Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015)

To say that I've become disenfranchised by the DC Animated films would be a bit of an understatement. Ever since Justice League: War, they've just been a mess. There was the one bright spot of Assault on Arkham but otherwise they've just been dull action movies that don't do the characters justice. Thank goodness WB brought back Bruce Timm, who was one of the primary creative forces behind the Batman and Justice League animated series that kicked off DC animated projects being good in the first place. The result is the best DC animated film since New Frontier.Gods and Monsters can be said to be the first true Elseworlds story that's been done in animation. Sure there's been some parallel world stuff (Crisis on Two Earths) and plenty of out of continuity stand alones (like the aforementioned New Frontier) but they've still kept the characters pretty close to the standard versions we all know. None have really tried to craft a completely new vision of what these characters are, and that's what this story does. It makes the wise choice of having different characters taking on the mantles of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman rather than actually trying to muck about with Clark, Bruce or Diana. Instead Superman is the son of Zod, Batman is Kirk Langstrom (better known as the Man-Bat in the main DC universe) and Wonder Woman is one of the New Gods (such as High Father and Darkseid.) Their backstories are explored just enough to give a good picture of these versions without ever bogging down the narrative itself.Like any good Elseworlds story, this is an "all bets are off" take where any prior knowledge of the main DC universe can add some weight when characters like Victor Fries or Dr. Sivanna get name dropped, but nobody is exactly the same as their standard representation. All of the voice work is solid, and each of the primary characters (and even some of the secondary ones) are given the chance to stretch a little and show some dimension.The action is also a huge step up from what we've gotten lately. Most of the DCAU films based on the New 52 continuity have had well done yet rather mundane action sequences. The problem is that those films are trying for a more realistic version of fights, which isn't what animation is good for. Animation is good for over the top stuff that couldn't be replicated by just two actors and a fight choreographer, and that over the top stuff is what we get here.I don't think I can recommend this highly enough for anybody who has found the recent output of DC animated films to be sorely lacking. This is a return to form, it's a top notch story, it's a fun and engrossing new take on characters and it's the kind of thing I hope we see more of in the future.

DC's animated movies in the recent years has been pretty bad starting from Justice League: War and onward. Assault on Arkham was the only one that was decent in my opinion. Justice League: Gods and Monsters is a return to form for the DC animated movies with it's interesting story, great action sequences, and interesting alternate take on the DC Universe.A lot of the negative reviews for this movie was written due to this alternate universe not feeling like the original DC Universe. When they first released the different character looks and change of identity, I too was hesitant being a huge DC Comics fan. But I decided to keep an open mind and go with what they are doing and I have to say, after seeing the movie, it has left me wanting more of this universe, especially Wonder Woman's side of history as I found it to be very interesting being a huge fan of the Fourth World and New Gods story line.The story itself is very dark, much darker than most of the movies that DC has done. The movie isn't pointlessly violent but uses it's violence to really help the viewer immerse into it's worldI really liked the look of the old Animated DC TV series but done with modern technology so everything looks sharper and smoother. I did find at times, a few parts of the movie did not look as sharp as majority of the movie but it's so small, it won't disrupt the viewing experience.This film is a great entry into DC's long list of Animated Movies and should not be missed by any DC fan. Even if you aren't a DC fan, this will be worth your time as animated movies like this do not happen often. (It is good to watch the 3 mini filmy trailers before watching this movie as it will help you understand the world better.)

I was planning on seeing this anyway, as I've seen all DC Universe Animated Original Movies films up to now.I learned about this new take on Batman, WonderWoman and Superman and thought, okay, alright, let's see where this goes to.Then learned Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett where behind it, and it only increased my interest in it.Saw the trailer, and thought, this actually looks good.But I've been fooled before with DC Animated films. To be honest, even though I'll keep on watching every single one that they churn out, most of them are really bad, underperforming either in narrative or character design. In other words, they're boring or predictable.For me, BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM is way up there, while JUSTICE LEAGUE: THRONE OF ATLANTIS or JUSTICE LEAGUE: WAR are pretty much at the bottom.So back to JUSTICE LEAGUE: GODS AND MONSTERS. I just finished watching it. Compared to the more recent DC-WB Animated films I've seen... What a fun, smart, fast-paced, violent (not for younger audiences) movie this is.Hope the rest of WB Animation takes a note, and even though they can't all be for an older audience (not as violent), hope they do keep the fast-paced and intelligent narrative.I really enjoyed it.

First off, I have to say that I am a big fan of the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited cartoons. (also made by Bruce Timm) If you are looking for something with that sort of feel, LOOK ELSEWHERE!While some of the ideas in this movie were pretty good, (I liked the new Wonder Woman background in particular), they fail to make up for the atrocious voice acting, dialog, writing and pacing.After thinking about it, I can honestly say that not a single character was the least bit likable. I had difficulty even finishing this piece of garbage and only continued watching to see if any of its potential would be realized. (I was disappointed.)In summary, don't waste your time on this movie. If you're looking for a "Justice League" movie, this isn't one. If you're looking for a fun, creative action flick set in an alternate universe, well, it got the alternate universe part.This movie sucked.