The latest Pokemon movie was easily the greatest of all time so a prequel special would definitely be fun. Usually, when a film has a prequel episode it can be tricky since the main characters may be absent. I don’t think that Ichigo got to appear when the anime did an episode on the final movie. Luckily, Ash manages to appear in this film and it’s a pretty epic cameo. Let’s just say that Ash will be going places! Could this prequel episode manage to live up to the movie and prove to be better than the average Pokemon episode? Let’s find out!

The plot is pretty simple and I’ve been saying that a lot lately. It’s just the way that the cookie crumbles or how the mashed potatoes is serves I suppose. Mewtwo is fighting three powerful Pokemon when a mountain shatters from the power and hits all of them. Mewtwo is now gravely injured and someone is still hunting him. Meanwhile, a Pokemon Ranger crash lands when he forgets how to properly use a plane and didn’t notice that he flew off in one that was broken. This guy’s a natural expert on plane mechanics and goes to work. An old man his grandson own a cabin on the land and go to help the guy. They meet a very suspicious Pokemon Hunter who says that Mewtwo saved him, but his Pokemon are injured. The Ranger must now help the guy’s Pokemon and also find Mewtwo to recruit him for the cause!

Virgil is the main character of the special and he’s pretty intense. It may make you wince when he forgets that his plane is damaged and when he can’t bluff his way through a sandwich, but it can be worse. He’s an Eevee user and he owns all of the different types. He’s pretty impressive since he became the champion of the Pokemon League in his region. It’s too bad that he couldn’t face Ash since Ash got knocked out during the early phases of the tournament, but it’s how it goes I suppose. Ash always manages to lose the battles that really count. Virgil doesn’t usually take things in stride and he can get shocked very quickly, but he’s still a good guy deep down. He just doesn’t have the natural leadership qualities that Ash possesses and he doesn’t have quite as much experience. His team wasn’t able to put out a simple forest fire, but they gave it their all!

Dirk is the Pokemon Hunter and he should not be underestimated. He was nearly able to defeat Mewtwo in a fair fight and that’s nothing to sneeze at. I did have to question the accuracy of such a feat, but for now I’ll just take it in stride….nah. That was pretty inaccurate and I just didn’t buy it. Dirk isn’t really a great character since he’s a little bit of a one shot and he wasn’t very impressive. He managed to outsmart the main cast, but that’s nothing to brag about. At least he was taken to the proper authorities so that they could put him behind bars.

Anna and Oscar are also in the film, but there isn’t much to say about them. Anna tries to show Mewtwo that Friendship is Magic and Oscar tries to make sure that Virgil doesn’t have a great experience during his stay there. They team up to give Vergil a really spicy sandwich and Vergil doesn’t take it too well. One bite is enough to take him down and he just wasn’t able to stop it. That was one spicy sandwich!

Mewtwo is the main Pokemon of the film, but she isn’t portrayed too well. The problem is that she’s very depowered so that the villains can actually have a chance. I don’t mind that the villains can get some props since I’ve always liked Tyranitar, but that was a little too much. Mewtwo couldn’t use recover and her speed was very inconsistent. I would have liked to see Mewtwo just take out the planet and go from there. At least Mewtwo will be ready for the movie and she was definitely powerful in that film.

Ash also gets a cameo and it’s a pretty intense one. He doesn’t seem to have fully recovered from his humiliating loss in the Pokemon League and watching his rival Vergil win it all must have been devastating. Professor Oak tells them that they should go visit a town that’s not too far away. He’s likely telling Ash this so that Ash can take his mind off of his big losses. Ash continues to lose in the big championships, but at least he gives it his all! Ash came across as a winner in this special and I like to think that he would have won in a rematch.

The only problem with this episode is that it feels like they were trying to make everyone look bad. The voice acting was definitely over the top and they felt as if they were talking in slow motion for some scenes. I hope that this isn’t the case with all of the current episodes, although it could be a little funny I suppose. The only problem is that good scenes won’t sound as hardcore and bad scenes will sound even worse. It’s a risky gambit so I hope that they know what they’re doing!

Overall, this was a fun episode. It’s pretty nostalgic to see the gang once again and Ash will always be an inspiring hero to all! I wonder if he still plans to catch them all, but he probably just wants to become the Pokemon Champion. It’ll be fun to finally see him fulfill that objective in the Kalos region. It’s also good to see Mewtwo again and the mega transformations never get all. It’ll be awesome if Pikachu learns how to do that in the anime. The soundtrack and animation were great and it felt like they were aiming this at the movie crowd. They probably grabbed some movie animators as well, for better or for worse. I definitely recommend checking this special out, but if you are watching the anime then you’ll come across it in time. I also recommend checking out the film right after you watch this episode so that you can watch as Ash’s Pikachu takes on Genesect!

Overall 7/10

I watched the Trigun series not too long ago and it was pretty fun. It was probably the first anime that I’ve seen in a while that could make an old wild west fight actually be fun. (Granted that this isn’t the same “Wild West” that you see in the films. The film came out pretty recently so it would be interesting to see how the animation has changed over the years. It wouldn’t be as nostalgic for me as it would be for the original fans since the gap between the show and movie was relatively short in my case. That being said, I was ready for anything!

The plot involved Vash The Stampede…also known as the Humanoid Typhoon as he saves the life of a notorious villain called Gasback. Since Vash opposes death in all cases, he lets all of the villains get away. 20 years later, Gasback is back and he wants revenge on the three underlings who betrayed him. He enlists the help of Wormwood, who cannot refuse because he owes his life to Gasback. Vash happens to be in town and he must protect everyone while also making sure that nobody dies in this big adventure. Meryl and Milly are also around because they can’t afford to let Gasback win and break the statue in town. If he does, then the insurance company may be out of business for good! A bounty hunter by the name of Amelia is also in town and she has a personal vandetta against Gasback. Everyone heads to the same town with their own reasons and the fight starts!

Well, this film was a nice throwback to the old days of Trigun. Vash’s character is definitely like his older days, but I’m afraid that it’s not a really good thing. He can be a solid character in some scenes, but he’s very over the top when it comes to Amelia so it’s really hard/impossible to root for him. He’s just not the noble main character that you would expect to see in this film. He’s really powerful and he doesn’t have a challenge in the whole film since the villains are mere mortals, but he likes to give them a shot to fight back. He pretends to be weak while he beats the opponent “by accident”. At one point, he steals everyone’s bullets in the blink of an eye which is an impressive speed feat and shows just how much of his abilities he is holding back.

Gasback is the main villain of the film and he’s all right. He’s not very impressive as far as villains go, but he’s good with a gun. He just doesn’t strike fear into the hearts of the heroes because he isn’t a threat. He gets some character development and he’s one of the nicer villains since he doesn’t always destroy people for no reason. He just wants to commit the perfect crime.

Meryl and Milly are still around as per usual, but they don’t look incredibly good. Milly still has her gun at the ready and likes to insult people to their face, but she doesn’t get much of a role. She still looked a lot better than Meryl. Meryl ends up getting drunk and she tends to panic a lot more when it comes to Vash The Stampede. I definitely prefer Milly as a character and she tends to take things in stride while Meryl panics.

Amelia is the main heroine in this film and she has the tragic backstory that comes with most characters who are introduced in an anime film. She’s a decent shot and she has some decent combat skills, but I wouldn’t say that she was necessary to the story. She’s a decent bounty hunter and she has a grudge with Gasback, but she is usually just attacked by other bounty hunters or harassed by Vash The Stampede. At least she manages to keep him away for the most part, but getting drunk at the bar didn’t help her case either. She’s a decent character in the end, she certainly could have been worse. (Naruto movie 5 heroine)

Wolfwood was one of the cooler characters in the TV show, but he doesn’t look that good in this film. The main villain saves his life so he decides to work for him for a while, but this job involves dangerous operations which will prove deadly for a lot of people. Wolfwood doesn’t seem to mind since his “honor” is on the line. I didn’t find anything honorable in his actions and it made him seem like a pretty bad character. His portrayal was definitely bad in this film, but it happens to everyone at some point. (Vegeta in the Broly film)

The animation in this film was decent, but not really that great. It definitely didn’t help me gain any respect for Mad House. (Studio Pierrot is where it’s at) They may have been trying to give it a bit of a dated feel since it takes place in an “old” setting, but it just could have looked so much better. I would actually say that the TV show can hold its own to the movie in animation and that shouldn’t be possible. The film came out in 2010 so I was expecting something a little more polished. That being said, there wasn’t anything wrong with the animation. It was solid, but it looked more like an average episode than a big movie.

I still have to wonder why everyone fears Vash The Stampede! He got a huge rep, but I don’t really see why. The whole moon incident was intense, but nobody should believe that and everyone who does see Vash either thinks that he is faking or quickly becomes scared of him. Vash walks around in public all of the time and he’s always a nice fellow. I don’t really see why the reputation still persists, but I do like his “Humanoid Typhoon” nickname. It’s also cool to see everyone yell Vash The Stampede whenever he appears.

I do have to say that Gasback’s big invasion towards the end is very hard to believe. There are dozens and dozens of bounty hunters and Gasback just runs right up the middle. He was not in a tank and he had no real protection as he just blasted away at them all. There’s no way that all of the bullets and rockets would miss the guy and he should have been down for the count instantly. There is nothing superhuman about this guy and he’s just an average joe. He’s actually pretty old because he was already old before the 20 year timeskip. The plot hax was strong in those scenes, but most films have a few of those scenes I suppose.

Overall, this was a fun movie. It was nice to see Vash and the gang fight a new opponent. That being said, it was more like a homage to the old series than a full movie. It was movie length and technically, it was a big adventure. The thing is, since there was no threat and we didn’t really get any fight scenes until the end, it just felt more like a side story or a filler episode. This film just didn’t have a cinematic feeling to it and in that regard it’s like the OVA that DBZ came up with where they just had fun and had a brief fight at the end. It’s fun in its own right and you’ll likely still enjoy the film if you haven’t seen the show. That being said, I’d recommend the show a little more highly than the movie.

Overall 6/10

Naruto may not have always had the best movies in the past but things have been shaping up. The first Shippuden film was a lot better than I had expected and Bonds was decently good as well. It wasn’t until the third Shippuden film that I saw true greatness in what will probably stay as the best Naruto film of all time. With things looking up, could this film truly make it in the big leagues?

I should mention that I did not have very high hopes for this film. I figured that it would definitely be one of the worst Naruto films since it involved time travel and there wouldn’t be a really tough humanoid for Naruto to fight. Turns out that I underestimated this film and it ended up being one of the best Naruto films of all time…one of the best films of all time period! Avengers, Titanic, Man of Steel…and even Godzilla pale in comparison to this film. This film completely decimated my guesses of how good it would be on every level and should serve as a staple for how to do things right in several areas.

The plot involves Naruto and Squad 7 (Minus Kakashi while adding in Sai and Yamato.) (I’ll never count those two as members of Squad 7!) as they head off to stop Mukade. Right from the start you can tell that this villain means business and he does his best to destroy Naruto and friends. With the help of Sakura, Naruto makes quick work of the first enemy and they head into the shrine…but they’re too late! Mukade has already started to absorb the seal and now he can rule the entire universe! Naruto quickly chases after him along with Yamato. (Who’s basically copying Naruto) Sakura also attempts to go in with them, but Sai stops her and keeps on proving me right when I say that he’s an awful character. They won’t appear again until the very ending of the film.

Naruto lands in a place that is filled with giant towers and he’s attacked by a group of mecha robots. (Not all robots are mecha so it’s not redundant…I hope!) Naruto is quickly overwhelmed due to major plot hax and the fact that he was slightly unprepared for this battle. He’s saved by fellow Leaf Shinobi who quickly run away and leave him to fend for himself. Naruto ends up saving a queen by the name of Sara and fears for her safety. Can he protect her and save the world universe from Mukade?

This film doesn’t waste any time and there are fight scenes basically every 10 minutes or less. The film opens up with a great action scene involving Squad 7 fighting a puppet master. Afterwards, we get a very emotional and epic moment where the seal starts to unravel and Naruto quickly charges in. Then we’re lead into another fight with the puppet robots and fight after fight after fight. The final battle starts at around the halfway mark of the film and lasts until the end which is around 40+ minutes. That’s pretty impressive for any film that isn’t DBZ!

The soundtrack in this film is one of the highlights as it may be the best soundtrack that I’ve encountered in any film. Yugioh 3D Bonds Beyond Time may give it some competition in that regard, but this film may actually take the title. Every fight scene has a great theme to go along with it and the seal unraveling scene also had a great opera theme. There’s also a piece that is basically techno mixed with rock and it sounds awesome on all levels. I can’t think of any bad themes in the film and nearly all of them were battle themes anyway. This is one of the few films that you can almost watch purely for the soundtrack. It’s just that good!

The animation is pretty solid and it feels a lot higher budget than the other Naruto films. This one actually felt like it could have been a theater film and you could tell that they put a lot of effort into it this time. That explains why there aren’t any scenes where the film really drags on and why the fight scenes are so good. This film has enemies that can shoot lasers!!!!

Character wise this may have been one of Naruto’s best appearances ever. Even his canon moments would have a hard time competing with his scenes in this film. This film encompasses all of Naruto’s good traits while leaving out all of the annoying ones and I dare say that he’s essentially a perfect main character in this film. Naruto was definitely under powered in this film, but he never gave up and continued to try his best. I wish we could see more of that in some of the other current stuff out there. Sakura started out as a pretty good character and she was on pace to have her best appearance in a long time, but Sai wrecked her epic moment and then she spoiled the ending. If not for the ending, then she definitely had a solid role, but we can’t just forget the ending. Yamoto was pretty awful, but he’s never been a good character anyway so that’s hardly surprising.

Sara is the character added for this film and I wouldn’t say that she was a great character either. She refused to believe things even when they were perfectly obvious and not even hidden from her. That was pretty disappointing and the fact that she didn’t really put up a fight just made things worse. When you can’t tell that the people cheering for you are puppets, it’s time to put on the glasses and retire from being a Queen. Considering the suspicious circumstances, I don’t understand how she got to be so close to Mukade and I don’t know why she waited so long until she decided to close out the energy. That seemed like it should have been obvious to her from the beginning since she could see energy and all.

A lot of the hype for the film was because of the 4th Hokage appearing which is why I’m glad that I wasn’t exactly thrilled for this. The 4th Hokage looks pretty bad and very weak as well. His partners weren’t likable character either and Minato’s final scene is pretty awful. He spends the whole film hiding from the villains and he’s just not a cool character. He was completely out of character and it was a little disappointing but this film can’t be perfect in all areas I suppose.

This is a film that I highly recommend to everyone. Naruto finally looks like a true main character and aside from the fact that his abilities are toned down, he’s a very solid character. The battles are really good and while the enemies aren’t humanoid, the music makes up for that easily. The film isn’t very long, but you’ll love every minute of it. You haven’t watched a truly epic Naruto film with 5 Star music until you’ve watched this one!

Overall 8/10

Pokemon is one of the greatest franchises out there. It has spawned many different manga, books, games, movies, and also got an extremely popular TV series. This film got a lot of hype since it would be the return of Mewtwo! I can say that this fact attracted me to the film as well and I could not stop my expectations from rising drastically. I’m glad to say that the film succeeded where others have failed!

The Genesect are looking for their home and wander about a snowy mountain. There are five gray Genesect and the Master Genesect. His color scheme is red and he’s vastly stronger than the others, even being able to manipulate them through telepathy. Mewtwo comes to help them out of a pinch when an avalanche occurs, but a fight breaks out and the Genesect escape. Mewtwo heads after them and then we cut away to Ash and friends. I forgot why they are here, but they’re having fun at the Pokepark when they’re attacked by the Genesect. Pikachu puts up a brave fight, but he’s outnumbered and these guys do have some impressive abilities. Ash and friends ditch the guy who was giving them a tour (Technically he left first, but they’re the main characters so we get to reverse the roles) and get ready for the climax.

The rest of the movie is essentially a very long fight scene that features the Genesect taking on Mewtwo, Feraligatr, and some of the other pokemon who are out there. The film is barely over an hour, but it is still impressive to see a Pokemon film that has more action than talking. One would have thought that we were watching a DBZ film!

Before I go deeper into the fights, let’s talk about Ash Ketchum, who happens to be from Pallet Town. His first line is great and while I don’t remember it word for word, it was something like, “I feel Awesome!” That may not have been the exact quote, but it was something to that effect and it was the perfect entrance for a man of his caliber. His friends didn’t look as impressive with their opening lines of dialogue. Unfortunately, Ash goes downhill fast from that scene.

When Genesect attacks, Ash quickly retaliates with his heavy hitter, Pikachu. Pikachu is able to block two beams at the same time, but Ash doesn’t give him any backup and he ends up being seriously injured. Instead of turning his cap around and throwing out Charizard, Ash seems to freeze up. It’s a good thing that Mewtwo was around! Later on, Ash makes a nice promise with Genesect to get him back to his home, but he’s pretty cheesy about it.

Also, Ash doesn’t make the best decisions. After hearing Genesect’s proclamation that he will destroy them all, Ash tries to stop Mewtwo from taking him down. Mewtwo’s not going to destroy him, but he does need to teach Genesect a lesson. Unfortunately, Ash gets in the way, which could have jeopardized everything. In fact, Ash doesn’t help out at all during the climax and the situation may not have been as dire if he and Pikachu had attacked as well.

I should mention that Ash’s brainwashing/time travel seems to be getting more thorough. He doesn’t even recognize Mewtwo and acts like he’s never seen such a being before. The anime really needs to address this issue before it’s too late. Did Ash go back in time so that he’s 10 again? Did someone brainwash Ash? Was Ash abducted from time right after he started his journey and skipped all the way to this region? It would explain why he’s lost all of his experience, but most of the plot holes would still be around. I think that the writers have dug themselves into a hole in this issue.

There’s not much to say about Ash’s friends. They were essentially a non-factor and didn’t end up helping at all. Cilan seemed a little intimidated the whole time and Iris was too busy showing Ash up at every corner to actually fight. Yes, things were definitely up to Ash as far as the humans were concerned and he didn’t end up helping. Team Rocket appears and they get one of the highest budget scenes in the film, but it’s just a small cameo.

Let’s talk about Mewtwo. Mewtwo has the same origin, but she’s not a guy in this version and we don’t get to see her casually destroy an island by powering up. She’s a decent character, but she could have been a lot better. She gave Genesect way too many chances to launch a sneak attack by trying to reform him. Genesect is basically a machine at this point so why would he change? Ignoring the scene in space, Mewtwo just needed to take him down. Not for good, but at least knock some sense into him.

Mewtwo does give us a glimpse as to how Mega Evolutions may look in the anime. She can casually transform into her Mega form at will and it doesn’t seem to drain that much energy from her. Moreover, Mewtwo doesn’t need a long time to recharge before transforming once again. In her Mega form, we see Mewtwo casually crash the sound barrier and probably enter light speed. Mewtwo’s ability to slow time/use super speed is definitely useful. Mewtwo has a large array of attacks and we got to see several that had not been used by Mewtwo in the past.

Genesect is a pretty good Pokemon and the red one was my favorite. Finally, a Pokemon who is ready to rumble and also wants to destroy all who oppose him. Genesect made for a great antagonist and he’s one of the better pokemon out there. He’s easily Top 50 and probably a lot higher than that in the grand scheme of things. Genesect’s speed is very impressive and the only Pokemon who could possibly keep up with him would be Deoxys, Mewtwo, and Pikachu. I really can’t see any other Pokemon matching that level of ability.

Let’s get into the fights, this film definitely knocks the others out in this area. Mewtwo and Genesect actually fight in the middle of a city, which was really awesome. At one point, Genesect rams Mewtwo into a building and they chase each other across the entire city. It was great to see Pokemon moving at such high speeds and they can both take some solid hits. At one point, Mewtwo has to fend off the 5 of them and she actually does pretty well. Mewtwo is still the ultimate Pokemon (Except for Deoxys and that one is still arguable) and she proves it in this film.

Mewtwo vs Genesect is definitely the best fight of the film, but we also have the 4 regular Genesect against the Pokemon Army. Feraligatr was basically the leader of the resistance and it was nice to see him getting some respect. Feraligatr is one of my favorite Pokemon and I’m glad that he didn’t cower in fear like the others. After seeing his bravery, the other Pokemon step in to fight as well. A pair of Geodudes attack the Genesect and the other Pokemon all jump in the action. Persian actually lands a pretty decent Hyper Beam on one of the Genesect as well. At one point, the Pokemon army is actually winning, but then the red one came back and basically annihilated them all. Ash could have helped to prevent this, but he was still frozen. There is a pretty big opportunity that was missed with Charizard. He appears towards the beginning of the film, but then he doesn’t do anything until the very end. I would have liked to see him go up against Genesect. Since the film put an emphasis on the fact that Charizard was there, I figured that he would have done something. At the very least, I wanted some sort of fight, but Charizard didn’t get any action in the film.

Mewtwo realizes that Genesect is pure evil and that he’s not going to stop. Every second that Genesect stays on Earth is another Pokemon that may be eradicated. Mewtwo ends up making the Ultimate choice..which I won’t say due to spoilers. Let’s just say that Mewtwo was put in a very similar situation to what Superman went through in Man of Steel. Zod’s about to destroy some people so Superman did an evil act to stop him. Mewtwo has the same option available to her and I’m sure that many would have cut her some slack if she made the same move, but Mewtwo is a true hero. Superman is as well, but not in the Man of Steel movie. The decision that Mewtwo makes is one that I’d been saying that Superman should have done for ages. Ever since I saw Man of Steel, this is what I thought should happen. I’m glad that Mewtwo used this method so now I can show people an example of what I believe Superman should have done.

Aside from the awesome fights, there were some disappointing things in the film. Mostly, it’s the fact that the Pokemon had a lot of “Anti Feats” Fire was shown to be greatly lethal to the Genesect. In one scene, they seem to forget that they have super speed and energy blasts as they cower away from a little fire. A cannon almost falls on one of their heads so Ash quickly uses Pikachu to deflect it, but they act like Genesect would have been seriously hurt. At one point, Genesect launches a direct attack at the building and there isn’t even a notable crater. Is the film saying that a very powerful energy blast can’t even blow up a building, or at least make a nice explosion? I definitely don’t buy that! Mewtwo faints and loses power after entering space, but Mewtwo should be fine. Her energy and defense are more than enough to withstand the rigors of space.

There were many scenes that undermined the Pokemon and made them look like they were weaker than Bakugan, Yugioh, and Monsuno. I’m not saying that they’re stronger than those guys, but Pokemon do deserve a level of respect. This movie acted as if they were extremely powerful…compared to other Pokemon. I felt that it was like Bionicles. To the average person, their abilities seem tough…against someone who’s tiny. When you have powers, your size shouldn’t matter so much. In the film, Mewtwo’s blast should have blown up a country and likewise with Genesect. The force of their speed should be enough to blow up the buildings around them! To an extent, I can overlook this, but it shouldn’t need to be overlooked. Aside from Ash looking bad, that was my only other major complaint with this film.

This is easily one of my favorite Pokemon films and I don’t think that any of the other ones coming up will be able to pass this one. This film had the best fight scenes in a Pokemon film and things finally felt a little more high budget. The fight scenes looked like Dragon Ball Z’s new Battle of Gods film and that’s definitely a plus. I expect Ash to look better in the next one since that was something that should quickly be addressed. I highly recommend checking the film out, Pokemon isn’t kid stuff anymore!!

Overall 8/10

Pokemon Origins is a Pokemon special that got a lot of hype. Not only would Red finally take center stage as the main character, but Ash and friends are nowhere to be found. The first few seconds will confirm what you may have begun to suspect…this isn’t your classic Pokemon show! The animation is less colorful and Saturday morning style. Instead it plays out more like Summer Wars. The two animation styles are extremely different and Summer Wars type is considered to be far better than, the classic Tai Chi Chasers. (For example) This can be arguable and it’s all about preference, but it does help to set the tone for the movie. (Personally, I do prefer the TV show animation, but they’re both solid) The fight scenes are also pretty impressive in the special.

Pokemon Origins is significantly darker than the Pokemon show (Although, I don’t want to mislead you into thinking that this is Death Note. Just picture the Pokemon anime without all of the little kids and the colorful animations. Also, there is murder and the stakes are a lot higher. Like I said…this isn’t your classic Pokemon episode!) and the dangers have never been more real. The beginning starts out pretty similarly to the Pokemon show as Red and Blue head to Professor Oak’s lab. I could have done without the Red tripping (for no legitimate reason) scene, but it wasn’t awful. Just out of character, but we’ll get more into that later.

Professor Oak wants Red and Blue to complete the Pokedex because he is too old for such things. Red obliges while Blue decides to become the strongest in the world. He’ll fill out the Pokedex as well…in all due time! He quickly challenges Red to a battle, but made sure that he had the type advantage. Charmander doesn’t do so well against Squirtle and it’s a lopsided battle. The director really wanted to stress how much grimmer this special is, so we get to see Charmander yelling in pain for a very drawn out scene. It was definitely unneeded and may wreck the impression that Pokemon battles are all about having fun. That isn’t always the case, but I would have been satisfied with a simple victory. Also….Charmander should really be able to make the fight a little closer than that. This scene definitely should not have been in the special and makes you wish for a 4Kids edit. Well, just make sure to quickly turn up some music for this scene and you’ll be okay.

Red realizes the importance of becoming stronger on his way to completing the Pokedex. He slowly starts to learn the ropes and he even takes on Brock. The special covers the entire video game so they have to skip a lot of things. They only have 60 minutes to cover many hours of content. It’s definitely a tough job, but they do a pretty good job of it. We get some montage scenes and narration to keep us in the loop. We also get to gauge how much we’ve missed based on Red’s GBA screen. He has to save the game sometimes, so you can follow him along via the play time.

Eventually, Red meets up with Giovanni and they have their first fight. It was pretty epic, but I’m not sure that Charizard would go down so easily. Giovanni is tough and I’m not doubting that, but so is Charizard. That guy definitely won’t go down without a really tough fight! It was one of Pokemon’s few true night scenes and it was definitely epic.

Another one of the scenes that got a lot of screen time in the special was the…..GHOST TOWER!! Red and Blue go in, but the ghost scares the living daylights out of Blue. Blue quickly lets Red wrap things up, while he goes on to fight the Team Rocket members. The story is a little sad since Team Rocket ends up murdering one of the Pokemon. It’s pretty unbelievable and while they did it to show us how “Evil” Team Rocket is, it was pretty unnecessary and made Marowak look bad. How could a fully evolved Pokemon lose to a mere human and his whip? I don’t think I buy that and I think that any Pokemon should be able to beat a human. Humans lack the speed and attack power that Pokemon possess so it should be a quick victory for the magical creature. So, that scene was really uncalled for and definitely hurts the film, but it won’t traumatize you for life or anything. It’s just something that you wish you had not seen.

Well, that aside, things really heat up once Red clobbers the Elite Four. Blue is the final boss and he has some truly epic lines. He even says that he’s the strongest Pokemon Trainer on the planet! With that last line rocking you to the very core of your being, he throws his Pokeball. The battle starts so suddenly that you may be left in shock. Red does the only thing that makes sense in this situation and gives Blue a good fight. Professor Oak was a little cruel since he was late. If he had been on time, Blue could have gone into the legendary room of fame, since Red wouldn’t have made it yet. Ah well, you win some and you lose some right?

Unfortunately, Blue doesn’t regain his pride and he takes another loss to a mysterious Pokemon. Red goes off to avenge him…or just to see the Pokemon. He has a pretty climatic battle with this opponent and he even unlocks the power of the Mega Pokemon! It’s truly an epic moment and it means that Red has beaten Ash to the punch yet again.

Let’s talk about the main character, Red. The anime special had a lot of hype to live up to, since Red is known as one of the coolest main characters on the block. He’s a very no nonsense fighter and many have come to accept the fact that Red is the greatest Pokemon Trainer who ever lived. When the first trailer popped up, warning bells sounded in many heads. Could this rookie really be Red?

In the special, Red does mature as the series goes on, but is this the character that we all grew up with? He’s not quite as quiet and professional as he used to be, but Red is still a solid main character. He’s at his best towards the end of the special. He may not be the Pokemon Master that we’ve come to expect, but that’s all right. If we are being honest, there’s no way that Red could possibly top his reputation. He’s already known to be the perfect main character and we can’t ask for much more than that. The special still gave him a good role and that’s what counts.

Blue (They call him Green, but Blue is how I know him. We both know who I’m talking about anyway right?) gets a good role, although he looks pretty bad in the haunted part of the special. Not only is he afraid of ghosts, (Which is bad enough already) but he actually considered ditching Red and a helpless civilian. Definitely not hero material and while Blue may act stuck up, he’s a good guy deep down. He was really awesome when he made the speech in the final part of the special and had many good lines. He’s definitely a solid rival and gave Red a run for his money.

There aren’t really any other characters to talk about. Professor Oak gets a small role and appears very briefly. I’ve never been a big fan of the character and that didn’t change with this special. Giovanni had a cheesy scene at the end, but I’m glad that Red was able to get through to him. That took guys, courage, and epicness!

One thing that we can’t forget is the soundtrack! The special had an incredible array of themes that will blow you away. They really make every scene even more exciting as you are watching the special. They’re definitely nostalgic to hear and it shows that music is something that is timeless. I’ll still be enjoying these tunes 50 years from now. The music was definitely a solid positive that helped to improve the whole experience.

This is definitely a special that I recommend. You may miss Ash and pals, but you can always watch the new Mewtwo film to see those guys. This one is a nice change of pace and we get to see what Pokemon could have been. Imagine the whole anime series like this and it makes for a nice “What If?”. Hopefully we get a sequel to adapt the next games or a full series someday. Aside from the one scene with Charmander and the Marowak scene, I can completely recommend this film to all ages. You can rest assured that you will definitely enjoy this film. The music, animation, fights, and characters are all solid and that’s a very good thing for a special. With all of those positives, how can you not watch it!?

Overall 7/10

Long name eh? Well, Transformers Prime was such a success that they went ahead and added a movie. This would maybe clear up some of the loose ends that the show didn’t wrap up and give us a complete ending to the series. While that proved to be a little too much to ask for, the movie did give us some more robot action! So, how did it go?

Well, Unicron has woken up and he wants to destroy Cybertron. To accomplish this, he wakes up Megatron and decides to inhabit his body. Meanwhile, Optimus Prime and Wheeljack head to space to find the Allspark. It’s a noble endeavor, but they left the other Autobots on a hostile planet with Decepticons and Predaking. I definitely has to wonder if Optimus Prime’s decision was a good one. In another subplot, the other Autobots decide to look for the Decepticons who are still hiding somewhere.

If you’re wondering what the Decepticons are up to this time, they’re still cloning the Predacons. They’ve created two more of them and they manage to crush two of the Autobots. Because of this, Ultra Magnus doesn’t really get to do anything for the whole movie. PredaKing still rules the dead Predacons, but it’s a pretty lonely existence.

Well, I think the problem with this film was that it juggled too many subplots. The different story lines were all over the place and the film just wasn’t long enough to show them all. Many scenes were rushed while others were longer than they needed to be. Optimus Prime and Unicron has their climatic fight, but it was only 2-3 minutes. Maybe 5 at the most. The fight was over before it had even begun.

Starscream and Shockwave are really the last two Decepticons on the loose since Knockout is captured aboard the Autobot base for the most part. Towards the end, he looks even worse as he makes a critical decision. Starscream does pretty good for the most part and he even fends off two Predacon warriors. His ending is pretty ambiguous, but I’m confident about his chances. My key reasoning is that Shockwave is attacked by dozens of Predacons at one point, yet he appears almost unscathed towards the end. If he could defeat them while stuck in his alt mode and being crushed, Starscream can definitely take 3 of them on.

Bumblebee’s voice is still hard to get used to. Why does he always get a “hardcore” voice? First he sounded like Ichigo Kurosaki in War For Cybertron and now he sounds like Batman Beyond. I still don’t care for the character, but at least he sounds cool. The other Autobots weren’t especially cool either and they just lacked something. Not even Optimus Prime could stay epic as he had to rely on underhanded tactics and team assists to finish his fight. Some Autobots like Arcee and Ratchet get the shaft. Arcee doesn’t really get to fight at all and she acts pretty out of character for some of her lines. Megatron’s ending was definitely good, but it was definitely cheesy. Ah well, we can’t win them all!

Either way, we’re here for the fights, not the characters or the plot! The fight scenes are pretty good and the best one was probably Ultra Magnus and Smokescreen vs the two Predacons. Unicron against the majority of the Autobots in the base was also pretty fun. Unicron definitely had a lot of cool abilities and his fights were fun to watch. I just wish that he could have fought for a little longer.

Spoiler alert, Shockwave is still out there! I think that there is definitely room for a sequel. With Optimus Prime gone, Bumblebee can be the new leader until Rodimus steps in. Shockwave can hire some new recruits and then the series will have restarted. Maybe he could even bring in Soundwave. If anything, I think that this movie would lead in pretty well to Regeneration One if not for some major plot lines.

One pretty positive thing about the film was the soundtrack. They threw in a couple of good opera musics and there was even a retro G1 theme thrown in there. The music was fun to listen to and it made the film more enjoyable. Any scene is always made that much better when there is a good beat to listen to.

The Dinobots do not appear in the film which is pretty sad. I was definitely hoping that they would appear, but I guess we’ve got Transformers 4 to look forward to for that….maybe. The Predacon army was all right, but while they were a lot of them, they didn’t really stand out. Once again, the Autobots were heavily outmatched, but they made it to the end thanks to a lot of lucky breaks and bad aiming on the Decepticon side.

The review may have had a lot of faults with the film, but it was still good. It’s definitely best if you look at it as a few lost episodes instead of as a movie. I think that the series finale was a better end to this part of the franchise, but this one is still good. It does not feel like a film since they kept in the theme song and it didn’t look higher budget, but one could argue that it makes the film more nostalgic. If you want some good popcorn fun, then you should enjoy the film. Of course, if you want the perfect robot experience, you’ll need to check out the original Transformers movie!

Overall 7/10

DBZ has been around for a long time. It has spawned many video games and over 10 movies through the years. The manga had over 20 volumes and people still debate the ole Superman vs Goku battle. (The latter easily wins) The old movies for DBZ have been Very good, (Usually getting a solid 8-9) which definitely amped up the pressure for this film. There had been a lot of hype revolving around Goku’s rumored…Saiyan God Mode! Let’s see how the film did.

Well, the plot of the film is pretty basic. Bills has finally woken up from his slumber and he wants to find the Super Saiyan God and do battle with him. Whis informs him that a Saiyan has defeated Frieza and that most of them are on Earth. Goku is training on King Kai’s planet when Bills pays him a little visit. On Earth, Bulma is celebrating her birthday and the whole cast is basically invited. Chi Chi’s dad looks pretty impressive and he seems to have gotten stronger over the years. His appearance definitely suggests this. (Not to mention that he doesn’t seem worried for most of the film) The Z Fighters are all having fun, but they are told that Bills may be coming!

The plot’s good and all, but when you watch a DBZ film, it’s for the fights! The film has several fights sprinkled through the film. The film is less than 90 minutes so they have to make sure and keep the side characters from having long battles. The animation is pretty solid and definitely one of Toei’s best showings thus far. Before I go more into the fights, let’s take a look into the characters. (Yes, I did imply that I would talk about fights in this paragraph, but I decided to move it to a bit later in the review)

Goku is the protagonist and he’s pretty solid. There was something a little off about him in this film. He obeyed King Kai a lot more than usual and even hid from the main villain. Granted, Goku was told to hide, but that was pretty sad. Goku does pull the whole, “I can’t defeat you right now,” trick, which I was never a fan of. Goku’s Super Saiyan 3 mode looks awful, but it always was his worst transformation so ignoring the power levels, (Which will Definitely be discussed) it was all right. Goku’s portrayal was definitely better in the older DBZ films, (Particularly Broly, Cooler, Bojack) but it could have been worse. He still beats 100% of the protagonists in any live action film.

Vegeta is in this film (Of course) and he gets a decently large role. Unfortunately, the writers pull a “Broly” on us. Longtime fans will probably get the reference, but I will explain. In the first Broly film, Vegeta was very out of character and feared Broly. He didn’t even try to help until we were nearly at the end of the film. This gets repeated in Battle of Gods, since Vegeta fears Bills’ true power. He knows that if Bills gets upset, then the Earth will be blown up. Realizing that losing his honor is a small price to pay for saving the world, Vegeta throws it all away. It was one of the worst scenes in the film and was definitely sad. The fights are so good that this didn’t take away any points from the film, but it made things closer than they should have been.

The other characters are mostly obsolete. Gohan dons his superhero getup, but he seems to not be as alert as he once was. He decides to challenge Pilaf’s gang, (In a way) which leads to a bullet hitting Videl. The scene was extremely unexpected and also felt very forced. Gohan could easily stop the bullets and quickly catch them after they were deflected, but he didn’t do it in this round.

This brings me to the Pilaf gang. They were definitely unneeded and they were actually pretty boring. Their subplot didn’t bring anything to the table and can be regarded as filler. They have a plan of their own, but it definitely doesn’t go anywhere. Trunks and Goten are basically here to get beaten up and show how tough Bills is. Piccolo and the other Z Fighters barely even give it a good try. Bulma is present (It is her party after all!) and at least she keeps Bills in line. Unfortunately, bravery is not usually enough to stop a being who can end galaxies in an instant. Master Roshi is basically here for no reason and Shenron looks pretty awful.

We can’t forget about Whis and Bills! I really don’t like Bills as a character and he has far too many comedy moments to be taken seriously. His intro was one of the least epic, villain intros that I’ve seen in a long time and he would have worked better as a Hero. Whis is all right and he likes foods, but the end plot twist didn’t really help him. I don’t like when comic relief characters actually turn out to be extremely powerful. It just doesn’t work like that! I may not like Bills, but I can at least respect his power. Whis? I’m not so sure about his power.

Now, it’s time to finally check out the fight scenes! The first battle scene involves Super Saiyan 3 Goku vs Bills. The fight scene is definitely not as fluid as the others and is easily the worst big fight scene in the film. (“Big” meaning that the Z Fighters and Goten don’t count) Super Saiyan 3 looked astonishingly bad and one would almost be disappointed. I know that I was disappointed in Goku’s performance. Goku has fought enemies like Cell and Buu already. (Frieza was already mentioned in the film and he’s the only one who’s hyped up.) Goku’s hand to hand combat skills are flawless and there’s no way that he would be so outmatched. (2 hits…really?) This was definitely to show how strong Bills was, but it just made Goku look bad.

The next big fight scene would be Vegeta vs Bills. This is where the power levels really start to get dicey. Vegeta is overwhelmed as well, (Since he’s only using Super Saiyan 1. It’s debatable that he was using 2, but I’m skeptical to say the least) but Bills makes the mistake of incurring Vegeta’s wrath. Vegeta lands a couple of solid hits on Bills and he exceeded Goku’s SSJ3 mode. The film really doesn’t want you to miss this, so they make sure to mention it at least 3-5 times. So, even with rage, Vegeta’s Super Saiyan 1 passed Goku’s Super Saiyan 3? Since we know that SSJ3 = 4X Super Saiyan 2 which = 3X Super Saiyan….that’s a reeeeeally big jump. There’s no way that I would ever buy that! The animation for this fight scene was much better than the first and you definitely felt the impact from the blows. It was really short, but that’s a decent price to pay.

The next/final fight was another Goku vs Bills. This was a long fight and had several stages. The animation is top notch and it’s definitely fun to watch. There was one questionable scene where they looked to be in VGA, (Video Game Animation. Looked a bit like Raging Blast or Ninja Storm) but I like that animation as well. Not nearly the same as anime, but good enough. Goku and Bills actually fought in the city for a while, before going underground and in space. The fight was very fast paced and we even got an insert song, which was fun. Whenever a lyrical song appears during a fight scene, you know that things have gotten to their height in epicness. That part of the fight was easily the best and won’t be forgotten. It felt like the Man of Steel film, but if it were animated and 1000x cooler. The fight was very satisfying and it played a large role in the film’s overall rating. Goku finally unleashed the powers of his Super Saiyan God Mode, which was what many fans had been waiting for. (Although it didn’t play a huge part in the battle. His god status did, but the form didn’t help as much)

This did raise some questions about the morals of such an ability. Is it really a good thing to ascend to the realm of the gods? The same gods who couldn’t even beat Frieza? (King Kai!) This film seems to ignore the fact that the gods in DBZ are actually weak and they hype the power up. With Goku’s (Possibly incomplete since Pan couldn’t help much) God Mode, he definitely puts up a good fight. The only drawback is that Bills is basically toying around with Goku. I dunno, I’m all for “Overpowered” characters, but I just don’t believe that he is so much stronger than Goku. This film definitely tried to prove that he is the absolute strongest DBZ character in existence, but is he?

Back to Goku’s God Mode, (Which is a good super form, but a lot riskier than you may think. The time limit seems to be shorter than fusion and the original Super Saiyan God couldn’t stop the extremely weak inhabitants of Planet Vegeta…just saiyan) he essentially cheated to get it. His power level wasn’t high enough to unlock this mode, so he jumped ahead by siphoning off power from his friends. Goku seems to regret this right away and he only did it so that he could save his friends. He really wanted to beat Bills with his own power, but “borrowed goods”. I’m sure that Goku would have unlocked the powers at some point anyway, but it’s too late now. I think I’m inclined to agree with Goku about the morals of such power, but if it’s the only chance to save his friends, then it is definitely worth it. After using it once, Goku’s natural fighting instincts have memorized the pattern and now Goku is essentially a god. What this means, is that all of his forms have been dramatically increased in power.

Upon learning this, Goku uses his Super Saiyan abilities. He probably should have gone to SSJ2 and SSJ3, which would have crushed Bills, but perhaps he cannot? It would seem that Goku may not be able to go past SSJ1 anymore, of maybe he was just too weakened. This could be like Gohan’s Mystic Mode, which stopped his natural Super Saiyan transformations. This also means that Goku will probably never use God Mode ever again, since it is now inside of him. Too bad, since it was a pretty solid form, but it is basically a recolor of his SSJ1. (Which is still his best form) There is a plot twist, which can make things tougher for Goku and pals in the future, but I wonder how. If Goku can still use his SSJ3 mode, but infused with God energies, no being in the multiverse should be a threat to him.

I do need to talk about the power levels a little more. We saw that Vegeta’s SSJ1 surpassed Goku’s SSJ3. That was just one moment where it feels like the movie messed up. I believe that Toriyama has forgotten most of the Cell Games and the Majin Buu saga. Bills even mentions that Goku could not defeat Frieza in his current state. He was probably just talking about Goku’s base form, since Super Saiyan could still defeat him, but that’s just wrong. Goku’s base form is far superior to Frieza at this point and it wouldn’t even be a close fight. Their power levels aren’t even close anymore! Also, this movie takes place before Uub appears, which makes things even trickier. How could Uub hurt Goku, when his strength increased so drastically? I think they haven’t thought things through enough and this is why people say that Superman could win. Goku and friends keep getting stronger, but their feats and power levels are extremely inconsistent. I hope that they do a better job with this in the next movie, but that’s why it’s best to just look at the idea behind the scenes and see the feat that was meant to be, but not necessarily present.

In short, this was a solid film. Their were several negatives and inconsistencies, which hurt the film, but the overwhelmingly great fight scenes were enough to keep them at bay. The threat was real and the animation was pretty solid as well. The ending has a nice collaboration of pages from the manga and near the beginning of the film, we get a little Goku vs Frieza scene. Goku also gets to use the classic Kamehameha wave, which looked pretty impressive. No Spirit Bomb this time, but I can’t really say that I missed it. Hercule gets one epic line which reminds us why he’s so epic. I almost wanted him to challenge Bills! This is definitely a solid movie for DBZ fans to watch and it will hopefully convince people that Goku does beat Superman in overall ability. You won’t regret checking this film out!

Overall 9/10

Scooby Doo has had many films in the past. For the most part they’ve all been good, but has this one jumped the shark? The film has a nice scene pizza design and there’s more action than usual, but the character portrayals make this a close fight. Time to go into more detail about this film.

Fred and Daphne have made it through the elimination rounds and will be competing in the finals for Talent Star! It’s a pretty big feat (Except for the fact that the ratings have been getting lower for the event/show) and they’re pretty excited. Shaggy and Scooby are confident that they can convince the head spokesmen for Talent Star to throw them into the finals. They find out that the building where Talent Star will be held…is haunted! Time for the gang’s latest mystery.

Just about everyone is a pretty big suspect. There’s a really mean singer, a nice violinist, a kid, and many other folks. At this point, the film has basically given up on trying to help you guess who the culprit is, so all of the characters act pretty suspiciously. The main cop was favorite character, but the others had their moments. For the most part, this film follows the standard formula. You could swear that at least 10 of the lines you have already heard before, but the dialogue is still pretty strong. (For the most part)

One negative aspect of this film is the character portrayals. Daphne was very out of character and hopefully this won’t affect future films. Most of her lines will make you wince. Fred is pretty solid for the majority of the film and actually gets a fight scene! Yep, this film actually includes a fight scene and a pretty good chase scene with the old/classic van. Shaggy and Scooby are decently good, but not as brave as they should be. The pizza was definitely intense and a good showing of how pizza should look. Unfortunately, the scene wasn’t handled so well, as Shaggy and Scooby wasted a lot of the food. Velma is pretty much non existent for this film and wasn’t a good or bad character.

The villain may look intriguing at first, but he’s not as cool as previous villains. (I’ll never forget the classic Cyber Chase villain) This villain has no powers, but he actually makes Velma consider the possibility of him being a ghost. It’s a pretty good feat considering how many fakes they’ve uncovered over the years.

This Scooby Doo film was decent, but definitely one of the weaker ones. The singing wasn’t very good and there is actual romance in the film. Those two things ensured that this would not be one of the greatest Scooby Doo films. The song that plays during the credits was pretty good and we did get some decent action, which helps to balance everything out. I recommend this film if you want some light, popcorn fun. Of course, it would be better to go check out Yugioh 3D Bonds Beyond Time for that!

Overall 4/10

Phineas and Ferb is a pretty popular show, but who would have thought that they’d end up meeting Marvel’s biggest heroes!? This would be considered an Avengers crossover, but with the inclusion of Spiderman, (Who is a part time Avenger, but felt like a loner in this one) I’d just call it a Phineas and Ferb and Marvel crossover. How epic was it?

Well the plot is that Dr Doofenshmirtz has developed a new weapon that will rid you of your powers. It’s full proof and not for the faint of heart. Dr Doofenshmirtz uses the device, but things get a little dicey when it misses its target and hits the Superheroes! The Heroes had been defeating the villain organization led by Red Skull, but this brought the battle so a sudden halt. Now the heroes must regain their powers and save the day! Meanwhile Agent P, has to uncover the villain’s true plans and save the world.

Since this is a comedy, everyone is nicely out of character. Spiderman’s portrayal was pretty good since he was basically toying with everyone the whole time. The Hulk didn’t seem so smart, but at least he tried. Thor forgot how to fly without his hammer which made me take a step back. Ironman still got his share of lines in, but it’s too bad that the armor short circuited. Phineas and Ferb tried to be pretty smart, but you can tell that they’re just trying to impress the Marvel Heroes. Agent P was the truly hardcore character and he always has a solution to every problem. He’s definitely not a fighter who should be taken lightly. The villains…are there. They definitely know when it’s time to call it quits!

The special is pretty short, but also fun. The action scenes were decently good considering what the special was and the action was fast paced. The Phineas and Ferb characters could be pretty hard to watch at times, but the Superheroes were epic. The heroes also had a good rock theme going during their fight. Phineas may have overreacted a few times considering that he wasn’t much help in the fights, but in the end, Agent P showed the world why he’s the agent. I’d recommend watching the special, but watch out for the songs. If you want a true superhero adventure, then check out the Static Shock meets Batman episode.

Overall 6/10

DC has had a pretty good track record for dvd films. Crisis on Two Earths, Apocalypse, Public Enemies, and Doomsday were excellent! Wonder Woman, JL Doom, Batman Under The Red Hood and the two GL movies were pretty solid as well. Some films may have been a little weak (Year 1, Gotham Knights, Dark Knight Returns…basically the Batman films) but even the weak ones were still decent. This is a Justice League film so the expectations are pretty high…right?

This movie is based off of the Flashpoint event that happened in DC a while ago. Unfortunately, I’d say that it was easily the worst big DC event of all time. So, I actually didn’t go into the film with high hopes and it looks like I made the right move. One happy thing for fans is that Barry finally got his own film…only it doesn’t feel like a Flash film. It’s still Justice League in the end.

The film starts out with the Flash remembering his childhood. Unfortunately, he came home one day to find out that his mother had been attacked by some villains. Unfortunately, no heroes had been around and the villains got away. Barry realized that if he had just been a little faster, he could have saved her. The we cut to the present, where The Flash is attacked by many of his old foes. Mirror Master, Captain Cold, the whole gang is here! Even the Reverse Flash/Zoom. Flash quickly calls the Justice League and things come to an end very quickly. If the rest of the film had stuck to this format, it would have been the usual solid JLA film. Unfortunately, this is where the film goes downhill.

Reality has changed when Flash wakes up. Things have drastically changed, so something major must have happened. Metropolis was hit with a large explosion and Thomas Wayne was slightly quicker than his real version counterpart. Going into a new reality is always an interesting concept, but it isn’t handled very well. The Flash loses his powers, so he can’t use them to their fullest. Someone must have messed with time itself!

In this gritty world, the heroes are mostly not heroes anymore. (How they survived the Doomsday encounter we’ll never know! Maybe he just didn’t show up) Hal never got the GL Power Ring and Captain Atom vanished. Batman is pretty different and he doesn’t mind using guns in this version. Wonder Woman and Aquaman are also having a quarrel, which involved the fate of Earth. The government gets Slade and Luthor to help gather intel, while the remaining heroes have formed a resistance. They want to defeat both Wonder Woman and Aquaman.

Well, the animation is pretty solid. It does feel more like an anime which is definitely a plus. The night scenes have the most impact, but particularly the early ones. Cyborg’s usual blue blast is now a neon pink and it definitely seems to be more intense. Unfortunately, it does little to no damage, making Cyborg a pretty big non factor. (Like usual) Of course, he did figure out that Batman is the best tactician on the planet…somehow. (Beating up those crooks does earn you a good rep)

Unfortunately, the character designs are pretty awful. Everyone looks pretty off model in the Flashpoint world and even a couple of them in the real world. (Yes, they’re the same world, but they’re so different, that I may as well switch that) Superman is just….weird. His head is so small compared to his huge body. You would almost think that it was a parody. Batman (Pre Flashpoint), Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman seem to be accurate for the most part.

The fight scenes are an interesting thing. The first fight scene between Post Flashpoint Batman and the new Harley Quinn is pretty good. I’d say that it was probably the best fight scene in the film…which is part of the problem. When it all comes down to it, where were the fight scenes? Flash has a brief fight at the end, but it’s not much of a fight, since they barely exchange blows. Wonder Woman and Aquaman have a brief skirmish, but it is very brief. Some fighters attack both of them, but we don’t get to see the fights for long and they just weren’t handled in a very epic way.

I noticed that many people were talking about the controversial Wonder Woman vs Captain Thunder climax. It isn’t very violent, but I suppose the concept is a touchy subject for many. If you are of the opinion that children shouldn’t be used in fights (Like how I think animals shouldn’t get involved) you may want to skip the scene towards the end. You’ll know that it’s coming when WW’s battle against Captain Thunder is concluding.

The film is about average length for the DC films. (Little over an hour) There’s not a large amount of time to show things off, but it never got to be very rushed. The cast isn’t very likable, but it happens. I liked the real JLA and the new Batman was pretty good. Deathstroke was a pretty interesting character as well. The rest of the characters were either all right, or just pretty uninteresting. While this film definitely didn’t satisfy the JLA in me, but it is still a good film. The moral is also very off putting. By the end, we’re told that you shouldn’t mess with time, because things just happen. I definitely didn’t agree with that one. Someone messes with time, but it’s for the right reasons (Unlike AoU) and the time traveler is pressured into restoring time to how it was. The Flashpoint Universe is messed up, but time travel could fix that as well. Hopefully the time traveller will make the right move!

I’d recommend watching the film, but beware that things do get a little intense. This is based off of the gritty comic after all, but if you could endure Dark Knight Returns Part 2, then you should be okay. I came down pretty hard on this film, but that’s because JLA always has pretty high standards. Just wait until I review the upcoming live action film! I do recommend this film to comic book fans. After all, they would appreciate the cameos a lot more. Plenty of heroes get to appear for a brief amount of time, but they are nice easter eggs for the fans. If you are new to the world of heroes, check out Crisis on Two Earths!

Overall 6/10