Justice Society: World War II Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out Note: this is a spoiler-free advance review of Justice Society: World War II, which releases in Digital HD on Tuesday,  April 27 and Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD on Tuesday, May 11. [poilib element="accentDivider"] 2013's Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox is still widely regarded as one of the best entries in the DC Universe Movies line. It also happens to be the only one of these movies to center around The Flash. Coincidence? Possibly not. Barry Allen finally takes center stage again in Justice Society: World War II, and once again becomes the foundation for a truly excellent animated DC adventure. Directed by Jeff Wamester and written by Jim Krieg and Kimberley S. Moreau, Justice Society loosely draws on the Golden Age comic book work of DC creators Gardner Fox, Everett E. Hibbard and Sheldon Mayer. The film isn't exactly an origin story for Barry, but it does feature a relatively young and inexperienced version of the Scarlet Speedster (voiced by Doom Patrol's Matt Bomer). After one of his obligatory Speed Force mishaps, Barry finds himself thrust 80 years into the past into the heart of World War II. There, Barry joins forces with Wonder Woman (Stana Katic), Steve Trevor (Chris Diamantopoulos), Hawkman (Omid Abtahi), Black Canary (Elysia Rotaru), Hourman (Matthew Mercer) and the original Flash, Jay Garrick (Armen Taylor) to stop Hitler's nefarious plot against the Allied forces. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=justice-society-world-war-ii&captions=true"] Warner Bros. essentially flipped the reset switch on the DC Universe Movies line with 2020's Justice League Dark: Apokolips War and Superman: Man of Tomorrow. The former wrapped up the shared universe that began in The Flashpoint Paradox and the latter ushered in a new universe with a fairly different look and tone. That refresh seems to have been just what this long-running animated line needed. Recent DC releases have been more entertaining and less slavishly devoted to the source material. Like with this year's Batman: Soul of the Dragon, it's easy to see the comic book DNA of Justice Society: WWII, but it never feels beholden to any one particular DC Comics story. Heck, it seems as much influenced by movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark and the Rocketeer as anything else, hence why the fun factor is so high on this one. There's a lot that could go wrong with a movie that attempts to introduce a new version of Barry Allen and an entire WWII-era super-team in the span of an hour-and-a-half. Early on, it's not entirely clear why Barry needs to be in the picture in the first place, except as a familiar anchor point for casual audiences, a la Bruce Wayne in Soul of the Dragon. But over the course of the film, Barry's role in this time travel romp becomes more significant and clearly defined. The film makes strong use of its central mystery - why does no one in the 21st Century remember this team of metahuman soldiers? Fans of the classic Justice League episode "Legends" will especially appreciate the clash between new and old heroes, though Justice Society: WWII ultimately veers in a different direction. Pacing has often been the bane of the DC Universe Movies line, with many of these projects either trying to cram too much plot into too short a time or basically omitting the middle act altogether. But much like Apokolips War, Justice Society: WWII makes surprisingly efficient use of its ensemble cast. Each of the characters has a tangible arc. For Barry and Diana, there's the ever-present struggle to balance superhero responsibility with the desire for a fulfilling personal life. Black Canary struggles to open herself up and accept her suppressed affections for Hawkman. Hourman struggles with the limitations of his powers and the idea that he's only useful to the team for one hour out of every day. There's also a charming romance subplot between Diana and Steve Trevor, recalling the strong chemistry between Gal Gadot and Chris Pine's DCEU characters. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/02/justice-society-world-war-ii-exclusive-official-trailer"] Interestingly, the film borrows a page directly from the DCEU by having Katic mimic Gal Gadot's accent in her portrayal of Diana. That winds up working in its favor, as it helps reinforce Diana's aloof outsider nature. It helps that Katic is able to make that accent seem relatively natural, avoiding the Bride of Dracula-esque line delivery from some of the actresses in the Wonder Woman movies. In general, the voice cast is solid, particularly Bomer's headstrong and slightly scatterbrained Barry and Abtahi's vaguely melodramatic Hawkman. The animation is also a highlight, reusing the same thick-lined, comic book-y style as man of Tomorrow but upping the scale and intensity of the battle scenes. Jay Garrick is the only real disappointment in that regard. He never benefits from the same character development as the rest of the team, and his struggles are purely physical. The film never really takes advantage of the Flash family dynamic or attempts to build a rapport between Barry and Jay. Still, the appeal of well-defined characters paired with a fun, engaging WWII conflict can't be understated. The plot moves quickly and with great purpose, ultimately covering far more storytelling ground than the trailer lets on. It also ends on enough of an open-ended note to justify a direct follow-up. Warners has yet to confirm whether projects like Man of Tomorrow, Justice Society and the upcoming Batman: The Long Halloween are part of the same shared universe. But given how well this new animated approach is working, there's no reason not to continue building on that foundation.

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