At the time of this release, I am two years away from catching up with all DC animated films. As I am typing this, I know of one animated movie slated for release in 2021 so the series continues! Two films focused on the main continuity. Two movies transport the audience to a different time period while one pokes fun at the same industry that this series is built upon. Check out my review of the six DC animated movies that were released in 2018.

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay (2018)****

Starring: Christian Slater, Liam McIntyre, Billy Brown

Out of all the DC films that are connected to the main universe, this movie feels like the logical sequel to the Flashpoint Paradox (2013). This film brings back the Reverse Flash (he is referred to as Zoom) and this would be his first film since the Flashpoint Paradox. The actors did a great job with the script but the storyline didn’t leave me fully satisfied. Christian Slater’s Deadshot, Liam McIntyre’s Captain Boomerang and Billy Brown’s Bronze Tiger are absolute gems in this film but other than that, everyone else was just alright. The storyline could have been better but I am not sure how it could be better, it was just an alright film to me. The only exciting or noteworthy parts were any scenes with Zoom.  

The Death of Superman (2018)****

Starring: Jerry O’Connell, Rainn Wilson, Nathan Fillion

I need to start this review by retracting what I said in my 2015 review of the Justice League: Throne of Atlantis. I was wrong when I stated that Arthur Curry / Aquaman isn’t seen in this line of movies until Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020) because he is a big part of this movie. This is also a much better version of this iconic story than the Superman Doomsday (2007) movie because of the pace and action. The DC studios deciding to break this story into two movies helps put an emphasis on Doomsday’s threat to everyone. While drawing out a fight doesn’t sound great, this really gives the viewers hope that Superman could come out with the win and survive. The movie; however, is called the Death of Superman so the audience knows how it is going to end. So giving false hope makes it hurt more when he dies. My issue with this movie more stems with my ideas on belief. People understandingly view Superman as a god and believe that no matter, he will somehow save them from harm. That’s probably more of my thing over the quality of the movie but that was a distraction for me.   

Batman Ninja (2018)*****

Starring: Koichi Yamadera, Wataru Takagi, Ai Kakuma

This is the perfect movie for anime and Batman fans. Batman’s beginnings are rooted within the League of Assassins and ninjas, so to take him back to ancient china fit like a glove. The animation is absolutely gorgeous and very much in the lane of any anime movies / tv shows with certain introduction scenes of characters, for example. The opening scenes set up the rest of the movie by leaving the viewer curious as to what Grodd’s plan was and how everyone involved ended up in ancient china. The different ninja armies that followed each character add another layer of interest. The final layer was a robot fight followed by a sword fight on top of a roof. The writing was clear and concise and true to each character’s personality and they even brought in some American voice actors that have been in previous Batman projects so that was a nice touch. 

Teen Titans Go! To the Movies (2018)*****

Staring: Greg Cipes, Scott Menville, Kristen Bell

I have a different kind of personal attachment to this movie versus the other films I have seen for this review series. I worked in the movie theaters when this movie was released and knew that it was aimed towards the younger demographic. So when I put that knowledge to the side and focused on the storyline then this movie was amazing. It has a strong commentary on the movie-making  industry by using  superheroes as its example. The movie also does something that comic book movie fans are not accustomed to, they brought up Marvel and had a Stan Lee cameo. Will Arnett voices Slade Wilson and he has the perfect voice to bring a very villainous (yet kid-friendly) presence in a young adult animated movie. The Teen Titans are composed of sidekicks of the main superheroes that are trying to be their own entity and get out of their shadows. How this movie addressed that goal might come off as selfish and childish but it works when set in today’s world where superhero movies reign supreme. Oh and Nicolas Cage voices Superman. 

Batman : Gotham By Gaslight (2018) *****

Starring: Bruce Greenwood, Jennifer Carpenter, John DiMaggio

Bruce Greenwood returns to voice Batman and he was a great choice. Behind Kevin Conroy, Bruce Greenwood and Jason O’Mara are my next favorite actors to have voiced the caped crusader. Setting the movie in Victorian times is a refreshing change of pace from the modern or future settings the DC animated movies usually take. Pitting Batman vs the most famous serial killer in Jack the Ripper made for a very compelling storyline. The twist at the end of the movie makes sense and is well executed. All the characters within the Batman universe are still involved but in different ways. For example, the first three Robins (Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake) are all orphans that Batman freed from a gang they end up working for him and Alfred.   

Constantine: City of Demons (2018)*****

Starring: Matt Ryan, Laura Bailey, Robin Atkin Downes

This movie was just, wow. Extremely dark, bloody, gorey and fits right in as a spin-off from the Justice League Dark film. This movie helps explain the main conflict that surrounds the live action John Constantine in regards to New Castle. It was brought up in the TV show in 2014 – 2015 and most recently in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow but the only element  that is mentioned is that a girl named Astra is thrown into hell. Finally getting an explanation of New Castle and dealing with the main conflict, that is also connected to New Castle, made this movie memorable. Matt Ryan’s John Constantine is by far one of my favorite DC characters (both animation and real-life) and is very well written and acted. The storyline is strong and the pacing didn’t feel rushed but you can feel that during the whole movie, John had some sort of plan to win. This was just a fun movie all around. 

Freedom Fighters: The Ray (2018)*** 

Starring: Russell Tovey, Jason Mitchell, Dilshad Vadsaria

This movie serves as a backstory for the 2018 Arrowverse crossover “Elseworlds” and all the characters that were introduced. The film focuses on Ray Terrill on Earth One as he ascends from someone living in his late brother’s shadow to being a superhero. As a spinoff of the CW’s Arrowverse, this film also deals with LGBTQ issues and its main character being a closet gay to his parents. My issues with this film was that it was trying to do too much. That is also an issue with all CW Arrowverse shows as their seasons are around 20 episodes long and are all over the board. I have seen 10 – 15 episode seasons of shows that have a very direct storyline and make each episode count. This film dealt with a lot of storylines but at the end I was still asking myself a few follow up questions.

Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and The Bold (2018) ***

Starring: Matthew Lillard, Diedrich Bader, Kate Micucci

I had to remind myself during the film that I am not the target demographic. The Batman: The Brave and The Bold series has always been kid friendly with a few memorable moments. Blending the friendliness of the Batman series with the Scooby-Doo franchise made it hard to keep focused. The storyline involves the Riddler and at times, it was hard to see the connection. There was one memorable moment in the film and that was when the Mystery Incorporated members wore former Bat Family suits. Seeing the personalities of the Scooby gang working with the DC heroes was also interesting.

Next: 2019