Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Justice League Warworld’ on HBO Max, An Action-Packed Romp Through An Alternate Universe

Some of the best efforts from the DC Animated Universe have now come from the “Tomorrowverse” series. This brand finds some of the label’s major characters like Batman and Superman having their entire universes soft rebooted. There have been several movies of this ilk so far, and the latest is Justice League: Warworld (now streaming on Max, formerly known as HBO Max).

It places familiar characters like Batman, Wonder Woman, and Clark Kent into intriguing new situations that we’ve not seen them in before. With that in mind, while it’s about heroes fans know and love, it dares to craft an interesting new set of stories that will attract even viewers who don’t know a lot about these characters.

JUSTICE LEAGUE – WARWORLD: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Justice League: Warworld follows some of DC’s most popular characters, like Batman (Jensen Ackles), Wonder Woman (Stana Katic), and Superman (Darren Criss) in a set of seemingly unrelated vignettes that find each one in a new and intriguing situation. At the beginning, we see Wonder Woman outfitted with Wild West gear that find her facing off against Jonah Hex (Troy Baker). It’s very much your typical Western adventure from shootouts at high noon to men who “don’t take too kindly to yer type”, saloons, and everything in between.

Batman is outfitted with the tools of a mercenary, which doesn’t change his position in the world too much, but his story does get a bit of a different viewpoint that makes his story easier to watch than the typical Batman story.

Later, we see a completely different universe where Clark Kent ends up checking out reports of an alien seen throughout the city and eventually happening upon a series of little white men (as opposed to green). It may all seem out of character for these DC characters, and it really is, but that’s also what makes the first hour of the movie such an exciting romp. These aren’t your typical tales that we’ve seen this trio in time and time again.

We won’t spoil the second half of the movie for its inventive twist, but it’s well worth watching for – especially as Batman appears later as an officer in Superman’s story, something you might think you’d never, ever see.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: There’s an entire cadre of DC movies starring some of the brand’s biggest stars, namely Batman, that you can watch if you enjoy this adventure. They’re typically a big departure from Marvel’s stable of animated features, but if you come away from Warworld wanting more, that’ll be your first place to start.

Performance Worth Watching: Jensen Ackles is a fantastic Batman, one of the best we’ve heard since Kevin Conroy took up the cape and cowl. Every moment he’s on screen as the Caped Crusader has him stealing the spotlight as he speaks in the trademark Batman growl and offers an imposing presence no matter when he shows up.

Memorable Dialogue: “Are you ready to uphold truth, justice, and the American way, no matter what it takes?” a town sheriff (David Lodge) asks Clark Kent before starting to work with him on an investigation to check out what’s going on with a supposed alien invasion. It was a fun Easter egg that’ll immediately put a smile on any Superman fan’s face.

Sex and Skin: None at all. It’s all action-packed stories surrounding DC superheroes, and there’s nothing objectionable in that regard here.

Our Take: This could have been a disaster of a movie, but giving Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman new identities and purposes, using them like “actors” and filling a variety of roles across each story may have been the best decision to make. You never quite know which direction the next vignette is going to take, or who is going to show up in what role. Giving Wonder Woman some space to breathe as she took on Jonah Hex was such a brilliant idea that it felt she had always been a Wild West hero. Putting Superman in a classic sci-fi story about aliens was wildly inventive as well.

With all that said, there are still plenty of moments that you get to see the superheroes in their element and doing what we know them to do well. But what happens before you get to that point is so exciting too, and a fantastic way to blend new and classic storytelling. This may be one of the best DC animated films yet for the way it turns worlds on their heads the way it does, and you’ll see why as soon as the movie hits the halfway point.

Our Call: STREAM IT. This is an excellent DC movie that travels off the beaten path when it comes to animated superhero movies. It’s mature, exciting, inventive, and a lot of fun, especially when the late-game twist is revealed. Anyone who loves Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman should certainly make some time to hungrily devour this movie.

Brittany Vincent (@MolotovCupcake) has been covering video games and tech for over a decade for publications like G4, Popular Science, Playboy, Variety, IGN, GamesRadar, Polygon, Kotaku, Maxim, GameSpot, and more. When she’s not writing or gaming, she’s collecting retro consoles and tech.