Justice League: Gods and Monsters

Justice League: Gods and Monsters is a much welcomed return to the quality standard DC Animated established that was a bit lacking in the last few entries since Justice League War, Son of Batman and others. What makes it even more special is that it isn't based on any material but is a new, original take on the Justice League.

If you haven't seen the free-to-watch shorts, know that the almost all characters have little to none in common with their original, classic counterparts and only share the same handles and loosely the same function within the league. Superman is now the son of Zodd, Batman has no problems killing villains by sucking their blood Dracula-style and Wonder Woman has a completely different background. New faces, new abilities, new origins and relations etc. Considering how much was already done in Batman TAS, Superman TAS, Batman Beyond and Justice League, it's really refreshing to see Bruce Timm back doing new things while still maintaining the similar feel and quality the classic Justice League series are known for. While it's not quite on par with the best episodes of the Diniverse/Timmverse, it's definitely up there with the good ones.

A good portion of the fun is discovering familiar characters and see what has changed about them. You'll see familiar faces or just familiar outfits, notice what changed on the first sight and wonder what what else is new about that character and where they'll go with him. The good thing about it that they don't feel neither better nor worse, gimmicky or unnecessary, just different and effective in waking my curiosity and it makes the impression the makers had fun with it for the most part. It succeeds where Justice League War, another alternate universe JLA movie, failed.

The story tells the origin of each of the three Justice League members with a plot-line in the current time and is pretty much straight forward, but interesting enough and well paced. The downside of is that you have to be familiar with the DC universe to a degree, otherwise you'll be wondering about the function of a couple of characters with small screen time and won't care for their destinies as much.

The action is a bit lacking, but the focus is more on storytelling and characters anyways, so its a good trade off. A change here is now that the JL member are much more ruthless and have less remorse, which results in some bloody kills. It's a good thing that the writers have more freedom in that regard, however in this case it feels a bit forced and clumsy. It feels weird seeing them crush some goons with a huge and heavy door and seeing blood coming out underneath it. Perhaps I'm just too used to the DC Animated series, but it felt more out of place rather than adding anything to it. They got it right in a few scenes, but for the most part it felt just like a gimmick - violence just to show they can do it, without any meaningful impact or purpose.

Overall it is good, solid and refreshing fun. It's a good mix of old and new with very similar art-style to the series and is a great way to start things off. It has it's faults like a few characters being degraded to throwaways (Darkseid, Harley Quinn in the shorts...) or not being more subtle on certain things, but the rest makes easily up for it. There is much potential and hopefully we'll see more of it, maybe even in a form of a series just like in the old days. It's deserves a shot.

This movie is simply bait and switch. It claims to be a Justice League movie but its not. You will see the names Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, but none of those names attach to anyone you recognize. Instead this is some wannabe auteur's desire to inflict on this fan base their "creativity". That would be fine if this franchise were a TV show still, but its not, it's a movie from a franchise I look forward to and get very little of.

Recently, this franchise has had 2 movies ("War" and "Throne of Atlantis") that brought back the feel of continuity. The feeling that these movies were continuing a story instead of being single one-off experiences and I was extremely happy to see that.

Following that up with this self-indulgent garbage and I can't help but feel cheated. I only hope this is a singular mistake and not a trend.

Love animation and have really enjoyed to loved many superhero films, animated and live-action. Of the DC animated films, there are some good ones out there as well as some disappointments and ones that fall in between.

Although the very different portrayal of the Justice League characters will take a lot of getting used to, their personalities and back-stories changed beyond recognition for die-hard fans struggling with the concept, the alternate universe concept was a very interesting one and mostly the execution was very good, its best elements great. 'Justice League: Gods and Monsters' is one of those divisive films, purists are likely to not care for it but those who have been disappointed by general DC animated standards (which to me has been variable) they will be rewarded.

'Justice League: Gods and Monsters', like a good deal of DC animated films, could have been better with a longer length by about 10-15 minutes or so and the pace slowed down. The ending in particular felt rushed and didn't seem developed enough.

Having said that, 'Justice League: Gods and Monsters' has better story and characterisation execution than most DC animated films that needed to be longer and not as hasty. The story is one of the darkest and grittiest of any DC animated film and all the better for it because to me that's the right approach to take.

It's also very gripping, makes the most of its concept without being too simple or confusing and gives the characters interesting stories, especially Wonder Woman. The characters are intriguingly handled and with intense and potent character interaction, though there could have been more of a few of them (i.e. Lex Luthor). The action is violent and exciting, though perhaps there could have been more of it.

'Justice League: Gods and Monsters' is very good, often great. There are some very nice detailed backgrounds, the characters are designed well and the colours are dynamic and atmospheric. The music is both haunting and rousing, a good fit for the film's mood.

Writing is far from simplistic or childish and the voice acting is impressive, Michael C. Hall being brilliant while Benjamin Bratt is one of the better voices for Superman of the DC animated films and others show that with good material they can act (C. Thomas Howell).

Concluding, 'Justice League: Gods and Monsters' may not be quite godly but it is far from monstrous, closer to the former than the latter. 8/10 Bethany Cox

The characters portrayed in the Justice League are very different from the ones we are usually used to see. The back-story of the characters has been changed and even the real life names of the characters have been changed. This makes for an interesting and gripping plot. Its refreshing to see the characters out of their clichéd stories.

If you are willing to try something out of the comfort zone this is it. The supporting characters have a much different role to play. This storyline is well worth further exploitation. The ending is a platitude that you can expect from Justice League. But the movie is well written and made.

In an alternate universe, the Justice League is a brutal force that maintains order on Earth. As a result of the Justice League's savage tactics, their unaccountability is ultimately challenged by the world's governments following the suspicious deaths of renowned scientists.

Admittedly, I was initially influenced by some of the negative reviews that lashed out at the concept of Justice League: Gods and Monsters; however, this DC Animated Film was surprisingly entertaining. Directed by, Sam Liu, the dark and violent atmosphere suited the overall theme of the movie. Although this is an alternate Justice League from the one I grew to love over the years, this is definitely an exciting addition to the Justice League Animated Movie Series.

7 Stars.