In which I revisit old articles from Filmquisition and Unreality.
DC has long since proven that they are the definitive name in
straight-to-video releases. Much like Marvel with live-action superhero films and Blumhouse Productions with horror films, DC’s non-theatrical
films have proven unerringly good at bringing the intensity and nuance of
comic book characters to the small screen.
In the aftermath of Justice League: War, the king of
Atlantis is dead. While the queen struggles to keep their silent peace
with the surface world, her vengeful son Orm executes an escalating
series of treasons designed to throw his people into battle against the
surfacers. But when the newly formed Justice League becomes entangled in
Orm’s conspiratorial webs, they must convince the grieving Arthur
Curry – the queen’s bastard son – to join them in bringing his genocidal
half-brother to justice.
After The Flashpoint Paradox and War, DC’s latest straight-to-DVD, shared-universe
films had a lot to live up to. War made
it onto my top ten movies list of last year, and The Flashpoint Paradox wasn’t too far behind it the year
before. Additionally, Throne of Atlantis was
one of my most anticipated films from this year. And, although it doesn’t
quite live up to all of the hype built around it, it is never-the-less an
excellent film that broadens DC’s animated universe and meaningfully furthers
its larger storyline.
While its predecessors certainly did not
skimp on animation quality, Throne of Atlantis is
one of the most visually impressive animated films that I’ve seen in recent
memory. Not only is its 2-D art style a welcome change of pace from
the near omnipresence of 3-D animation in contemporary films, but it is
impressively detailed for a non-theatrical release. The underwater scenes
were particularly impressive, allowing for richly layered visuals that its
shared universe forbears lacked.
The
land-bound scenes of Arthur Curry are some of the funniest that I expect to see
all year. The once and future Aquaman getting into a drunken bar brawl
when his conversation with a restaurant lobster is interrupted by a hungry
patron is exactly what I wanted to see in the film. His struggling
between the surface world and Atlantis is similarly what I was hoping for going
in. The problem is that the film only shows us so much of that before
deciding that we need to get back to the far less interesting plot.
Although
visually impressive, the departure of director Jay Oliva is as noticeable as if
Marvel chose somebody other than Joss Whedon to direct The Avengers. Sure, Ethan Spaulding (director of
the similarly excellent Batman: Assault on Arkham) is no slouch at the helm of
this film, but he lacks Oliva’s flair behind the camera. Throne of Atlantis often feels like a late-production
draft of what it wants to be rather than the final film: the over-developed
plot rushing from scene to scene without giving the characters a chance to
develop and interact like they were able to in the previous animated
Justice League films.
Although somewhat of a letdown, Justice League: Throne of Atlantis is never the less a strong start to
what promises to be an impressive year at the movies. Its strong
animation, adult-level violence and eclectic cast of characters are sure to
please genre fans, even if it fails to convince the unconverted of its
worth. It’s a definite must see for superhero fans (and especially fans
of DC).
Buy on BluRay: Only if you're also planning on getting Justice League: War
So what is your favorite animated Superhero movie? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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I think I like this one more than you did. lol
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