DC UNIVERSE MOVIE COLLECTION VOLUME 1 / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: SAM LIU, JAY OLIVA, ETHAN SPAULDING / SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: KEVIN CONROY, JASON O’MARA, BRUCE GREENWOOD, MATT RYAN, MARK HAMILL, TARA STRONG / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Special Features: Sneak peak at other DC Universe animated movies
In this first volume of the DC Universe Movie Collection, audiences are treated to five recent animated DC offerings that have been given the 4K treatment. Bringing together Batman: Assault on Arkham, Batman: The Killing Joke, Justice League Dark, Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, and Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, let’s take a closer look at this new release.
As with any such collected release, it’s a little tricky to go too much into detail on each of the films included, but the majority of the five features here are brilliant films on their own merit. In Assault on Arkham, audiences are treated to a picture that’s rooted in the world of the Arkham video game series, while Justice League Dark sees John Constantine (Ryan) and some of DC’s more mystical and magical characters take centre-stage, and Hell to Pay sees the Suicide Squad tasked with a high-risk mission courtesy of Amanda Waller. Those three films are all largely original stories, but The Killing Joke and Gotham by Gaslight are straight-up adaptations of two hugely popular comic book tales. For fans of those two stories, however, there are a couple of tweaks made to the source material as each movie tries to not simply be an exact carbon copy of the graphic novels on which they’re based.
When taken on face value as their own beasts, all five films deliver the goods and each come in at a brisk and breezy 75 minutes that work as the perfect length for such animated affairs. It’s hard to pick a true standout of the five, mind, for all are genuinely strong stories that brilliantly spotlight their central characters. Of course, any film featuring Batman is always going to have audiences gravitating towards it – and the Caped Crusader is indeed pivotal to four of the five movies – yet Hell to Pay is just as fun as any of the Bat-centric features here. With Christian Slater’s Deadshot and Tara Strong’s Harley Quinn heading up Task Force X, the Suicide Squad are highlighted in all of their erratic glory. As alluded to, The Killing Joke and Gotham by Gaslight make changes that may draw the ire of longtime DC die-hards, yet both largely keep the spirit and core narrative of their respective comic book stories.
The 4K treatment given to each film obviously makes them look jaw-droppingly delicious, and the Victorian aesthetic and locale of Gotham by Gaslight is a particular stand-out on this front. Not only are these films spruced up and delivered in stunning 4K glory, though, but this boxset release also includes the standard Blu-ray versions of all five movies – meaning that you don’t have to have 4K capability to enjoy this collection.
In terms of bonus material included, DC Universe Movie Collection Volume 1 features sneak peaks at various other animated DC movies, yet that’s all. Said sneak peaks are great for what they are, but you can’t help feeling a little short-changed given how Warner Bros. usually serves up some fantastic additional content on their home releases. Where other release have featured episodes of DC animated shows of yesteryear, some featurettes or chat tracks, there is sadly none of that here.
All in all, DC Universe Movie Collection Volume 1 is a strong release from Warner Bros. and DC, and the films themselves are nicely housed in a sturdy and beautiful looking box. For those who’ve previously purchased the five films individually, frankly there’s nothing here to make you splash out again bar the crisp 4K clean-up. If you missed these movies upon their original release, however, this collection is definitely worth splashing your cash on.
