Simply Perfect

Don't Believe the Hype

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Okay, I have to admit I really hated the Chronicle shorts because of how much overkill and brutal they were. Plus I couldn't stand the universe changes which also confused me. But this movie answered most of my questions.In this version, we see that Jor-el couldn't give his DNA simple to baby Ke-ll when he was getting sent off to earth but General Zod gave his instead and he turned out to be his son. Kirk Langstorm takes the Man-Bat formula and becomes Vampire and from there he becomes Batman. Wonder Women for some reason is Ares daughter. The movie is also very brutal in a way because a lot of innocent scientists get murdered by Will Magnus's droids to frame the JL.What doesn't make sense is like why was Will Magnus evil and why did he make a robotic version of Tina (Kirk's love interest who he kills by smashing her head through a table).Overall it was an awesome movie and good voice cast.

They are icons of the comic book world. They are the DC Trinity: Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. They are also the heart of the Justice League which helps to fight crime and defend against threats in the DC universe. But imagine they weren't the characters that we've come to know and love so well over the last few decades and instead were, say, the son of a corrupt and power hungry Kryptonian General Zod or a scientist turned into a vampire like creature or was Bekka instead of the Amazon Princess Diana. That premise, and the consequences of it, is the basis for Justice League: Gods And Monsters that was released last summer as part of the ongoing range of DC Universe Animated Original Movies. Does it live up to its premise?The premise is certainly an interesting one that readers of DC 's Elseworld range of stories will recognize as a classic "what if?" straight out of that line. Turning Superman into the son of General Zod who instead crashes in Mexico to be raised by Mexican migrants is an inspired move and which gives this incarnation of the character quite a different feel from the Clark Kent character. Batman and Wonder Woman's characters here are inversions of existing DC characters such as Man-Bat and Bekka. Indeed much of the film centers on the inversion of many DC characters whom fans will likely recognize such as Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, Ray Palmer, Victor Stone and Will Magnus but that won't alienate newer viewers as well and makes Gods And Monsters perhaps the most original release that the range has given us in sometime.Though what it does with the premise is perhaps less original. One of the things I have taken away from the range in the last couple of years has been the emphasis on action sequences over good storytelling, particularly in Justice League: War and the films based on The New 52 comics, something which began to happen once Bruce Timm walked away from the range. With Timm returning, one had hoped that the emphasis might shift back. Sadly it doesn't quite make it with the result being that the intriguing premise is largely boiled down into a series of fairly stale action sequences that seem to have been recycled from a number of previous DC animated projects. Which is a shame really.Even more so due to a good voice cast. DC's animated efforts from Batman: The Animated Series onwards have always featured strong voice acting and this film is no exception. The three leads are all well cast for their particular takes on the role from Michael C. Hall as Batman, Benjamin Bratt as Superman, Tamara Taylor as Wonder Woman with Hall and Taylor in particular being inspired choices. The supporting cast is strong as well including an underused Jason Isaacs as Lex Luthor, Paget Brewster as Lois Lane, and C. Thomas Howell as Will Magnus. As with many of the recent films, it's a shame that they couldn't be put to use in a better overall work.At the end of the day, Gods And Monsters can be summed up like this: an interesting premise with a less than worthy execution. Despite an interesting premise that hearkens back to some of DC's best Elseworlds tales and inspired casting, the film comes across as little more than yet another excuse for a DC animated film with more action sequences than plot. It's a trend that, with the exception of the announced adaptation of The Killing Joke, looks firmly set to continue.

Superman is the son of migrants. His past, full of being mistreated, shapes his character.LOL How are modern migrants, the illegal immigrants, treated in America? They're allowed to break laws, in return for which they receive benefits and support from hard working legals and citizens.This turns all sorts of western culture ideals upside down. Good is bad, bad is good. That sort of moral equivalency makes for a rotten back drop.Throughout the story I wanted to see how the real Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman would deal with this situation: framed for crimes they didn't commit.PC Superman wasn't necessary for that.

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.)