Director – Jeff Wamester (Guardians of the Galaxy)
Starring – Stana Katic (The Possession of Hannah Grace, The Spirit), Matt Bomer (Doom Patrol, American Horror Story), and Omid Abtahi (The Mandalorian, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
Release Date – 2021
Rating – 3/5
DC has been absolutely killing it with their animated movies. Their live action installments are fun for the most part but their animated films have yet to disappoint. Sure, some of better than others but the weakest link is still a damn good movie. A few weeks ago I started receiving promo images for the newest DC animated adventure Justice Society: World War II. The hype train worked because I was really excited to give this one a spin. I reached out and was lucky enough to get the UHD release of it for review.
**Spoiler Alert** The film is set during World War II when the U.S. puts together a team of meta-humans and called it the Justice Society. Lead by Wonder Woman, the team comes together to stop the Nazi forces from taking over the globe. However, when The Flash accidentally time travels he finds himself in the middle of World War II helping the Justice Society stop the Nazi menace. **Spoiler Alert**
I’m not the most well versed fan of DC but I do know enough to get by. However, when it comes to Justice Society I’m in the dark. The movie does a fairly decent job establishing the superhero collective with some backstory but I was still left with more questions than answers. Regardless, I enjoyed it and could probably watch it again.
The voice acting in this one is great. We get some amazing performances from some seriously talented actors and actresses. Matt Bomer, who is known for his portrayal of Negative Man in Doom Patrol, is great along with Katic and the other. They really bring a wide range of emotions out while only using their voices. The story for this one is fun for what it is but I really wish we would have been given more of an origins story for Justice Society over the monologue during the opening sequence. With that being said, I like where the story went but the meat of this one should have been the sequel. I’m also confused about the Clark Kent/Shakespear portion of the film. A little more clarity would have went a long way here.
Finally, the animation looks exactly as you think it would. The DC films has a style all their own and this is no exception. The artwork looks like standard animation with a little comic flair. I enjoyed it even more with the early Americana flair we get thrown throughout to give it that World War look. Overall, Justice Society: World War II is a fantastic installment in the already impressive DC animated films. It’s a fun and action packed film that delivers a new look at some familiar faces. With that being said, I would have loved to see a little more backstory for some of these characters. All in all it was a fun experience that I highly recommend.
