Superhero Media: Justice League Crisis on Two Earths

I have honestly completely lost track of which films go where in the broader "continuity" of the DC Animated Universe, but Crisis on Two Earths looks like the Bruce Timm Justice League Unlimited, but with different plot and voice actors. In fact, one of my major criticisms of the film is that the voice cast is really hit-and-miss, with most being middling and a couple being pretty poor. For example, Brian Bloom voices Ultraman with a "Joisey" accent, like a character from The Sopranos, probably because the Crime Syndicate are a form of supervillain "mafia", but it's just kind of jarring as the character is meant to be a dark mirror of Superman. Like, did the spaceship crash in the Pine Barrens and get found by some wiseguys whacking a stoolie? Ok, I'd read that comic, actually, but it's still odd. On the other hand, James Woods as Owlman is pretty fantastic, having about the perfect voice for the hollow nihilist the character turns out to be. Everyone else is fine, but not really memorable. 

When an alternate version of Lex Luthor arrives in the main universe, the Justice League is actually on board with a multiverse concept from the get-go, which is a nice change of pace for these stories, where the entire first act is usually an extended explanation of the mechanics involved. I guess when your team involves several aliens, a robot and a billionaire in a bat costume, alternate realities don't seem that far-fetched. In the alternate reality, the Crime Syndicate is conquering the world steadily, with only president Slade Wilson and his daughter Rose left to oppose them after the deaths of the Justice League, excepting Lex, of course. Considering that there is an entire criminal empire of super-beings, the action in Crisis on Two Earths is lighter on than one may expect, though this could be down to the crew wanting to take space to show off all the little details of the alternate reality. Fun little "blink and you'll miss it" details like the "evil" Martian Manhunter being a John Carter style Thrak or Uncle Marvel being the team lead for the Marvel Family, making it a great trainspotting exercise for longtime DC fans. 

I have to say that the extreme nihilist version of Owlman is pretty great, especially in the continuing environment of "hardcore" Batman dominating the fan narrative. Of course, Batman still manages to kill several people in Crisis on Two Earths, because I guess it's just too hard to write the character otherwise? If that was the contrast between Batman and Owlman, that would make a better conclusion to the film, rather than Batman just being slightly less of a nihilist so as to not want to destroy the multiverse. Like many of the DCAU direct-to-video films, Crisis on Two Earths is pretty good, but stops short of great due to just not having had enough time; both in terms of length, and the script could have probably used another edit run or two. In terms of gaming, just about any of the Justice League ones are ripe for roleplaying scenarios if you need the inspiration. These films come and go from Netflix occasionally, but I pick them up on sale on DVD from a variety of places for a few dollars and keep the ones I like. This is a keeper.