Justice League: War

I've been watching all of these DC animated films in order of release on HBO Max.

I realize this and Flashpoint Paradox are part of the New 52 universe rebranding, but there's been a noticeable turn toward the grim and gritty. Which I feel just does not work for this collection of characters. It hasn't worked in the DCEU live action iterations and it doesn't work here, although these at least demonstrate a level of competence in storytelling logic. Mostly.

The characterization is garbage though. Why does DC/Warner think we want all of their heroes to be a-holes?

I was not a fan of the New 52. Other than Wonder Woman, I didn't care for the way they did it. This, the origin of the New Justice League, is based on the opening arc where they battle Darkseid and the forces of Apokolips. Just OK.

This animated movie is different from the majority of previous. The heroes do not play around as nice as they usually do. There is plenty of animated violence, blood, bruises, broken bones, sliced limbs and more. The PG-13 rating is there for a reason.

The relationship between the heroes is forced and easily changed by the creators, the heroes fight when it fits the script and than co-operate, when again, it fits the script. For those purposes their behavior has also been changed. Generally the movie describes, more realistic super heroes than the comic books. The heroes in this movie, have ego issues, lower moral standards, shorter fuse for violence and really poor taste of humor.

Besides that the animation is different, I think that was done to set the tone and show that these are different super heroes, not the ones we know. Less square jaws (in that matter less square anything), more details, some 3D computer rendering has been added, generally the animation is rather detailed and smooth, really easy on the eyes.

I will not talk about the voices, some guidelines do apply and in my opinion they did fine, there is no reason to obsess about it.

After taking some points off for the forced behavior and forced story line it is 8/10.

I was particularly excited for this film for two reasons. First, I read and thoroughly enjoyed Justice League Origin, the comic off which the movie is based. Second, I am a huge fan of DC's animated universe since Batman: TAS. While "War" is not as good as "Doom" or "Under the Red Hood", it is a solid addition to a long line of great movies. Pros:

The entire movie was a visual treat. The style of animation is clearly different from other DC movies, but it's not bad, in fact I thought it was more visually appealing. From start to end, the animation delivers a clear and rich experience that definitely makes it more enjoyable.

Some have criticized War for weak plot and underdeveloped characters. They are right to some extent, for the plot is very basic with little information given on motive for Darksied's invasion. However the story is impressively accurate to its source material. So if you don't like the plot, take it up with Geoff Johns. Furthermore, we all know who each of the characters are, so an in-depth biopic of each Leaguer would be a waste of time. The comic is called Origin, and that's what this is, an origin of the Justice League so don't expect a ton of individual character development. My biggest complaint regarding accuracy would be the fact that Aquaman was replaced with Shazam. I'm as big a Captan Marvel fan as the next guy, but it was still disappointing that the king of Atlantis still doesn't get any love even after Geoff Johns did such a great job of finally making him cool. Furthermore, the personalities and even a good bit of dialogue of the characters could have been pulled directly from the pages of the comic. The dynamic between the heroes, especially Batman and Green Lantern, provided many of the best scenes, not to mention the funniest. I laughed out loud several times throughout and did not feel like the comedy, which was definitely more present here than in other films, took away from the experience of a film that is very centered on action.

Cons: Like most other reviewers, my only truly valid complaint involves voice casting. Most of the voices are adequate, and none of them are great. The best represented voices were definitely The Flash by Christopher Gorham, and Cyborg by Shemar Moore. Batman, performed by Jason O'Mara did sufficiently, but after growing up on Kevin Conroy, it was difficult to hear such a different voice coming from the cape and cowl. Steve Blum as Darksied brings a new kind of voice to the uber-powerful new god, but makes him seem more like a monster than a super intelligent being. The worst voice was by far Superman. Firefly star Alan Tudyk voices Superman, but fails to convey any gravitas or personality consistent with Superman.

Overall Justice League War received an 8 from me. While not DC's best contribution to the world of animation, but a fun, comical, and action-packed ride nonetheless. If you are a fan of DC and comics in general than it is definitely worth buying, if not it's still worth at least one viewing.

I'm new to animated feature length superhero movies, so I'm no expert. But I do know a little something about being entertained, and I was with this one. I like the character design, and the animation is good.

What really stood out to me in this one, is Darkseid. Because man he is scary as hell. Just floating along there with his hands behind his back, impossible to beat. He actually kind of scared me. And I'm a huge horror movie buff! I guess the fact that he seems so unbeatable is what makes him scary. Good stuff.

I'm no reader of comic books, and I haven't watched that many of these animated superhero movies yes, but so far this is one of my favorites.