Injustice is the latest DC superhero animated film released by Warner Bros. As the title implies, the plot of this animated film is taken from the storyline of the best-selling video game series Injustice, which was later made into a comic version.
Now, through the direction of Matt Peters, who previously directed Justice League Dark: Apocalypse War, this story that explores an alternative world in the DC universe is available in a spectacle format. This animated film stars Justin Hartley, Anson Mount, Laura Bailey, Janet Varney, Zach Callison, and Anika Noni Rose as the voice characters.
On an alternate Earth, Superman is happy because his girlfriend Lois Lane is pregnant. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long. Due to the tricks of the Joker and Harley Quinn, Superman must endure the loss of not only Lois and the baby she is carrying, but also the city of Metropolis which has been razed to the ground. When beyond anyone’s expectations, even Batman, the criminal investigation of this two lovebirds targets Superman’s psychology as the target of their evil scheme this time.
Losing control, Superman then kills the Joker and is determined to do everything in his power to prevent any more casualties, if necessary act like a dictator on Earth. Seeing his bad mood, Batman warns Superman not to go too far, but his efforts are in vain. This is where the big conflict between the Justice League team began, which broke out in two camps, Superman’s camp against Batman’s side, which took lives on both sides.
In de facto, Injustice is a story about the great war between Batman’s camp and Superman’s camp due to Lois’ death, that’s the outline of the plot that he puts forward in the game and comic versions. With regard to the presentation in the film, when compared, of course, the casting in the two previous versions is much more complex. However, in the casting of this film, although the scale of the story is more generic, it can be said that the story flows well.
In accordance with the original material, the tone of the Injustice story is very dark, with many scenes of murder and brutal death of many characters. However, even though the spirit is the same, it must be underlined first, before deciding to watch it, for those who like the game or the comic series, put aside the Injustice storyline far, because Peters’ presentation here has a significantly different story. Well, it relates to the development of the plot, the role and fate of the many characters, as well as the omission of many characters who in the previous castings actually played an important role.
One thing that is the advantage of this film is the portion of the action. There are various action scenes including different combinations of characters and they are all well executed. Superman’s true strength is depicted strongly, there is a series of fierce battles between non-superhuman characters that are quite impressive and the climactic fight between many characters that shows extraordinary chaos. One thing this film really sells is how dangerous Superman can be when his powers are out of control but let down by the flaws in the storyline.
With a duration of less than an hour and a half (only 78 minutes-ed), when viewed as an original standalone, even though the film feels like it lacks time to fully explain what the story is trying to offer, Injustice is quite impressive. Interesting story and development. This film also has some memorable scenes of its own. However, if viewed as an adaptation, which seems to be the initial expectation of many fans regarding this title, Peters’s work this time will surely be disappointed.
The Injustice movie can be watched on demand here, while the DVD, Bluray, and Bluray Steelbook packages can be ordered now.
