Today’s quick review: Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. As Darkseid (Tony Todd) plots the conquest of Earth, Superman (Jerry O’Connell) leads Earth’s heroes on a pre-emptive strike against Apokolips, Darkseid’s nightmarish home. But when the assault fails, the Earth falls to Darkseid and the surviving heroes are left battered and broken. In a last-ditch effort, a depowered Superman turns to John Constantine (Matt Ryan), a cynical sorcerer, for help.
Justice League Dark: Apokolips War is an animated superhero movie that concludes the story arc begun in Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. True to its name, Apokolips War is a darker take on the DC Universe, showing the grisly outcome of the League’s last stand against Darkseid. High stakes and an expansive cast make the movie a suitable finale for a long-running story, but its dark tone and erratic plot will not sit well with some fans.
Tonally, Apokolips War takes things farther than almost any other animated movie from DC. Explicit gore, devastating setbacks, and a willingness to burn the status quo to the ground all contribute to a much heavier watch than usual. The movie also plays fast and loose with the rules of its universe, exploring interesting ramifications of its characters and their powers at the expense of the consistency and sense of proportion found in other films.
The upshot of all of this is that Apokolips War has a very large sandbox to play in. The cast numbers in the dozens, and the movie has enormous freedom to wrap up their stories or cut them short as it sees fit. Apokolips War offers up creative, albeit bleak, twists on the usual character dynamics, and the scope of its action is impressive. Even the darker tone is offset by the heroes’ determination and the story’s forward momentum.
Justice League Dark: Apokolips War will be a polarizing movie. Many viewers will find it to be more violent than they want, while others will dislike the way it changes its rules as it goes along. But in spite of these issues, the scale of the movie and the boldness of its ideas will appeal to fans who prefer climactic struggles to safer superhero movies that preserve the status quo. Those interested should approach with caution.
For a similarly climactic live-action superhero movie, check out Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. For the origins of the overarching story arc, see Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox and Justice League: War.
7.8 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.0 for bold ideas and action on a large scale; your score will vary.