Honestly? I was surprised at how much I liked this just recently released addition to the DCAU.  Crisis on Two Earths, written by Dwayne McDuffie, tells the tale of a Justice League on Another World (pun intended) led by Lex Luthor. Yes, Luthor is the good guy who enlist the aid of our world’s good guy Justice League to help him set things right on his world.  

The writing was solid and Luthor was a credible hero even to point on one occasion declining Superman’s help because as McDuffie wrote in The Once and Future Thing, Part 1, a man needs to balance his own accounts.  Luthor did, in deed, balance his accounts.

One more point on the writing.  There were many shout outs in this tale, especially to Star Wars. And if you look hard, you’ll find a nod to Alan Moore’s Twilight of the Superheroes, the most famous never written comic.  The dialog was smart and well paced. The problem with this film is not the writing. It is the voice acting.

Mark Harmon as Superman was not really objectionable.  William Baldwin as Batman was.  To be blunt, Baldwin talked his lines while on the other hand, James Woods as Owlman, acted his.  The difference was day and night and makes you wonder how great the confrontation between Owlman and Batman could have been if it had been Kevin Conroy instead of Baldwin as Batman.  We’ll never know, but every time Batman spoke I cringed and that was not good.

By the way, if you’re looking for the evil Hawkgirl in this film, look quick because she has very limited screen time. I’ve included a shot of her so if your a fan like I am, you can get your fix.  There is a story behind this Thanagarian and Martian that begs to be told and maybe someday, some fanboy (or fangirl) will take a crack at telling it – but it won’t be me.

I’ll leave it up to you whether you buy the DVD or view (and record) it from an On-Demand pay–per-view channel. The bottom line is that this is very good addition to any DCAU Justice League collection and you’ll enjoy it as long as Batman isn’t speaking.