Justice League Dark: Apokolips War

Justice League Dark: Apokolips War
Ultra HD Blu-ray cover
Directed by	Matt Peters Christina Sotta
Produced by	James Tucker
Screenplay by	Mairghread Scott
Story by	Christina Sotta Ernie Altbacker
Based on	Characters by DC Comics
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
Music by	Robert J. Kral
Edited by	Christopher D. Lozinski
Production companies	Warner Bros. Animation DC Entertainment
Distributed by	Warner Home Video
Release date	May 5, 2020 (2020-05-05) (Digital download) May 19, 2020 (2020-05-19) (Blu-ray)
Running time	90 minutes[1]
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. It is the sequel to 2017's Justice League Dark (2017) and the fifteenth and final film^[2] in the DC Animated Movie Universe (DCAMU) 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^[3] 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 scheduled to be released on 4K/Blu-ray/DVD on May 19, 2020, respectively.

Plot

Following two failed attempts to destroy Earth,^[a] Darkseid and his Furies have conquered countless worlds. At the Watchtower, the Justice League, joined by new members John Constantine and his lover Zatanna, plan a counter-attack to Darkseid's conquest but unbeknownst to them, they are being watched by Darkseid through Cyborg. The League travel to Apokolips while the Teen Titans remain on Earth as a "home-guard". Upon arrival, the League are attacked by "Paradooms"; genetic hybrids of Parademons and Doomsday. Several heroes are killed during the attack while Darkseid dismantles Cyborg and replaces his parts with Apokoliptian technology, depowers Superman by injecting liquid kryptonite into his body, enslaves Batman into his mind control with the Mobius Chair, imprisons Barry Allen to eternally run on a treadmill powering the planet, and turns the remaining heroes into cybernetic Furies. Elsewhere, Zatanna is killed by Paradooms as John hesitantly flees back to Earth.

Two years later, Darkseid has successfully taken over Earth with Lex Luthor being a New God representative, reporting to Batman on progress of the devices called "Reapers" being sent to mine Earth's core. The surviving heroes blame Clark Kent, Superman's human identity, for their failure. Clark manages to stop a depressed Raven from stabbing herself while in search for John for a locator spell to track Damian Wayne, so that they can use him to free Batman. After locating Damian, Raven teleports the group there which severely weakens her due to her father Trigon's attempts to escape Raven's magical borne prison.^[b] After recruiting Damian, they then teleport to Metropolis where Lois Lane has recruited former members of the Suicide Squad, now led by Harley Quinn following Amanda Waller's death from cancer.^[c] With the team gathered, Lois plans to use the Boom Tube gate from LexCorp to return to Apokolips to free Batman after Darkseid leaves to conquer the planet Oa. At the building, they are confronted by Lex who reveals he was just working undercover. Lex then teleports Clark's team to Apokolips, while Lois, Lex and the Suicide Squad stay behind to guard the portal.

Having discovered Lex's betrayal, Batman informs Darkseid who sends his Furies to Apokolips while Batman sends Paradooms to LexCorp. On Apokolips, Clark's team finds Barry and breaks him free from the treadmill. John also sees into Barry's mind and discovers he was the one who caused the Flashpoint,^[d] leading into the present-day's events. They then discover Cyborg also under Darkseid's mind control but are confronted by the Furies. John frees Diana using her Lasso of Truth, and she stays behind to fend off the Furies. He then performs a technopathic spell on Cyborg to free him as well just as Batman and Darkseid return. Darkseid orders Batman to kill Damian, but he hesitates after remembering the night his parents were killed and frees himself from Darkseid's control. However, when Darkseid retaliates by attempting to execute Batman, Damian attempts to shield his father and is killed instead. This angers Raven, which releases Trigon with John offering himself as a host, but the demon possesses Clark instead and kills John.

Back at LexCorp, Lois' team become surrounded by Paradooms. Before blowing up the building and sacrificing herself, Lois transmits a goodbye message to Apokolips. This triggers Clark to break free of Trigon's control and regain his powers. Meanwhile, John is briefly taken to the afterlife where Zatanna reveals that Batman wanted John as a backup plan should the original assault fail, she therefore made him flee using her magic in the beginning. Now free of his guilt for running, John is revived by Zatanna as Raven also revives Damian. Raven and John give Trigon his physical body back to fight Darkseid as a distraction. Cyborg teleports the Paradooms back to Apokolips and the heroes to Earth before creating a black hole that drags Darkseid, Trigon, and Apokolips into oblivion, sacrificing himself.

Despite their victory, Batman reveals that 31% of the Earth's molten core has been lost, dooming the planet as the Earth's rotation will be affected. To prevent this, John convinces Barry to erase this timeline and create a second Flashpoint, despite Barry's promise to his wife Iris to not do it again. As he does so, the heroes watch their timeline being reset while Damian and Raven kiss.

Voice cast

Voice actor	Character
Matt Ryan	John Constantine
Jerry O'Connell	Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman
Taissa Farmiga	Raven / Rachel Roth
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 and Trigon
Sachie Alessio	Lady Shiva
Roger R. Cross	John Stewart / Green Lantern and Swamp Thing
Sean Astin	Billy Batson / Shazam

In addition, 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, John Henry Irons / Steel, Barbara Minerva / Cheetah, Doris Zeul/ Giganta, Mark Mardon / Weather Wizard, Toymaster, David Hyde / Black Manta, Bane, and Guy Gardner / Green Lantern all have non-speaking cameos.

Production

The film was first announced on July 20, 2019 at San Diego Comic Con.^[4] 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.^[5]

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.^[6] The release will feature a showcase animated short based on Adam Strange.^[7]

Reception

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 100% rating, based on 5 reviews.^[8] 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".^[9]

Future

In spite of Justice League Dark: Apokolips War being confirmed as the last film in the DCAMU,^[2] 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..."^[10]

Notes

References

External links

• Justice League Dark: Apokolips War on IMDb