On the world of Earth 2 in the DC Universe Adolf Hitler and the Nazi’s are conquering and expanding across Europe at alarming rates, while also discovering and developing incredible and ancient technology to use for their advantage. In America President Roosevelt is requested by U.S. Army Colonel Steve Trevor to bring the United States into the war by organizing a team of super heroes to fight together. The teams members would include Black Canary, Hawkman, Hourman, The Flash, Steve himself and being led by the legendary Wonder Woman.
Over on Earth 1 in the present day timeline the Flash which is Barry Allen is in Metropolis on a lovely day having a nice picnic with his girlfriend Iris West. While Iris is trying to get Barry to just settle down and just enjoy the moment with her, it seems fate won’t let them have this moment just yet, as Superman is heard by Barry fighting Brainiac. Barry rushes to his aid and as he arrives a kryptonite bully is being prepared to be fire upon Superman, Barry uses his powers of speed and races up to the bullet from behind to catch it, as he grabs it he continues hauling tail, and begins to run back in time all the way to a different reality. As he emerges from his time traveling tunnel run he finds himself in 1940’s France, as the Nazi’s and Justice Society are in the middle of a full scale battle.
Movie Trailer:
Following his arrival and introduction to the legendary Justice Society in France, Wonder Woman and the rest of the society recognize Barry as an ally and not as an foe Flash, working for Hitler. One fight leads to another and now Barry is stuck back in the 40’s kicking Nazi tail with the Justice Society. The story continues with incredible action and major twists and turns featuring characters from Barry’s time such as Superman, Aquaman, the Advisor and Doctor Fate who play pivotal roles in the timeline even far back in the past. Barry must help the Justice Society and his alternate self save the world from the Nazi’s reign and with the help of his alternate Flash version Jay, he must find a way back home to Metropolis, his Superman and Iris.
My Thoughts: For never seeing an animated D.C. Universe film before this blew away my expectations in comparison to most of the live action films that they have created. This genuinely felt like a good ole well composed action film that did not beat around the bush and got to the point with what it was trying to display. From the voice acting to the dialogue to the ridiculous amount of action and tension in just about 80 minutes, this movie was overall very good. Most comic book universes when going animated and even in live action tend to stay more cheesy, cliche and generic, though here there was an amazing balance of raw action and light hearted humor. Most passionate fans of this universe and specifically this story from what I have learned would call this the glory days of D.C. comics in terms of the characters and stories that were produced, and I think I can see why.
Wonder Woman was incredible as a leader, warrior and friend, the way that she is portrayed in this film makes her look like the most badass woman of all time, whereas most adaptions of her I feel have failed to really capture her greatness. Even though the film is throwing you right into the personal relationships between characters and whats going on in their personal lives as well, you still get enough information and emotion to understand whats going on. The relationships shown between Hawkman and Black Canary, and Wonder Woman with Colonel Steve and Barry with Iris are just balanced perfectly enough in the film to maintain good standing with romantic emotion and pure action. Because nothing ruins a good action movie more than long drawn out scenes full of romantic dialogue.
The way that in such a short amount of time this movie contains so much action with high quality animation, and a genuine heart felt plot that makes you feel pretty emotional for the characters and their outcome, is truly impressive. It’s also super nice to see a refreshing approach to a comic book story containing Nazi Germany using technology to take over the world, here it was used appropriately and I believe did the old generations of the D.C. universe good justice and representation. For most die hard fans this movie will actually tie up some loose ends with Barry’s Flash and how the Justice Society and League were and will be formed and why. It ends with a great conclusion that leads to the future of Barry and the Justice Society open ended and exciting, almost as if this was the start of something much bigger and greater going forward.
Conclusion: Overall I really enjoyed this movie, it was perfectly timed and really easy to follow with how enticing the action was, and how the plot was genuinely a great big mystery with many betrayals. Going forward I am really excited to see movies that proceed this story because now I’m so interested in the Justice Society, how the League gets formed, and in the both Barry and Jay’s Flashes, where hopefully they meet again.
What really made this film stand out was truly the action, animation and mostly the sound to go with it. Something not often praised but the music and sound in this movie was phenomenal, and brought so much more life and emotion to the fighting and plot development scenes. I would recommend this movie to really anyone who is interested in the superhero comic book universes whether it is Marvel or D.C., the action and animation alone are enticing enough to keep your eyes locked to the screen.
Lastly, Justice Society World War II is the 41st film in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line. The film was directed by Jeff Wamester and starred the voices of Stana Katic (Wonder Woman), Matt Bomer (Barry Allen, The Flash), Elysia Rotaru (Black Canary), Chris Diamantopoulos (Steve Trevor), Omid Abtahi (Hawkman), Matthew Mercer (Hourman), Armen Taylor (Jay Garrick, The Flash), and Liam McIntyre (Aquaman).