“Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths” – Part Two
Directed by: Jeff Wamester
Written by: James Krieg
Starring: Darren Criss as Superman, Jensen Ackles as Batman & Meg Donnelly as Supergirl
Review by Max Byrne
The release of Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths – Part Two sees the finish line draw ever closer on DC’s animated Tomorrowverse saga.
Following on from the excellent first installment was always going to be a tall order, especially with so much ground to cover, in a narrative sense. Juggling multiple different characters in different universes isn’t easy to do, but for the most part, the creative team here manage to accomplish it with aplomb. However, at times it does almost feel like character overload.
Within the original pages from Wolfman/Perez, there were, of course, a multitude of characters, but all the main players got enough time in the sun and served to drive the plot forwards. Here, it does feel as though we jump from situation to situation without having enough time spent in one place to give the audience somebody to latch onto and care about.
Where this film does excel though, is in its action sequences. If superheroes facing endless waves of Shadow Demons is your bag, then you’ll be extremely well served here. Those wave towers won’t defend themselves from the evil hordes and the superb animation really does showcase the skill sets of our various heroes in a great way.
Those with superpowers and those without all step up to the plate and dish out the punishment. It does straddle the line when it comes to repetition, but there’s enough variety in the action to avoid it becoming a slog.
The best action sequence doesn’t actually involve good against evil, but rather a particularly exciting spot of infighting amongst the Bat-Family, albeit one consisting of participants from different earths. Seeing Batman and his charges come to blows is always a fascinating dynamic of the pupil against the teacher, and when you throw in a glorious (though brief) cameo from Batman Beyond too, then it becomes the standout moment of the entire film.
A huge amount of praise has to go to the score in this movie, courtesy of Kevin Riepl. His work enhances the onscreen events, giving them a sense of gravitas and scale that a good score will always do. From the opening credits until the final credits, he adds layer after layer of huge-sounding orchestration juxtaposed with quieter, more subtle moments that never overshadow the visuals, only enhancing them.
The MVP of the voice cast is Geoffrey Arend as Charles Halstead, AKA Psycho Pirate. Dripping with arch malevolence, this villain is a far greater threat than his comic book counterpart, by way of his taking the power of a captive Dr Fate and working alongside the Anti-Monitor to achieve his devilish objectives. Arend’s voicework is full of charisma and menace. His version of Halstead exudes evil and his greater level of screen time is very welcome.
Conclusion
Crisis On Infinite Earths – Part Two is an enjoyable yet flawed 90-minute journey through a classic DC Comics tome. Whilst it certainly suffers from middle chapter syndrome, it has enough going on to keep the attention of the audience. It does at times feel like a place setter for the conclusion to come in Part Three, but, judged on its own merits, it is certainly worthy of a viewing.
Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths – Part Two is available now on digital platforms. It will be released on a 4K UHD and Blu-Ray Steelbook on April 29th.
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment