Review of Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015) by Tommaso P — 05 Sep 2015

I think all DC fans should be given a fair warning before they watch this movie: if you think this movie is going to be about AU versions of the JLA Trinity, you're going to be disappointed. The protagonists are all minor/original characters in the main DCU: Superman is the son of General Zod, Batman is a vampire Kirk Langstrom, and WW is the New God Bekka.

This said, once you get over the fact that the only connection between the mainstream characters and their counterparts is their namesakes, the movie proves to be fairly enjoyable. Surprisingly, it even manages to be more grounded in reality than the original universe movies. Nudity and violence are abundant (if sometimes on-the-nose), and the characters' origins and motivations are much more realistic (superman is adopted, not by the happy white american farmer couple, but by illegal mexican immigrants).

The plot is this: the Justice League is a force of good that operates with the consensus (tolerance) of the government. However, they are not nice people. They don't pretend to be like the common folks. They know they are superior and that they can do whatever they want without consequences, which is why the bad guys more often than not don't survive the fight. The government therefore commissions a group of scientists to create a countermeasure should the League ever try to straight-up conquer the world (which they do consider from time to time). Things get messy when the scientists are killed one by one, with evidence pointing to the trio of heroes. The League must find the true culprit(s) before the government decides to take extreme measures against them. It is a pretty straightforward plot, with a good twist at the end, the kind that you can see coming and still appreciate. The villain's motivations and ultimate plan are slightly shoehorned, and I would've liked it more if they had been more related to the bad guy's personal relation with one of the Leaguers.

The animation is great, a throwback to Bruce Timm's golden age, and the voice acting is spot on for most characters.

All in all, this movie is a really good entry in the DCAU, and can be appreciated even by those who do not know the DC mythos well enough to recognize the countless references present in this movie.