Justice League:Gods and Monsters is an interesting and fairly dark look into an alternate version of the DC Universe. Superman is the son of General Zod, Wonder Woman is a princess from New Genesis, and Batman is an actual vampire. If you aren't interested already, the movie is actually very well done. It features solid animation, good writing, excellent voice acting and a genuinely surprising plot twist.
The DC Animated Universe generally doesn't get the the attention it deserves. In my opinion( and I'm sure many others) the animated films and TV shows far outstrip the live action movies and shows in quality and fun. On the whole the animated universe is a much more varied and interesting look into the myriad characters of DC Comics than any of the live action movies. I don't know why they can't seem to translate these things to the screen but so far I have to say all of my favorite DC movies have been animated.
JL: G&M is effectively a murder mystery interspersed with quick windows into the origins of these alternate versions of some of the most well known characters DC has to offer. Imagine stepping through a portal and ending up in the same place but the world around you seems to have shifted just a little. It shows a vision of Superman shaped by growing up in a barely surviving migrant family instead of comfortable middle class America. It shows a version of Wonder Woman that is on the run from her past instead of proudly representing her nation, and of course the age old question, what if Batman was actually a vampire like many seem to think he is in Gotham. All of these takes feel well done and never feel forced. The one that resonated most with me was the Batman re-imagining. To see such a well known origin taken in a completely different direction was genuinely very interesting. So while you aren't watching Bruce Wayne, Diana, or Kal-El you can see the echos of them clearly in the their alternate universe variants. I think these echos are what make some of the characters actions even more shocking, like for instance instead of knocking a criminal out Batman just breaks his neck.
The universe JL: G&M creates is recognizable enough to jump right into and varied enough to keep it interesting. Some of the stand out performances include Micheal C Hall as Batman, Benjamin Bratt as Superman, and Tamara Taylor as Wonder Woman. Also worth mentioning is Jason Issacs as Lex Luthor and C. Thomas Hall as Dr. Will Magnus. The director Sam Liu does a fantastic job( another great one by him is the Planet Hulk animated feature from Marvel) as do writers Alan Burnett and Bruce Timm. I know it might be hard to believe with some of the more recent live action DC movies we have gotten but the story and dialogue is the strongest part of Gods and Monsters for me. Don't get me wrong the action is great but I actually felt something from the story and the way the characters interacted with each other. It just felt so fluid and real compared to say, how the characters act in Justice League (2017), where they just get thrown together and then the writers have to try and contrive reasons for them to like each other. In Gods and Monsters you are shown how close the team is, you don't have to be beat over the head with it, which is one of the golden rules of good storytelling.
There are a lot of good animated DC movies and I'm sure I'll be covering more, but this one definitely ranks in my top five. You should watch it if you haven't, you won't be disappointed. A little disclaimer for any parents reading, this movie is not for kids. It features some graphic violence and a medium level of swearing. I just wanted to make sure to include this so you don't throw it in for little Billy and then he has nightmares about being graphically burned to death by heat vision. Remember not all animation is for kids and the DC animated movies especially. Thanks for reading and I'll be back for Throwback Thursday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxL1Iw73azg
