This was a year of movie series. While 2024 only saw two films released, the studio heads took a major risk using a major comic book event to end a connected universe. Another interesting risk was releasing the three part series throughout the 2024 year. The only other films to be released this year is a rehashing of the classic comic book tale. Overall this was a dull and mediocre year of DC movies. I can only feel optimistic about the new direction of DC animation under James Gunn.

Starring: Matt Bomer, Jensen Ackles, Meg Donnelly

This entry had to have two filters attached. This is the first film in a three movie arch so there could not be a lot of storyline development. I also had to keep my excitement and curiosity in check and focus on just this film, and not think about how this film sets up the next part. This part focuses on Barry Allen (The Flash) as it jumps around to different points in his life in different universes. While it seems random at first, all the jump points tie in together towards the end of this first entry.

I kept my expectations low for this entry as I viewed it as the ramp up for the final part and I felt that helped me from being disappointed. There are three storylines throughout this film: Psycho Pirates’ origins, The Monitor and his growth thanks to Kara Zor-El, and the overarching story of trying to protect the multiverses. Director Jeff Wamster finds a nice way to weave these three stories together while setting up for the final entry. While learning about these characters’ story and motives are good, there wasn’t a part of the movie that imprinted on me and made me want to watch it again. I felt spoiled during the DCAMU because each entry had something unique, shocking and engaging that stuck with me days after viewing. Outside of one cameo, everybit of this movie felt like an extension of the first entry.

Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Three****

Starring: Matt Bomer, Jensen Ackles, Meg Donnelly

Watchmen: Chapter 1 ****

Starring: Troy Baker, Kelly Hu, Phil LaMarr

I had a hard time not fully comparing this chapter to the live action Watchman (2009) film. This film did something peculiar for me, it made me appreciate the live action film more. I had the expectation that the animated film was going to tell the story from a different perspective, or put their own spin on it, but it stayed comparatively similar to the live action. The animation style was odd to me as it made me feel like I was watching a cut scene of a video game. While that did not distract me from the film, the similarity of this film to the live action did not help. I knew what was going to happen so it was hard for me to get drawn in. What caught my attention was how they did a crossover with Tales of the Black Freighter (2009).

Starring: Troy Baker, Kelly Hu, Phil LaMarr

The intertwining of finishing the Watchmen story with Tales of the Black Freighter was excellently conducted with Phil LaMarr delivering bone chilling dialogue. The extra exposition about Rorschach helped me understand the character more and invest in his mission. Along with that extra exposition, the ending of the movies were very different from each other. As I was getting sucked into the film, the animated ending felt like a stretch. The goal of world peace is the same but the approach in the live action movie is more realistic while the animated movie fits for an animated movie. After I finished the movie, I had the desire to watch the end of the live action movie to compare. I felt that the live action had more closure while the animation fell short.