All
Star Superman 4K
(2011)/Justice
League X RWBY: Superheroes and Huntsman, Part One 4K
(2023/all DC Comics/Warner 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray Sets)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: A-/B+ Picture: B+ Sound: B+ Extras: B
Films: B/C
Superman
faces his own mortality in the remastered animated feature film from
DC Animation and Warner Bros., All
Star Superman
(2011) which is based on the writing of Grant Morrison. As far as
Superman movies go this one pulls out all the stops and features an
interesting and cruel version of Lex Luthor. Appearances from
Bizarro, and several other familiar faces from Superman lore
throughout the silver age also pop up. The story is said to be an
influence on the upcoming (as of this writing) feature film
adaptation from filmmaker James Gunn which could promise some
exciting films ahead.
The
voice cast includes James Denton (Good
Witch,
Desperate
Housewives),
Christina Hendricks (Mad
Men,
Good
Girls)
and Anthony LaPaglia (Without
A Trace)
as Superman, Lois Lane and Lex Luthor, respectively. Other
noteworthy cast members are seven-time Emmy Award winner Ed Asner
(Up,
Elf,
The
Mary Tyler Moore Show)
as Perry White, Golden Globe winner Frances Conroy (American
Horror Story,
Joker,
Six
Feet Under)
as Ma Kent, Matthew Gray Gubler (Criminal
Minds,
Alvin
and the Chipmunks
franchise) as Jimmy Olsen and Linda Cardellini (Avengers:
Endgame,
Dead
to Me,
E.R.)
as Nasty.
Lex
Luthor works out a masterplan to kill Superman by overloading his
cells with power, and it miraculously works. With his powers
starting to dwindle, Superman ended up having to fight against
Luther's various experiments and murder plots along with facing off
against other Kryptonians as well. Living his dual life as both
Clark Kent and Superman, the super alien gets faces some of his most
epic challenges yet as Luthor attempts to replicate Superman's DNA.
All
Star Superman
has been remastered in upscaled 2160p with HDR (10; Ultra HD
Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image on a 4K UHD disc, a
widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and an audio mix in lossless DTS-HD
MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) sound. Also included is a
1080p Blu-ray presentation of the film with a similar audio mix, but
a more compressed image. The animation looks fine overall, and while
I don't have the original disc on hand to compare it to, everything
seemed to look pretty strong and sharp on 4K UHD. The overall
animation style fits in with other titles on the label.
Special
Features includes old and new material including:
The
Art of the All-Star Adaptation
featurette
An
All-Star Salute to the Silver Age Superman
featurette
Superman
Now
featurette
The
Creative Flow: Incubating the Idea with Grant Morrison
featurette
Feature
Length Audio Commentary featuring the thoughts of Bruce Timm and
Grant Morrison.
and
a Digital Comic Book version of All-Star
Superman.
If
you are a Superman fan then you don't want to miss this great
animated film!
For
a more positive take on the film, try our earlier coverage from the
Blu-ray/DVD set release:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10824/All+Star+Superman+(2010/Warner+Blu-ray+++D
In
what may be the most bizarre release from DC Animation yet, the
American animated series in the style of Japanese anime, RWBY, joins
up with the Justice League in a strange crossover feature animated
film now out on 4K UHD disc / Blu-ray: Justice
League x RWBY: Superheroes and Huntsmen, Part One
(2023).
Fans
of anime and some (but not all) DC fans will gravitate towards this
more than fans of more traditionally animated or straightforward DC
animated titles I think as it definitely has the feel of an anime
throughout. There's some interesting imagination behind it, but it
feels as if the inclusion of the DC franchise is a bit forced and out
of place here.
Justice
League members Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Cyborg, Green
Lantern and Vixen find themselves in the world of Remnant where they
are transformed into teenage animated versions of themselves and
sucked into the world of RWBY. Whilst the heroes of Remnant: Ruby,
Weiss, Blake and Yang, find their world has been mysteriously altered
and threatened by a Grimm that threatens their world.
The
voice cast features Natalie Alyn Lind (The
Goldbergs)
as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince, Chandler Riggs (The
Walking Dead)
as Superman/Clark Kent and Nat Wolff (The
Fault in Our Stars)
as Batman/Bruce Wayne, alongside RWBY's long-running cast: Lindsay
Jones (Camp
Camp)
as Ruby, Kara Eberle (RWBY:
Ice Queendom)
as Weiss, Arryn Zech (The
Detective is Already Dead)
as Blake, and Barbara Dunkelman (Blood
Fest)
as Yang.
Justice
League x RWBY: Superheroes and Huntsmen, Part One 4K
has been remastered in upscaled 2160p on 4K UHD disc with an HDR (10;
Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image, a widescreen
aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and an audio mix in lossless DTS-HD MA (Master
Audio) 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) sound. Also included is a 1080p Blu-ray
presentation of the film with a similar audio mix, but a more
compressed image. The animation is digital and mimics the anime
characterization of every character, giving them similar facial
features and eyes to anime characters along with the design of the
world itself.
Special
Features:
Justice
Comes to Remnant
featurette
You
Look... Different
featurette
From
the DC Vault: Justice
League Unlimited
- Kid
Stuff
and
From the DC Vault: Justice
League Action
- Plastic
Man Saves the World.
While
it's not this reviewer's particular cup of tea, if one is a fan of
the RWBY property then this could be a fun treat. Otherwise, it just
seems like a odd mix that feels a bit forced.
-
James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
