Category: Comics

Justice League: War is based of the first story arc of the New 52 Justice League reboot, and features the first meetings and teaming of these reimagined versions of DCs biggest heroes

The New 52 was at best a mixed bag, and a lot of what I didn’t like about it was on display here. The heroes don’t have the complexity or appeal of the previous versions, and several of them have been made more bloodthirsty and violent. In some cases, like Wonder Woman, it fits and is a natural direction for the character. It most others it just makes them grating and unlikable. The dialogue and character interactions are often downright painful, particularly those featuring Shazam. Superman is a complete cipher, just there to expedite the plot and get into the expected scuffles. Speaking of which, the conflicts between heroes are extremely contrived, and could have been resolved in seconds with a little talk and a lot of Green Lantern not being an ass.

There is some fun to be had here though. As much as I dislike this take on Green Lantern and his attitude, seeing Batman interact with him and put him in his place (repeatedly) is hilarious. While I find the underlying reasons behind the fights and the strategies employed flimsy, the action is quite well done and exciting to watch. And the movie is true to the source material, adapting the comic faithfully and making it work in a different format.

Overall I don’t have a lot of fondness for Justice League: War because the New 52 approach isn’t to my tastes, but there are some highlights and for viewers who do like these versions of DC’s heroes this is a strong adaptation.

“The psychos just keep getting younger.”

Batman’s about to meet the son he never knew he had, but things are bound to be rocky considering Damian’s been raised by assassins since birth.

Damian is a hit or miss character for me, but wow did they nail him here and use him as the center of a great story. The conflict between who he was raised to be and his father’s ideals and methods is balanced perfectly and an extremely compelling hook for the movie. The plot carries things well with clever twists and well developed, logical complications. It’s supported by incredible action and a formidable villain to bring everything together.

One of the things that’s vital for my enjoyment of a story are characters who are flawed without being artificially stupid to advance the plot. The cast here all have diverse motivations and personalities that reflect directly in their actions. When mistakes are made, they’re logical and believable extensions of the characters’ mindsets. This is so important to immersion and is done very well here. I also love the dialogue and character interactions, which beyond being entertaining do an excellent job of conveying the aforementioned personalities and motivations. Seeing all featured heroes acting like the detectives they are at various points is another highlight.

Son of Batman is much better than I expected going in and one of the best DC animated features I’ve seen in quite a while.

Here we go. DC’s big attempt to jumpstart their movie franchises and build their own shared universe, starring their most iconic characters.

From the early reviews I was expecting a trainwreck of epic proportions. Having seen it now I think they sold this film way short. Let’s be clear: this is NOT movie in the Marvel superhero mold, and going in with any preconceptions is just going to bias the viewer against what has been accomplished here. It’s far from perfect, but should be judged on its own merits rather than be compared to what other companies are doing.

While there were elements added to the character I didn’t care for, overall Ben Affleck’s Batman was quite interesting and played well. I’d very much like to see the rumored stand alone movie featuring this take. Superman didn’t work nearly as well. Henry Cavill just couldn’t seem to capture the nuanced emotions needed for how the part was written. Superman needed to convey being various stages of conflicted, angry, and worried, and instead I kept seeing the same semi-stern largely neutral expression in every scene. What little we saw of Gal Godot’s Wonder Woman made me excited for seeing more of her in the future.

Going back to preconceived notions, Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor is another aspect that really needs to be judged without comparison to other versions. It worked great for me, as I thought his maniac, ruthless Luthor was the perfect compliment / counterpoint to the atmosphere of the movie. But any viewer expecting / wanting Kevin Spacey will find the performance jarring and likely disappointing.

While there were definitely several areas that could’ve been improved, I enjoyed B v S overall. Decent story progression, intriguing versions of most of the characters, and a fair amount of potential going forward. I personally think the critic reviews were a bit too hard on this, and would recommend checking it out for yourself.