Justice League: Gods and Monsters Review

Overview:

Batman vs. Superman may be the hottest thing going on right now over at DC/Warner Bros.; however over at the DC animated department, Bruce Timm, creator of Batman: The Animated Series as well as Superman and Justice League animated series, produced a new DC animated film. This film though gives longtime fans of Timm’s work a new grittier and edgier look for the Holy Trinity of DC comics. Superman in this film is actually the son of Zod and was raised by a family of Mexican immigrants. While Kirk Langstrom literally becomes Batman, but more vampire like. Finally, servant of Ares and bride of a New God, Bekka, takes the role of the Wonder Woman mantle instead. The three superheroes must unit in order to investigate and figure out a series of deaths and deal with the opposition of the government.

Review (Some spoilers included):

It’s been awhile since I enjoyed watching a DC animated film. Son of Batman, Justice League: War, Flashpoint…etc. weren’t films that really wowed me. Bruce Timm’s and his crew have really put the effort and time in making a quality DC animated film. The artwork and the sequences were flawless; I felt like I was watching the old Justice League animated series at its finest. The voice actors did a superb job; however my complaint is Michael C. Hall’s Batman. I don’t think he didn’t really put much emotion into the character. I understand he’s not Kevin Conroy, but he could’ve put more emphasis or emotion into the character.

For the characters, I loved the twists Timm put on each of the characters. Superman had that arrogant attitude, but still had a hint of consideration and sympathy. For the entire movie, I was on the edge of my seat to see if this Superman would go over the edge, but he never really did, which was awesome. The Batman was a total badass throughout this film. I felt they did a great job with his origins. The thing that really stuck out to me was the relationship between Batman and Superman. Not only did they respect each other, they also operated better as team mates unlike their original counterparts. Wonder Woman in this film was more likable and a Wonder Woman I can enjoy watching. She had a strong, arrogant, and savage presence throughout the film. I loved her origins more than Diana’s because it portrayed her going through a tragedy.

I was on the fence on the story of the film after watching some of the prequels, and so I thought it was going to be predictable and the villain was going to have a “meh” vibe. But Timm contradicted all of that by having stellar dialogue and creating a story that really flowed well. If you want to watch a solid DC animated film with a some twists and a thrilling story, I would definitely give this film a watch.