Justice League Dark: Apokolips War

Justice League Dark: Apokolips War
Ultra HD Blu-ray cover
Directed by	Matt Peters Christina Sotta
Screenplay by	Mairghread Scott
Story by	Christina Sotta Ernie Altbacker
Based on	Characters  by DC Comics
Produced by	James Tucker
Starring	Jerry O'Connell Matt Ryan Jason O'Mara Taissa Farmiga Stuart Allan Tony Todd Rosario Dawson Shemar Moore Christopher Gorham Rebecca Romijn Rainn Wilson
Edited by	Christopher D. Lozinski
Music by	Robert J. Kral
Production companies	Warner Bros. Animation DC Entertainment
Distributed by	Warner Home Video
Release dates	May 5, 2020 (2020-05-05) (Digital download) May 19, 2020 (2020-05-19) (Blu-ray)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Justice League Dark: Apokolips War is a 2020 American direct-to-video adult animated science fantasy 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, 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 and features an ensemble cast including Matt Ryan, Jerry O'Connell, Taissa Farmiga, Stuart Allan, Tony Todd, Jason O'Mara, Rosario Dawson, Shemar Moore, Christopher Gorham, Rebecca Romijn and Rainn Wilson. In the film, the Justice League, Justice League Dark, Teen Titans and Suicide Squad team up against Darkseid in one epic final battle to save Earth.

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 to conquer Earth, Darkseid and his armies have conquered countless worlds. To counter this, the Justice League, joined by new members Lex Luthor, John Constantine and his lover Zatanna, travel to Apokolips to kill him while the Teen Titans remain on Earth to defend it. Upon arrival, the League are attacked by the “Paradooms” - genetic hybrids of Parademons and Doomsday’s DNA. During the attack, several heroes are killed, put into slavery of Darkseid or converted into cyborg Furies. Constantine hesitantly flees back to Earth as he watches Zatanna die, while Damian Wayne survives an attack on Earth and goes into hiding.

Two years later, Darkseid has successfully conquered Earth with Paradooms roaming the planet and devices known as Repears sent from Apokolips are mining Earth’s core. Lex has become a New God representative, reporting to Batman, now under the brainwash of Darkseid through a Mobius Chair, on the Reaper operation. The surviving heroes blame Clark Kent, whose Kryptonian powers were supressed with liquid Kryptonite injected by Darkseid, for leading them to failure. Clark rescues Raven, who has become depressed and weakened due to her father Trigon attempting to break free of her magical made prison. They then recruit a war-torn Constantine to help locate Damian, in hopes to break Batman free of his brainwash. Etrigan accompanies the trio in finding Damian, which Constantine locates at a League of Shadows outpost. Damian reveals that most of the Titans were killed except for Starfire, who was converted into a cyborg Fury but also revived his brother figure Nightwing using a Lazarus Pit, despite promising Raven he wouldn’t use it again.

After recruiting a reluctant Damian, the group then meet with Clark’s wife Lois Lane, who has recruited the Suicide Squad, now led by Harley Quinn following Amanda Waller’s death from cancer , for their plan to infiltrate LexCorp and use their boom tube to return to Apokolips where they can kill Darkseid. They then discover that Lex was just a mole working with Lois. The group are then split into two with Clark, Raven, Damian, Constantine and Etrigan heading to Apokolips. Having suspected Lex’s betrayal, Batman informs Darkseid, while conquering Oa, prompting him to send his Furies to Apokolips.

Arriving on Apokolips, Clark’s team is attacked by the Furies, resulting in Etrigan’s death. Constantine manages to free Diana using her Lasso of Truth, who stays behind to fend off the Furies. They then rescue Flash, whose superspeed was being used to power Apokolips by eternally running on a treadmill. Constantine also discovers he was the one who created the Flashpoint, leading to the present-day’s events. After rescuing Cyborg from his enslavement, Batman returns with Darkseid. Darkseid orders Batman to kill Damian, who refuses when being reminded of his parents death. Angered by this, Darkseid aims to kill Batman but Damian steps in and sacrifices himself instead. This also triggers Raven, allowing Trigon to be set free and takes over Superman’s body then kills Constantine, who at first offered himself as a host. Constantine is then briefly taken to the afterlife where he sees Zatanna, who reveals she used her magic to make Constantine flee as part of a back-up plan created by Batman.

Back at LexCorp, Lois’ team become surrounded by Paradooms, prompting them to initiate a self destruct. With the help of Cyborg, Lois transmits a farewell message to Apokolips in order for Clark to break free of Trigon’s control. Meanwhile, Zatanna and Raven simultaneously revive Constantine and Damian. Cyborg explains his plan to teleport the Paradooms back to Earth and create a black hole to suck Apokolips in, but needs a distraction for Darkseid. Constantine suggests he and Raven combine their magic to give Trigon a physical body to do so. Before going back to Earth, Raven says goodbye to her father.

Although victorious, Batman states that one third of Earth’s core has already been damaged by the Reapers. Constantine convinces a remorseful and dejected Flash that he must create a second Flashpoint to undo Darkseid’s doing, despite knowing the new timeline won’t be the same as before. Constantine told him though the world he would create from the second flashpoint won't be perfect and they might make the same mistakes again but it will be a lot better than what they have now.

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	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, Bart Allen / Impulse, 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. 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.

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. The release will feature a showcase animated short based on Adam Strange.

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 100% based on 14 reviews, with an average rating of 7.84/10. 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".

Future

In spite of Justice League Dark: Apokolips War being confirmed as the last film in the DCAMU, 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..."

External links

• Justice League Dark: Apokolips War at the Internet Movie Database