Justice League Crisis on Infinite Earths Pt 1

• Directed by Jeff Wamester
• January 29, 2024
• Based on the 1985 to 1986 crossover event Crisis on Infinite Earths by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez

Voice Cast

• The Flash/Barry Allen-Matt Bomer
• Batman/Bruce Wayne-Jensen Ackles
• Superman, Earth-2 Superman-Darren Criss
• Supergirl, Harbinger-Meg Donnelly
• Wonder Woman, Superwoman-Stana Katic
• Green Arrow-Jimmi Simpson
• Lex Luthor-Zachary Quinto
• Monitor-Jonathan Adams
• J’onn J’onzz, Amazing Man, Ivo-Ike Amadi
• Psycho Pirate, Hawkman-Geoffrey Arend
• Dick Grayson/Robin-Zach Callison
• Lois Lane-Alexandra Daddario
• Alfred-Alastair Duncan
• Mr. Terrific-Ato Essandoh
• Dawnstar-Cynthia Hamidi
• John Stewart, Power Ring-Aldis Hodge
• Doctor Light/Dr. Hoshi, Huntress-Erika Ishii
• The Question-David Kaye
• Iris West-Ashleigh LaThrop
• Blue Beetle, Ultraman-Matt Lanter
• Aquaman, Johnny Quick-Liam McIntyre
• Hal Jordan, Amazo-Nolan North
• The Spectre, Owlman-Lou Diamond Phillips
• Black Canary-Elysia Rotaru
• Vixen-Keesha Sharp
• Brainiac 5-Harry Shum Jr.

The Monitor attempts to recruit heroes from the Multiverse to stop a threat to all existence.

I was a little weary going into Justice League Crisis on Infinite Earths Pt 1 after Warworld. Not heavily impressed by that film at all. It made me greatly concerned that the DC animated films were taking a turn for the worse. Catwoman: Hunted, Warworld, and both RWBY were far from being bangers. This may not have been perfect but for me it was a move in the right direction.

The movie opens with a bit of time and reality jumping experienced by The Flash. It’s a great hook. It establishes the characters and scenario with each element given enough time to breathe that it sucks you in. Barry is built up as a hero and just a good individual while we also get the story for this arc of the Crisis storyline.

While part of a planned trilogy, Justice League Crisis on Infinite Earths Pt 1 contains a standalone story. I am not talking about the robot Amazo. I am talking about the story of Iris and Barry. A superhero disaster movie with the main plot being a love story. That sounds really bad, but there is some emotional pull here. From their first meeting to old age, this is about their romance and bond. Considering this is a Multiverse story, we may not be seeing the actual end.

This does tease more to come, but that tease does not act as a good sampling. Which is unfortunate because that’s the point of a tease. And maybe that’s a bit of a narrative weakness. Personally, I did want to see more, but had this been the only one, so be it. Everything was tied together enough by the credits.

Not only does this connect to Warworld but indirectly to the recent Legion of Superheroes. You do not need to have seen either though to follow this. There is enough in-movie recap that you know the basics to get through the story. Having seen either or both is just a bonus.

We get a good sense for most of the characters. Vixen gets a little short changed though. I’m wondering if someone felt they needed to avoid having a predominantly male or predominately white cast and threw her in to mix things up. Her main contribution is as the wedding officiant for Barry’s wedding to Iris. Other than that though she’s not much. Her solo film was good and future uses of the character should be limited to that because she does not work well with a team. Her cool power is not a strong asset to the types of threats presented in these team movies.

There are a few ‘What Ifs’ where better-known characters learn what could have been. Batman meets a daughter he never had. Superman learns that it might not always be possible to save Lois. Emotional moments but how often have we had such with those characters? Show lesser known characters and give us moments with those. It broadens the bench for future animated features by testing the waters of the public. The permutations with the Big Two have been run into the ground.

The Crime Syndicate-one of DC’s more famous multiversal elements-gets tossed in. Nice nod to DC comics lore, but their presence served no larger purpose other than to have them highlight the variety of the multiverse. It would’ve been interesting to have one or two of the characters be part of the larger plot.

I’m not a big fan of the animation style. I love the Batman: The Animated Series style that took inspiration from Max Fleischer. The look here is just too much thick lines and I am not a fan of that. It’s not horrible, but it’s not my cup of tea.

But those issues are easily overcome by the movie itself. It starts the ground running, and never really lets up with a unique way of telling a story. It manages action and excitement and develops the core story and the connecting narrative well. Clues are dropped along the way with the heaviest coming from a homeless man that is obviously Constantine.

Justice League Crisis on Infinite Earths Pt 1 is just great. It’s exciting and emotional and overall a good story. This is a return to form for DC animated movies. You can enjoy it by itself or as part of a larger story.