Justice League: War (2014) Reviews

• What happened to DC?

  spider_pig1132014-02-21

  I wasn't very pleased after watching this. It seems like the superheroes were all being degraded. Look at Wonder Woman in the movie, they showed her as some spoiled girl who only wanted to fight and flash her sword around. That's not how I recall her. She was someone who was powerful but not in the "flash my weapons to get my way" type. It was just sad to see some of my favourite DC heroes be reduced to calling each other poor names and taking things as a joke...except for Batman, who was the only one they really kept close to what his character is typically like. It bothered me that they made almost all of them cocky. I don't think DC has as much pride in their characters anymore after watching this. I wished they hadn't changed the attitudes of some of them because it didn't help at all. J/L:Crisis on Two Earths and J/L:Doom were both better because they had more care for the heroes and the people and they hardly made fun of the Justice League.

  More

• Grade: C+ - a weak effort by DC Animation

  josephkalaivanar2014-02-04

  Grade: C+ This was a weak effort by DC Animation (DCA), especially following The Flashpoint Paradox, Doom and Crisis on Two Earths. It was let down critically in several areas, namely in Voice acting, Characterization and Plot. Voice acting & Characterization: Superman - Alan Tudyk is miscast in this. He is unable to effectively personify the hero that Superman is and comes off a bit of douchebag in certain moments. The costume he wears in this is not classic...and IMHO it does not look great. They could have updated it without losing the iconic look too much (e.g. Man of Steel). Supes himself comes off as having a God-complex in this film. He does not seem the noble, self-sacrificing, protect the innocent type of hero we've all come to know and love. He also seems mildly de-powered, though he is easily the most physically supreme of the lot. As usual he disappears half-way through the film and needing Bats to save his ass. Batman - Jason O'Mara did an OK job with gravitas. Strangely he sounded a bit of a mix between Kevin Conroy and David Hayter (Metal Gear series) - which is a good thing. Bats is well characterized in this film and comes across as the investigative lone-wolf type hero. WW - Michelle Monaghan admirably captured WW quite well. The character was also kick-ass (with a nice ass!) and very warrior-like. Well done! Flash - Chris Gorham did Flash well. He was also portrayed well being slightly more mature in attitude without lacking the wisecracks. Green Lantern - poor characterization. While Justin Kirk did the voice OK, the character lacks maturity and is not a leader-type. This is more the Ryan Reynolds version of Hal at work. Cyborg - well done Shemar! Super character to introduce in greater detail. Captain Marvel - welcome back Sean Astin (Samwise Gamgee)! Great job and good character as a boy with Superpowers. Darkseid - poorly executed. They reduced him to a brawler instead of a master schemer. Insanely powerful though, able to resist the entire Justice League all at once. Animation style: This is more Korean anime style (as opposed to Japanese anime) which I find more appealing. It tends to moderate between Japanese and Western animation styles. Those who dislike Japanese anime style may find this more tolerable. Plot: Weak JL genesis plot. Darkseid's invasion play has no clear motive other than to obtain Kal-El. The rest of the heroes are just there because...well...they need to be there to.become.the.Justice.League. Right? ;) Overall: Poor effort by DCA. I feel they let themselves down by approving an underpar script and miscasting Superman. It doesn't compare favorably to past efforts though still watchable for fans.

  More

• a very disappointing 'effort'

  jokredge2014-02-05

  I didn't really have high hopes for JL:War to begin with. I have read the comic book Origin, and although i enjoyed it, i didn't really think it could be translated well into a full-length movie. The biggest problem is DC's decision to move away from making fun, intelligent, thrilling JL movies, and just making 1 and a half hour blockbuster animations, filled with gritty "bad ass" dialogue and stupid pop-culture references. The movie's biggest problem however, is the total mis-characterisation of it's iconic characters, heroes who have been done so much justice in DC's previous efforts (JL cartoons, previous DC Animated features) that it is heartbreaking to watch them here. SUPERMAN in this movie, is a muscle-head, a total grunt whose only role is to punch this and that, and hit on WW. His dialogue is non-existent, and he really comes out more like a lobotomized Hulk,rather than the most iconic superhero of all time. WONDER WOMAN is a murdering psycho, dressed like an generic anime loli. CYBORG is.. a cyborg alright, but not CYBORG. His origin is different, his character is different, his powers.. You could really replace the three heroes above with original characters. It wouldn't have been agood movie, but at least it wouldn't be an insult to the fans of the JL.Now to the less butchered characters: BATMAN is classic batman.His voice could be a tad monotonous but not really bad, and not really fond of the new costume (that goes for all of them, but batman's in particular makes him look less like a 'weird figure of the night' and more like a metal gear character). SHAZAM-FLASH are the most underused and generic characters they could come up with. We get no backstory at all, no character build-up, they are just there to brawl, although the Flash gets a really badass action scene. THE GREEN LANTERN is the only heroe i really enjoyed in this movie. He's young, cocky, arrogant and borderline psychotic, but you know what?That's Hal Jordan! He is the protagonist of this movie, taking the helm in all the big fights, getting the only character progression in the movie, and his and batman's are the only interractions that come off as real-life people talking. DARKSEID is so badly butchered and underused, that i can;t talk about it without major spoilers but, it is very bad. Any fan of the real lord of Apokolips, get ready for it. Now, the action was good(not Flashpoint good), although , with 3/4ths of the film being fighting scenes it could get boring at times.The music score was OK, a little underwhelming. All in all, it is an OK movie to watch once, but given DC's past track record, with movies that really push the borders of superhero cartoon animation, if you are a fan, watch the company's previous efforts and pass this one.

  More

• I'm no expert, but I really liked it. Darkseid is awesome.

  Finfrosk862016-01-07

  I'm new to animated feature length superhero movies, so I'm no expert. But I do know a little something about being entertained, and I was with this one. I like the character design, and the animation is good. What really stood out to me in this one, is Darkseid. Because man he is scary as hell. Just floating along there with his hands behind his back, impossible to beat. He actually kind of scared me. And I'm a huge horror movie buff! I guess the fact that he seems so unbeatable is what makes him scary. Good stuff. I'm no reader of comic books, and I haven't watched that many of these animated superhero movies yes, but so far this is one of my favorites.

  More

• Fun to watch, but warnings ahead

  kuuk32014-02-07

  1. There is swearing in this movie. 2. It is set-up for a sequel featuring the exact same characters (there is an after-credit scene). 3. Batman appears to be invincible, with the infinite ammo cheat on and untearable suit. 4. Wonder-woman behaves like a child. 5. Darkside is just a bully, with no motivation for his actions. He also carries on fighting when he really shouldn't be able to, and his omega blasts vary in power depending on who they hit. 6. The whole film is pure action with no plot and just a bit of characterisation. 7. Cyborg is a joke. No-one can explain how he got his powers, how they work, what they are, where the ammo come from, what the AI is etc. i know it doesn't explain much in the comic either, but if you willing to scrap Aquaman, then you can make other needed changes to. 8. Superman's transformation at the end is left unexplained as to how. 9. They use the 'reset' switch ending to get rid of thousand of enemy para-demons in one quick sweep (like the end of Avengers). Again it makes no sense and feels like a cheap resolution to a big problem. Too many shows are doings this and it needs to stop. This is highly fun to watch. The animation is great and I don't have any problems with the voices like the other reviews. There is lots of fighting between the heroes, the monsters, Darkside etc. but thats all it is. Its as though it was written for children, but then we have swearing in it and our heroes acting like bullies and stealing stuff. As a story, its lacking in every department. There was potential for greatness but it was never utilised. Watch it, enjoy it. But there are superior DC animations and this wont make it into anyone's top 10. But its worth watching.

  More