a bit repetitive. That said, I still think the sequel delivers plenty of superhero action, and seeing a character like Psycho-Pirate elevated to a key player brings a smile to my face, plus I thought the animation style was solid, and the action comes at you pretty dang fast. All said, I still give it a thumbs up, but the first two installments have not been perfection by any means, but I am holding onto the hope that the final entry of this epic storyline is a total banger.
Audio/Video: Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part II (2023) on 4K Ultra HD from WBHE in 2160p UHD with the benefit of HDR color-grading. The HDR-enhanced colors are bold and vibrant, black levels are fantastic, and contrast is pleasing. The colors of costumes and powers manifesting look splendid with HDR enhancement, with superior black levels and sga-dw detail. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with optional English subtitles. The track delivers dialogue and small screen action-sequences with aplomb, plenty dynamic but like the first film in the trilogy not quite epic. The supportive score from Kevin Riepl (Legion of Super-Heroes) sounds great as well.
Extras include the 88-min Voices in Crisis with Meg Donnelly (Supergirl, Harbinger), Jonathan Adams (Monitor), and Aldis Hodge (John Stewart / Green Lantern), the 8-min The Bat-Family of the Multiverse, and a 1-min Justice League Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three Sneak Peek.
The single-disc UHD release arrives in a Limited Edition Steelbook packaging featuring the same artwork as the standard edition 4K UHD and Blu-ray releases, but it has a very nice matte-finish with metallic highlights on the front, and on the back are images of the multiverse Earth's. Inside we get a gathering of the heroes image from the film. Tucked away inside is a redemption code for a digital UHD copy of the film.
Special Features:
- Voices in Crisis (8:19)
- The Bat-Family of the Multiverse (8:25)
- Justice League Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three Sneak Peek (1:19)
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