Justice League Dark: Apokolips War

Justice League Dark: Apokolips War is a 2020 American direct-to-video adult animated superhero film produced by Warner Bros. Animation and distributed by Warner Home Video and loosely based on the story arc "Darkseid War" by Geoff Johns. It is the fifteenth and final film in the DC Animated Movie Universe,[2] and the 38th film overall in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line. It is directed by Matt Peters and Christina Sotta, written by Ernie Altbacker and Sotta[3] and features an ensemble cast including Matt Ryan, Jerry O'Connell, Taissa Farmiga, Stuart Allan, Tony Todd, Ray Chase, Jason O'Mara, Rosario Dawson, Shemar Moore, Christopher Gorham, Rebecca Romijn and Rainn Wilson. In the film, following an unsuccessful attack on Apokolips that left many heroes dead, the remaining members of the Justice League, Justice League Dark, Teen Titans and Suicide Squad join forces against Darkseid in one epic final battle to save Earth.

Justice League Dark: Apokolips War
Directed by
  • Matt Peters
  • Christina Sotta
Produced byJames Tucker
Screenplay byMairghread Scott
Story by
  • Christina Sotta
  • Ernie Altbacker
Based onCharacters
by DC Comics
Starring
Music byRobert J. Kral
Edited byChristopher D. Lozinski
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Home Video
Release date
Running time
90 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The film was announced in July 2019 at San Diego Comic Con and was released on digital platforms on May 5, 2020 and on 4K/Blu-ray/DVD on May 19, 2020, respectively.

Plot

Following his two failed attempts at taking over Earth,[N 1] Darkseid and his armies have conquered countless worlds. In response, the Justice League travel to Apokolips to bring the war to him while the Teen Titans remain on Earth as its defense. Upon arrival, the League is attacked by Paradooms - genetic hybrids of Parademons and Doomsday - which results in the heroes either being killed or placed into Darkseid's slavery as the Titans are also attacked by Parademons on Earth.

Two years later, Darkseid has successfully conquered Earth. Lex Luthor has become a New God representative reporting to Batman, now under the mind control of Darkseid via Mobius Chair, on the progress of "Reaper" devices that are mining Earth's core with Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Mera, Hawkman, and Starfire working as Darkseid's newly converted mechanic Furies continue to conquering planets. Due to his leadership, the surviving heroes on Earth blame Clark Kent for leading them into their failure. Raven suffers from depression due to her father Trigon attempting to escape from her magical born prison.[N 2] After Clark rescues her from one of her suicidal attempts, they head to recruit a war-torn John Constantine, who blames himself for letting his lover Zatanna die during the battle, to find Batman's son Damian Wayne in hopes for the latter to free Batman from the Mobius Chair. Etrigan accompanies the group in finding Damian, whom Constantine tracks at a League of Assassins outpost. Damian reluctantly joins the heroes.

In Metropolis, Clark's wife Lois Lane has recruited the Suicide Squad, now led by Harley Quinn following Amanda Waller's death from cancer[N 3] as part of her and Clark's plan to infiltrate the LexCorp building and use its boom tube to return to Apokolips. While the Squad is used as a distraction to get inside, Constantine telepathically contacts and convinces Swamp Thing to help the humans in destroying the Reapers. When the group enters the building, they are confronted by Luthor, although he surrenders when they defeat him and reveals he was just a mole helping Lois. The group split into two with Clark's group going to Apokolips while Lois' group stay behind to protect the boom tube.

Batman alerts Darkseid of Luthor's betrayal prompting Darkseid to send his Furies to Apokolips. On Apokolips, Clark's group is attacked by the mechanic Furies which results in Etrigan's death. While also there, Constantine frees Wonder Woman using her Lasso of Truth who stays behind to fend off the Furies then goes to free the Flash - who was imprisoned to eternally run on a treadmill powering the planet, and performs a spell on Cyborg - who was used as the planet's power source. Batman and Darkseid return to Apokolips with Darkseid ordering Batman to kill Damian. However, Batman hesitates when he is reminded of his own parents' death. This angers Darkseid so he instead attempts to kill Batman but Damian steps in to sacrifice himself, triggering Raven to rage hence breaking Trigon free of his prison. Despite Constantine offering himself as host, Trigon kills him and uses Clark instead.

Back at LexCorp, Lois's team become surrounded by Paradooms prompting them to initiate a self destruct. Lois transmits a goodbye message to Apokolips with Cyborg's help. Lois' death then triggers Superman to break free from Trigon. Meanwhile, Constantine is briefly taken to the afterlife where he reunites with Zatanna who reveals it was part of Batman's plan to use her magic to make Constantine flee. Simultaneously, Zatanna and Raven revive Constantine and Damian. Cyborg reveals his plan to teleport the Paradooms from Earth back to Apokolips and suck the planet into a black hole. Constantine and Raven combine their magic to give Trigon his physical form back so he can head to fight Darkseid while the heroes safely return to Earth and Cyborg commences his plan.

The damage is already done, one-third of Earth's core has successfully been mined from the Reapers, putting the Earth's orbit in danger of freezing or heating up into unsuitable temperatures. While Superman assures that the Justice League never quits, Constantine convinces Flash to create a second Flashpoint, after knowing he created the first while freeing him, to undo Darkseid's work despite knowing the world will not be the same as it was before.

Voice cast
Voice actor Character
Matt Ryan John Constantine
Jerry O'Connell Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman
Taissa Farmiga Rachel Roth / Raven
Stuart Allan Damian Wayne / Robin
Tony Todd Uxas / Darkseid
Ray Chase Etrigan
Jason O'Mara Bruce Wayne / Batman
Rosario Dawson Princess Diana / Diana Prince / Wonder Woman
Rainn Wilson Lex Luthor
Rebecca Romijn Lois Lane
Camilla Luddington Zatanna Zatara
Christopher Gorham Barry Allen / Flash
Shemar Moore Victor Stone / Cyborg
Hynden Walch[N 4] Harleen Quinzel / Harley Quinn
Liam McIntyre Digger Harkness / Captain Boomerang
John DiMaggio King Shark, Trigon
Sachie Alessio Lady Shiva
Roger R. Cross John Stewart / Green Lantern, Alec Holland / Swamp Thing

In addition, Billy Batson / Shazam, Arthur Curry / Aquaman, J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter, Hal Jordan / Green Lantern, Mera, Katar Hol / Hawkman, Dick Grayson / Nightwing, Koriand'r / Starfire, Roy Harper / Speedy, Karen Beecher / Bumblebee, Garfield Logan / Beast Boy, Jaime Reyes / Blue Beetle, Donna Troy / Wonder Girl, Conner Kent / Superboy, Wallace West / Kid Flash, Black Orchid, Kate Kane / Batwoman, Luke Fox / Batwing, Barbara Gordon / Batgirl, Thomas Wayne, Martha Wayne, Joe Chill, John Henry Irons / Steel, Barbara Ann Minerva / Cheetah, Doris Zeul / Giganta, Mark Mardon / Weather Wizard, Toymaster, David Hyde / Black Manta, Bane, the Guardians of the Universe, and members of the Green Lantern Corps (Arisia Rrab, Arkkis Chummuck, Chaselon, Galius Zed, Green Man, Guy Gardner, Kilowog, Palaqua, and Salaak) all have non-speaking cameos.

Production

The film was first announced on July 20, 2019 at San Diego Comic Con.[4] In February 2020, the voice cast for the film was announced with several voice actors from previous DC Animated Movie Universe films all reprising their respective roles.[5]

Release

A trailer for the film was released on March 4, 2020. The film was released on digital platforms on May 5, 2020 and will release on 4K/Blu-ray/DVD on May 19, 2020, respectively.[6] The release will feature a showcase animated short based on Adam Strange.[7]

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 100% based on 16 reviews, with an average rating of 7.75/10.[8] Jesse Schden of IGN movies said "This film takes full advantage of the fact that it's the final chapter in a 15-movie arc. Its narrative veers into some very surprising and compelling directions, and somehow it manages to pay off on loose ends from across the DCU".[9]

Future

In spite of Justice League Dark: Apokolips War being confirmed as the last film in the DCAMU,[2] screenwriter Ernie Altbacker teased the possibility of a new project related to that continuity. He stated that "the way we ended it... it's really like a tough balancing act: It ends something on a bittersweet yet hopeful note, and I'll just say, people who are saying, "Oh man, we're not going to get anymore of these!" ...you're not losing something, you're gaining something new..."[10]

Notes
  1. As depicted in the 2014 film Justice League: War and 2019 film Reign of the Supermen.
  2. As depicted in Justice League vs. Teen Titans.
  3. As predicted in Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay.
  4. Walch replaces Tara Strong who previously voiced Quinn in Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, that is also set in the DCAMU.

References
  1. "Justice League Dark: Apokolips War Release Date, Box Art, Info, Trailer". Cosmic Book News. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  2. Barnhardt, Adam (March 29, 2020). "Justice League Dark: Apokolips War Will Be the Last Film in the DC Animated Movie Universe". ComicBook.com. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  3. Burwick, Kevin (March 2, 2020). "Justice League Dark: Apokolips War Trailer Unites DC All-Stars Against Darkseid". movieweb. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  4. Lovett, James (July 20, 2019). "Justice League Dark: Apokolips War Movie Announced". comicbook.com. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  5. Bernaschina, Michael (February 26, 2020). "Justice League Dark: Apokolips War's Massive Voice Cast Revealed". cbr. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  6. Mancuso, Vinnie (March 4, 2020). "'Justice League Dark: Apokolips War' Trailer Reveals an R-rated DC Comics Epic". Collider.
  7. Aune, Saun. P (March 6, 2020). "Justice League Dark: Apokolips War release date and prices announced". batman-news.
  8. "Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  9. Schedeen, Jesse (May 5, 2020). "Justice League Dark: Apokolips War Review". IGN. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  10. Stone, Sam (May 12, 2020). "Justice League Dark Writer Eulogizes the DC Animated Universe". Comic Book Resources.
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