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Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Justice League vs. Teen Titans Review


Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: When Trigon possesses members of the Justice League, it's up to the Teen Titans to save the world.

Review: Hoping to capitalize on the success (or lack thereof) of "Batman v Superman," they decided to release this little film at the same time. Unfortunately, this is probably the worst direct to DVD movie from DC that I've watched. The main problem is how unbelievably misleading the title and plot synopsis are. For one, the Justice League members are only there to create tension, and this is hardly a versus situation. Likewise, the Titans are done a huge disservice due to far, far too much emphasis being placed on this newer version of Robin, Damian Wayne. I haven't followed modern comics in over a decade so I had no idea who this new Robin was. He's fucking annoying! He reminds of the male equivalent of Rey from stupid "The Force Awakens;" overpowered because the writers demand it. I mean, this bitch is 12 years old, a regular human, and holding his own against the Flash. The FLASH?! That's a good one. And that line, "I AM a weapon!" HAH! No, what you ARE is up past your bedtime, kid.

The story is mostly straightforward as Robin is placed with the Teen Titans to teach him teamwork. Surprise, he's a total asshole to everyone. Instead of focusing on Raven and Trigon as you'd hope, Robin is further forced onto the story by having a lame connection to Raven. Instead of a fast-paced action film with the Titans taking on the Justice League, we are treated to a dance battle with Robin and Beast Boy. Oh fuck. Sure, the Justice League members are here, but they are simply pawns of Trigon who possesses them to do his bidding. When Trigon finally shows up in person, he is defeated easily enough by Raven. In essence, the Justice League members are here to simply draw in more viewers and to pad out an already thin plot. Furthermore, there is little attempt to bridge this incarnation of the Teen Titans with the beloved cartoon from years back; though, there are a few winks. On the bright side, Starfire's depiction was smoking hot!

Honestly, the deciding factor for whether you will enjoy this film is the degree to which Robin annoys you. If you love the character, you will love this film. If you're like me, and hate this bastard, the film will be dragged down tremendously. Besides this Jar Jar level of annoyance, there simply isn't enough going on--the Justice League members completely sidelined. While I would not mind a Teen Titan-focused film at all, they only give attention to Robin and a little bit of Raven. Another thing that bothered me to a lesser extent was the voice cast--they aren't how I would want them to be; Raven especially was hard to tolerate. Overall, this isn't a complete waste of time. There are still good aspects worth investing your time in, but everything felt messy to me. I simply expect more from these direct to DVD entries as they're usually really great films in their own right. Ehh...you're better off sticking with "The Flashpoint Paradox" instead.

Notable Moment: At the end when Cyborg brings the Titans pizza to the dismay of the Justice League. For one, pizza(!), and for two, this was pretty much the only moment that channeled the fun this movie could have presented.

Final Rating: 5.5/10

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