It is telling that the animated DC universe has expanded to such a degree that we can get four wholly appropriate episodes of four different shows without dipping into the Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, or even Superman: the Animated Series catalogue. In this case they are the Justice League Unlimited Episode "Task Force X," the Batman: Brave and the Boldepisode " Emperor Joker," the The Batman episode "Two of a Kind" (which introduced Harley Quinn into that series's universe during their best overall season), and the terrific "Infiltrator" episode of the terrific Young Justice. Unknown quality notwithstanding, the choice for Justice League: Throne of Atlantis to focus on Aquaman automatically piques my interest. We also get a ten-minute preview of the next DCAU feature, which will serve as a direct sequel to Justice League: War and introduce Aquaman to the fold. if only my children weren't terrible at video games). Aside from the aforementioned commentary, we get the usual previews of older titles and related products ( Lego Batman 3 looks quite fun. ![]() The Blu Ray itself comes with just a few extras, but they are relatively high-quality supplements per usual for these titles. And most importantly, it wins points for being quite good and quite entertaining. It wins points for who it chooses to focus on, as well as the attempt to exist in a specific genre beyond generic superhero adventure. This is not a superhero film but rather a heist caper, and it's (because this bears repeating) exactly the kind of project (offbeat, focusing on B-level characters) that the DCAU should be producing. The reason this works is that the film never tries to convince you that these villains are really "good guys" or deserving of our sympathetic beyond the visceral pleasure of watching them do a job efficiently. It really is R-rated in content and in tone, from the explicit sexual content to the amoral wholesale slaughter of relatively innocent people. The animation is gorgeous and the vocals are superb, and the film mixes black comedy and often gruesome violence with aplomb, delivering exactly the kind of comic book/superhero-ish film that you could never see in live-action. I could merely spoil the best jokes and reveal the best action beats, but what would be the fun of that? The film is alive in a way the generic likes of Son of Batman was not, and this feels like a case of corporate edict being worked around for the sake of doing something wholly different from the rest of the DCAU pack. Yes, Batman (again voiced by Kevin Conroy) is a major supporting character, but this is a Suicide Squad adventure through-and-through. There is an obvious unleashing of id, one clearly apparent listening to the filmmakers discuss the project on the included commentary, and a feeling of being unchained from the need to tell a hero's journey or even any kind of journey focused on Batman, Superman, or the Justice League as a whole. The film, written by Heath Corson and directed by Jay Oliva and Ethan Spaulding, does a splendid job of both. Since the plot is nothing special and there is no real arc to speak of, the emphasis is on character and violence. But it is incredibly fun as the likes of Deadshot (Neal McDonough), Harley Quinn (a delightfully goofy and entertaining Hynden Walch), Black Spider ( Giancarlo Esposito), Killer Frost (Jennifer Hale), and King Shark ( John DiMaggio) are unwillingly forced to work together and somewhat get along in a rather solid crime caper/heist story. None of this is remotely profound and it's almost gleefully immoral in how it coldly shows the Squad brutally slaughtering Arkham security guards like flies. ![]() ![]() Yes, Batman does get involved and the Joker plays a role once the action shifts to inside the asylum, but the focus remains almost entirely on the lesser-known supervillain hit squad. ![]() Pounder, who really should just reprise her role when Waller makes her live-action debut in the current DC cinematic universe) recruiting several DC rogues to break into Arkham Asylum and get an incriminating file which has been procured by an imprisoned Edwarhd Nygma. The plot involves Amanda Waller (once again voiced by C.C.H.
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