Now you might be thinking…wait is this film CG? Well the answer is yes so DC decided to try a little something here. As I always say, CG isn’t even bad, but it is a step down from traditional animation. It beats the more experimental types like flash, stop motion, claymation, etc. but traditional animation is the GOAT of getting hype content across the board. So that starts this one off at a bit of a disadvantage next to its peers but ultimately it’s still a pretty good movie. It doesn’t quite top the last one but if you’re looking for some fun action then this movie has you covered.

We start off with Krypton blowing up again as Superman’s dad can’t catch a break and we then fast forward to the future where Superman and Lois are married with a kid named Jonathan. For years he hasn’t displayed any super powers so they figured maybe it wasn’t going to happen but all of a sudden he starts to develop them. Superman is at last able to reveal his secret identity but is promptly taken out along with the rest of the Justice League. Jonathan will have to finally become the new Superboy as he teams up with Robin to save the world. Are these two kids ready for such a big challenge or are they about to get absolutely destroyed as they try to fight off the big fighters?

Now you may have some questions about how the League is handled and we can quickly just write this off as a little plot hax/power level issues. You’re not sidelining Superman this easily but hey we can’t have him stealing the show right? The film wisely kept the Flash out of this as well since he’d be tough to take down. The villain of the film isn’t revealed immediately but I will say that he’s fairly cool. Not powerful enough to take out the Justice League levels of cool but he gets a good amount of hype dialogue and talks a big game. I always appreciate when a villain talks really big so I did like that about him. The film doesn’t really have any bad characters so even if he’s weaker than the heroes, I rather enjoyed the villain. I just wish he could have fought some more.

Jonathan works as an okay main character once he gets his head in the game but it does take a while. At first he’s really just your average kid who is getting picked on at school and gets upset since Superman keeps missing his big games/moments. Once he gets his powers and starts fighting then he quickly improves as a character. He is a solid contrast to Robin as they both fight off the villains. I think Jonathan should only continue to improve as a character the more he becomes accustomed to his powers. In theory once he learns them at 100% power then there are very few characters here who will be able to defeat him.

Meanwhile Robin looks great here. This is Damian specifically as from all of the Robins he always has the most attitude which leads to a lot of great one liners and character moments. You just have to appreciate this guy’s confidence. He may overrate himself just a little bit but considering how strong he is at such a young age you can absolutely see how it would happen. He does get a lot of good moments to shine though like diffusing a situation with a bully twice and holding his own against fighters with actual super powers. It’s always fun to watch him fight even if you don’t believe things would really turn out this way.

I already talked about the animation so you’re still going to have good fights here. The soundtrack is a surprising hit though with a lot of themes that sound like they’re straight out of the DCAU. You get some hype themes for the battle moments and also some nice eery ones for when the villains are around. It makes for a well balanced collection of tracks and that’s definitely what you want to see here.

Where the film has to do a bit of a balancing act is having some emotional scenes for Jonathan while also trying to throw us into the action quickly since it’s not like the film is super long or anything like that. I probably would have sped up some of the intro scenes with Jonathan so he can get his powers and take names quicker. It’s always tough since you do want to introduce the character completely but that would be my take. Once the story really gets going then it’s pretty much nonstop from there. The villain’s plan was a little too good so realistically he should not have been stopped but we’ll see if they can top that for next time.

This movie also seemed to take some elements from the new movies with some of the character designs/general roster, Justice League with one character’s role and even Young Justice. As a stand alone it worked really well there in just grabbing a bunch of elements from all sorts of places. I was surprised that Alfred didn’t make a cameo but otherwise just about everyone is here. I think the general premise of the story really lends itself well to a big cast like this. In fact, you could do a whole movie series or a full saga with this plot. There are so many different directions you can go with it so I’d be cool with this villain returning for another stab at it but this time focus on the adult heroes. Even for them this wouldn’t be a walk in the park depending on how far it goes.

You could switch out the villain if you want to keep it fresh though. It’s the general concept/premise of what’s going on that really kicks things up a few notches. Keeping things rather vague since I forget if they even showed the villain in the trailers but if not then this way you can still go in fresh. Meanwhile Superman and Lois get good roles as well at least during the intro. Lois also gets some more to do near the end so I enjoyed her character here. She got to show off why she is still the top reporter around town, willing to take on extra risks to save the day. If she had super powers I dare say she would become a vigilante really quick but that’s a complement in this case.

Overall, Battle of the Super Sons didn’t get us a battle between the Super Sons but their teaming up to stop a common enemy is always a classic way to go. The film has a good amount of action and story here so you should have a good time watching this one. You may wish you could see the League more but I suppose the kids have to get their fun sometimes. Whether you’re a DC fan or not you should enjoy this one. It’s just a fun experience and you should walk away satisfied as the ending is good and there’s a lot of room for a sequel. I’d be cool with the kids showing up again in the future for more action but wouldn’t mind a little time skip.

Overall 7/10