Justice League Dark appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.78:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This became a solid presentation.
Overall accuracy varied from very good to excellent, with an emphasis on the latter, so don’t expect issues with softness. No shimmering or jaggies materialized, and I saw no edge haloes or noise reduction. Of course, I found no print flaws here.
In terms of colors, Dark went with a stylized look. It tended toward low-key tones and favored a mix of red and teal appearance much of the time. The colors seemed fine, as they represented their intended schemes. Blacks were deep and dark, while shadows looked smooth and clear. This became a top-notch presentation.
When I examined the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Dark, it created a mostly good sense of action. The movie packed a lot of battles and involving material, but these concentrated on the forward channels more than expected.
In those areas, the track offered nice movement and breadth, but the back speakers didn’t participate as much as anticipated. Though the surrounds added reasonable pep, they could’ve been more active.
Across the board, the material sounded fine. Speech remained distinctive and concise, without edginess, and music seemed vivid and full. Effects appeared accurate and tight, with clear highs and some powerful lows. This was a good but not great mix.
Among the set’s extras, we find a few featurettes. The Story of Swamp Thing runs 18 minutes, two seconds and includes comments from DC Entertainment Creative Director Mike Carlin, artist Kelley Jones, character co-creator Len Wein, director Jay Oliva and producer James Tucker.
“Story” looks at roots and development, artistic choices and character changes/growth/attributes, and his use in Dark. “Story” offers a pretty good overview of Swamp Thing.
Did You Know? splits into four shorter pieces. With a total running time of three minutes, 26 seconds, we find “Constantine Origin” (0:44), “Color of Magic” (1:01), “Black Orchid” (1:03) and “Deadman Casting” (0:38). Across these, we hear from Carlin, Oliva, and Tucker. These give us quick informational tidbits that relate to Dark. They’re too brief to offer much substance.
Justice League Dark At New York Comic-Con 2016 goes for 26 minutes, 41 seconds and features a panel with Oliva, Tucker, character designer Phil Bourassa, and actors Matt Ryan and Jason O’Mara. They look at Dark via thoughts about story/characters, cast and performances, art and visual design.
Comic-Con panels like this exist to promote product, so they rarely come with much substance. That remains true for this one, so don’t expect much from it. The panel offers a few decent notes, but usually we get fluff accompanied by giddy hoots from the audience.
Two episodes of Batman: The Brave and the Bold appear. We get “Dawn of the Dead Man!” (22:43) and “Trials of the Demon!” (22:58). In “Dawn”, Batman fakes his own death and needs Deadman to get back to his body, while “Trials” sends Batman back in time to work with Sherlock Holmes. I like the snarky attitude of Brave and the Bold, and these episodes offer pretty good entertainment.
The package includes Sneak Peeks for Justice League: Doom (10:17), Justice League: Gods and Monsters (11:07) and Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (11:41). Across these, we hear from a mix of personnel.
Doom provides remarks from Bourassa, co-producer Alan Burnett, executive producer Bruce Timm, voice director Andrea Romano, director Lauren Montgomery, storyboard artist Mel Zwyer, and actors Tim Daly, Susan Eisenberg, Carlos Alazraqui, Carl Lumbly, Nathan Fillion, and Michael Rosenbaum, while Gods provides comments from Timm, Romano, Carlin and director Sam Liu. Finally, Judas features Carlin, Tucker, voice director Wes Gleason, screenwriter Ernie Altbacker, and actors Brandon Soo Hoo, Kari Wahlgren, Miguel Ferrer, Gregg Henry, and Christina Ricci.
All three exist as little more than promotion, and they’re fairly effective in that regard. Nonetheless, they remain long ads, so don’t expect more from them.
The disc opens with a promo for Wonder Woman. Trailers adds a promo for Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders.
A second disc provides a DVD copy of Dark. It includes the three “Sneak Peeks” and the trailers but none of the other extras.
With an unusual cast of characters, Justice League: Dark becomes moderately compelling. Though not a great movie, it gives us a tale with enough dynamic material to keep the viewer involved. The Blu-ray offers very good picture and audio as well as a smattering of bonus materials. Dark seems inconsistent but largely enjoyable.
Note that this version of Dark is a “limited edition” that includes a Constantine action figure. The same Blu-ray/DVD combo is also available on its own without the toy for $5 less.