Showing posts with label Green Lantern. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Green Lantern. Show all posts

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Justice League: War DC Universe Animated Movie - Review

Batman Superman Wonder Woman Justice League Team Movie War DC Universe Animated Original Movie 2014

Justice League: War (JL: War) is based on the graphic novel “Justice League: Origin by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee. JL: War features the The New 52 a.k.a. the rebooted DC Universe.

One of the most prominent visible changes is the new look Superman who has a significantly better fashion sense than the previous one...

The movie's plot focuses on an invasion by Darkseid on planet Earth. Our heroes team together to stop the takeover attempt.

Jay Oliva directed the movie that stars the voice talents of Alan Tudyk as Superman, Jason O'Mara as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Michelle Monaghan as Wonder Woman, Justin Kirk as Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, Shemar Moore as Cyborg/Victor Stone, Christopher Gorham as The Flash/Barry Allen, Sean Astin as Shazam, George Newbern as  Steve Trevor and Steve Blum as Darkseid.


Wonder Woman vs Darkseid Justice League War DC Universe Animated Original Movie 2014

The movie has some of the best action sequences that I have seen in an animated movie in a long time. In fact, the movie has almost non-stop action right from the start and never lets up. It only gets better... The climactic showdown between Darkseid and the Justice League lasts for nearly 30 minutes and features some intense and breathtaking choreography.

The movie also boasts of some excellent humor, mostly thanks to the Green Lantern. I also liked the  Super Friends” reference.

There are some subtle nods to other DC Universe properties, including the 1978 Superman movie, The Dark Knight Rises and Man of Steel.

The voice work is superb. As good as the entire cast is, Jason O'Mara, Shemar Moore and Steve Blum leave a strong impression.


Black Superhero Cyborg Victor Stone Justice League War DC Universe Animated Original Movie 2014

Among the characters, Cyborg/Victor Stone has the most compelling character arc. Cyborg is a fascinating character and presents a lot of potential for fun due to the unique nature of his superpowers.

As much as I like Bats and Supes, Cyborg represents a new breed of DC superheroes that combine the imagination of man with the power of machines. I am interested to see how Ray Fisher brings Cyborg to life in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Another character with similar powers is the Blue Beetle, whom I discovered in Batman: The Brave and the Bold and the Young Justice series. His powers are derived from Scarab, an advanced alien technology.

Speaking of Supes and Bats, they are in fine form too. Especially, Supes who not only looks better in his new costume, but has some real attitude as well.


Batman v Superman Justice League War DC Universe Animated Original Movie 2014

The Kryptonian has near physical invulnerability on our planet and his mental outlook reflects that. He is not the self-effacing individual as played by the late Christopher Reeve.

This Man of Steel is quite a showboat and loves to get into scrapes. Personally, I prefer this version to the bland real life version portrayed by Henry Cavill.

The clash between Superman and Batman/Green Lantern is one of the best action set pieces in this movie. The action choreography, background score, voicework and the animation all come together flawlessly to present a very fun and memorable scene.

Click on the link below to buy both the graphic novel and the movie combo pack:


I like Batman for his flaws and relatability. But Supes is just way too powerful even for Batman to face off.  And JL:War even has Batman and Green Lantern teaming up to stop Kal-El and still they come up short. Which is exactly how it should be...

I hope that the encounter between Ben Affleck's Batman and Henry Cavill's Superman will be even better than the animated version seen here.


Shazam Wonder Woman Green Lantern Cyborg in Justice League War DC Universe Animated Original Movie 2014

Bats, as usual, gets a lot of screen time and Jason O'Mara does a fine job of voicing the Dark Knight. There are some really gorgeous shots of Batman and Bat fans will enjoy them immensely.

Batman has a lot of scenes with Green Lantern and their conversations are funny and lively.

Other superheroes are paired up too. Shazam and Cyborg and more importantly, Supes and Wonder Woman. It is only natural that such super-powered individuals of opposite sex would be attracted to each other.

This is the second movie directed by Jay Oliva that I have had a blast with. His Batman: Assault on Arkham also had equally great sense of humor and fantastic action sequences. That movie had a more mature tone as well.

Check out the trailer below:


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Image Sources: DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation, DC Comics, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, Warner Home Video