Justice League Dark: Apokolips War review

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK: APOKOLIPS WAR: 

GRITTY DC ANIMATED FILM BRINGS TOGETHER SOME OF DC’S GREATEST HEROES (AND VILLAINS) IN A GLORIOUS FINAL SHOWDOWN! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

WARNER BROS. ANIMATION

John Constantine, Superman, Raven, and Robin in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War

            No, that isn’t a spelling mistake! The heroes and villains of DC Comics engage in battle against the powerful Darkseid in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, the latest installment of the DC Animated Movie Universe and follow-up to 2017’s Justice League Dark. Prior to this review I watched for the first time the Justice League Darkanimated movie and because I didn’t review it at the time of its release, I’ll share my quick thoughts on it before we kickstart the Apokolips War. 

             Unlike the original and iconic Justice League team, Justice League Dark consists of more supernatural-themed heroes in the DC Universe like John Constantine, Zatanna, Etrigan the Demon, Swamp-Thing, Black Orchid, and Deadman; and take on threats deemed outside the scope of the original team. The first JLD movie was the second film in the DC Animated Universe to receive an R rating after 2016’s Batman: The Killing Joke and as someone who doesn’t follow the Justice League Dark comics (I know a majority of the members but I’ve never read any of the comics where they’re all together), I thought the first movie was very entertaining, not one of the best DC or even superhero films in general but it’s fun even though I felt the movie was slightly lacking in the R rated bloody violence, it had about as much as Princess Mononoke (Which was rated PG-13) in my opinion; I also thought the villain was pretty weak and forgettable, good movie overall. 

            Now we have Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, the fifteenth and final film in the DC Animated Movie Universe. Basically, serving as DC’s answer to Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame with the Justice League Dark, original Justice League, Teen Titans, Suicide Squad, and many other fan favorites joining forces to stop a threat powerful enough to destroy the entire universe…and it…is…GLORIOUS! 

            If the final battle of Avengers: Endgame is categorized as “Marvel Comics Come to Life” then the entire running time of Justice League Dark: Apokolips War is the animated equivalent of DC Comics come to life. It’s a gritty, overblown superhero spectacle that gives longtime fans of the comics and animated movies what they want with compelling main characters and an unexpected amount of depth to boot, it’s not only one of the best DC animated films; but one of the best DC films PERIOD! 

            After an intense battle on the planet Apokolips against the powerful Darkseid (voiced by Tony Todd-Star Trek: The Next Generation/Deep Space Nine, Candyman franchise, Final Destination franchise) results in the decimation of Earth, members of the Justice League now brainwashed by the villainous warmonger, and several fallen heroes including the Justice League Dark’s own Zatanna (voiced by Camilla Luddington-Grey’s Anatomy, William & Kate: The Movie, Tomb Raider (video game series)), forcing the survivors to regroup on Earth. The remaining heroes consisting of John Constantine (voiced by Matt Ryan-Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, The CW’s Arrowverse,Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (video game)), Superman (voiced by Jerry O’Connell-Jerry Maguire, Scream 2, The Defenders), Raven (voiced by Taissa Farmiga-Higher Ground, American Horror Story, The Bling Ring), Damian Wayne/Robin (voiced by Stuart Allen-Transformers: Robots in Disguise), Etrigan the Demon (voiced by Ray Chase-Final Fantasy XV (video game), Your Name, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure), Lois Lane (voiced by Rebecca Romijn-X-Menfranchise, The Punisher (2004), Star Trek: Discovery), Swamp-Thing (voiced by Roger Cross-24, First Wave, Dark Matter), and former enemies Lex Luthor (voiced by Rainn Wilson-The Office, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Super!), Harley Quinn (voiced by Hynden Walch-Teen Titans/Teen Titans Go!, ChalkZone, Adventure Time), Captain Boomerang (voiced by Liam McIntyre-Spartacus: Vengeance/War of the Damned, The Flash (TV series), Gears of War 4 (video game)), and King Shark (voiced by John DiMaggio-Futurama, Kim Possible, Adventure Time) must come up with a plan to take the fight to Darkseid himself if they have any chance of saving not just their friends and team members but the entire universe in an epic final showdown. 

            The film also features the voices of Jason O’Mara (Life on Mars, Terra Nova, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) as Batman, Rosario Dawson (Men in Black II, Sin City 1 and 2, The Lego Batman Movie) as Wonder Woman, Christopher Gorham (Odyssey, Ugly Betty, Once Upon a Time) as the Flash, Shemar Moore (Criminal Minds, Birds of Prey (TV series), S.W.A.T. (2017 TV series)) as Cyborg, Cross as John Stewart/Green Lantern, and DiMaggio as Trigon. 

            Overall, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War caps off a 15-movie franchise and shared universe with an, epic, relentlessly entertaining, and emotionally powerful sendoff…in animated and direct-to-video form no less. Honestly, this movie puts the entire live-action DC Extended Universe to shame. 

            While the film wasn’t released theatrically and probably doesn’t have the same wide appeal as something like Avengers: Endgame, the creators, animators, and production team knew that this movie needed to be big and used what they had to make Apokolips War as epic as possible on a small scale…and it really pays off. Yeah, when movie theaters reopen I want either a Fathom Events release of the film or a theatrical screening in general for it, I can imagine Apokolips War looking amazing on the big screen but even on home media it’s still a thrilling experience especially if you’re a DC fan. 

            Granted, I’ve only seen a handful of the animated DC movies; but I was thoroughly entertained by this movie and was able to recognize a majority of characters through other comics, TV shows, and movies. In fact, after seeing this animated DC epic I want to check out every single one of the DC Animated Universe films. 

            With all the superhero spectacle going on and how awesome it is to see several DC heroes in one place, I really appreciate that it never overshadows the main characters. Specifically, Constantine who lost his lover Zatanna in the war against Darkseid and Raven who is now suicidal and having difficulties keeping her demonic father Trigon from breaking free from his magical prison; they’re both very powerful but also have sensitive sides as well and the vocal performances from Matt Ryan and Taissa Farmiga are phenomenal.  

            Justice League Dark: Apokolips War is to DC fans what Avengers: Endgame was to Marvel fans and if you’re a fan of DC Comics or comic books/superheroes in general then this is something you don’t want to miss.