Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths

I have to say I was skeptical when I reviewed the casting for this installment.

I enjoyed "Superman: Doomsday", and "Public Enemies". I really like the animated movie series installments that Warner Brothers has been releasing. Having withdrawal from "Batman: The Animated Series" and "Justice League", these new animated movies are just what the doctor ordered.

The main topic of discussion for this series will be why some of the main voice characters weren't cast.

If I don't say it now, I will regret it. Kevin Conroy, I hope your listening, no one does Batman like you - period.

I read around and didn't find a legitimate source on why you weren't cast as Batman, but I'm confident it has to do with the new "Batman - Arkym Asylum 2" that he is currently doing voice over work for. Warner Brothers is pretty set on the deadline of getting these series to the public, so I would conclude they made the decision to film this one with another cast of characters.

I won't spoil the movie, but this particular story arc is very similar to season 2 of Justice League "A Better World" with a little bit of a twist.

In short, If you liked the other installments - you will like this version. Yes it is a little different, and the mannerisms of some of the League members are different - but take it for what it is and enjoy the story.

I give it an 8.5 (-1.5) just for the simple fact Batman isn't played by Kevin Conroy.

When a good Lex Luthor from a parallel universe travels to see the Justice League they are forced to face their equals in a battle that truly could mean the end of the world should they fail.

Featuring all your favorites and a few additional names making little more than cameo appearances this follows on from the Justice League television series though is a tad darker.

The story is great, the execution however is exactly what you'd expect. It looks okay, sounds okay, everything is exactly that.......okay, but nothing more.

Voice actors for this one include Mark Harmon, William Baldwin & James Woods who are really quite poor. James Woods who plays Owl Man sounds bored through the entire thing and Baldwin simply isn't Batman material.

If you enjoy DC animations you may enjoy this but this is certainly not one of their strongest outings.

The Good:

Interesting story

The Bad:

Baldwin's voice doesn't suit Batman

Proceeds to make Batman look remarkably weak

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

If Batman and Owlman are the same person from different dimensions why do they have different voices?

Superwoman is not PG

I really like Justice League adventures, since they espouse the spirit of cooperation among the DC superheroes which I grew up with. My favorite DC comics in my childhood were my JLA comics. I really liked the recent revival of the JLA on TV. And now, I welcome these new mature animated JLA movies.

Crisis on Two Earths is exactly what the title tells us. There are two Earths in this movie. This Earth where the JLA lives in, and a parallel Earth where the characters are reversed. The JLA counterparts are part of the nefarious Crime Syndicate (Ultraman, Owlman, Superwoman, Johnny Quick Man and Power Ring), while Lex Luthor and the Joker are the self-sacrificing heroes.

It is very good to see the various guest appearances of other superheroes in this movie, like the Black Canary, Aquaman, as well as evil analogues of Green Arrow (in red) and the Elongated Man. It is good to see my favorite character, the Martian Manhunter, also have a featured part, and even a love interest!

As with several other JLA adventures, the Batman had the meatiest part, together with his alter-ego, Owlman. Toward the end, the future of the two Earths actually lay in their philosophical and physical entanglements. This scene, as well as the rest of this movie, was very well-written and set into animation. The voice acting was sensitive and very well-done.

I did enjoy Justice League: New Frontier, but between this and that, I consider this the slightly better movie. My only real reservations actually was two members of the voice cast. William Baldwin does what he can, but lacks the mystery and darkness of what I associate Batman with. Mark Harmon is also too monotone for Superman. My other reservation was Superman and Luthor's relationship which I think could have been expanded more. However, most of the voice acting is great. I think Chris Noth brings a great deal of heroism to Lex Luthor, and while underused Nolan North is both heroic and sinister. The best are Gina Torres, who gives Superwoman a great femme-fatale edge, and especially James Woods, whose Owlman is just superb. The animation is atmospheric and detailed with some funky character designs like with Wonder Woman and the music is haunting. The writing is mature and sharp, more so than New Frontier, Superwoman and Flash's quips are especially funny without jarring, and the story has an edge and urgency to it. I found the romance arc heart-warming with Martian Manhunter as well. All in all, I found A Crisis of Two Earths excellent. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Story/plot: Good. In fact better than some real life movies Voice Actors: Good. Professional quality.

Artwork/Animation: Good. This is the US standard without becoming CGI.

Length/Run-Time: Good. It isn't too short and isn't too long for my kid.

Comment: I wish there were more animations on the justice League. DC is doing much better than it was with its animations over the past decade. The story is simple with a touch of complexity and the moral is made clear enough that even my 5 year understood. The depiction of alternate Earths can lead to bigger expansion in the near future. Overall I would recommend this to other parents for their children