Justice Society: World War II

While I think there are a little too many of these alternate dimension plots, it does unfortunately seem to be a staple of the DC Universe :-(. And this one had cool action and some interesting character dynamics :-)

Justice Society: World War II is another surprisingly great DC animated movie that has a unique take on the DC universe. Stana Katic and Matt Bomer are both great and Omid Abtahi, Elysia Rotaru, Matthew Mercer and Chris Diamantopoul are all really good. The animation is great and Jeff Wamester's direction is also really good. It's well paced and the music by Kevin Riepl is good. However, a flawed narrative choice in the third act undermines it as it causes a small plot hole.

It is a much more successful animation production than 2 Wonder Woman movies. In addition, the voice actors were chosen very well. I wish DC/Warner movies were as successful as animations.

The DC animation dept. Is known for its creative freedom and this effort to "go retro" works. For older fans, who grew up with this style of animation, it is comfort food. Younger fans will enjoy the switch as well. The first and last Acts are especially strong, and the voice actors are pitch perfect, with Chris Diamantopoulos a standout as Steve Trevor. He somehow manages to make every word ring with integrity. A keeper. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

DC has always been known for its quality when it comes to animated series and movies. Their previous shared universe, DC Animated Movie Universe, which concluded with Justice League Dark: Apokolips just last year.

This time, Diana is the main focus of the story since the concept and settings are supposed to be a Wonder Woman animated series that was scrapped and turned into this, the film delivers a balance among the Justice Society and Diana's storyline. It may be weird that Diana is the focus of the film since she's not one of the original members of the JSA but the reason behind that is one of the twists of the story which is explained later in the movie. The story is decent, not the best but it offers us questions but then gives us the answer at the exposition that'll make us say "Whoa" and that's enough for me. And then the animation? 10/10. Thick outlines may not be preferred by others, but it's what makes it unique among the previous animated universes. The thick outlines also help with the action sequences to separate the characters from the background and highlight the slick animation that the animators have been doing, although there is a scene where the outlines are far too thick and straight-up looked weird.

The main point of JS: World War II, is it just gives us a taste of what this set universe is about to offer once further above average plot and actions are the trump card of the future films. The film basically sets up movies that'll have more impact on comic book readers, first being the upcoming two-part Batman movie, The Long Halloween that is on the same universe as this and their first movie, Superman: Man of Tomorrow.