"Injustice" Animated Feature Talkback (Spoilers)

[James Harvey]

Who will stand against the Man of Steel? Based on the best-selling video game franchise and comic series, Injustice: Gods Among Us!

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Injustice
Studio: Warner Bros. Animation
Release Date: 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, Digital - October 19, 2021

Synopsis: Inspired by Injustice: Gods Among Us, NetherRealm Studios’ popular video game, and the best-selling DC graphic novel based on the video game, Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year One by Tom Taylor, the animated film Injustice finds an alternate world gone mad – where The Joker has duped Superman into killing Lois Lane, sending the Man of Steel on a deadly rampage. Unhinged, Superman decides to take control of the Earth for humanity’s own good. Determined to stop him, Batman creates a team of like-minded, freedom-fighting heroes. But when Super Heroes go to war, can the world survive?

Justin Hartley and Anson Mount lead the Injustice all-star cast as Superman and Batman, respectively. The massive cast also includes Janet Varney as Wonder Woman, Brandon Micheal Hall as Cyborg, Kevin Pollak as Joker & Jonathan Kent, Anika Noni Rose as Catwoman, Reid Scott as Green Arrow & Victor Zsasz, Edwin Hodge as Mr. Terrific & Killer Croc, Gillian Jacobs as Harley Quinn, Oliver Hudson as Plastic Man, Laura Bailey as Lois Lane & Rama Kushna, Faran Tahir as Ra’s al Ghul, Derek Phillips as Nightwing & Aquaman, Yuri Lowenthal as Mirror Master, Flash & Shazam, Zach Callison as Damian & Jimmy Olsen, Brian T. Delaney as Green Lantern, Fred Tatasciore as Captain Atom, and Andrew Morgado as Mirror Master Soldier.

Matt Peters directs Injustice from a screenplay by Ernie Altbacker. Jim Krie is Producer and Alyessa Ornelas is Associate Producer. Producer is Rick Morales. Sam Register is Executive Producer.

Injustice Bonus Content
–Adventures in Storytelling – Injustice: Crisis and Conflict (New Featurette) – The storytellers behind the new Injustice animated film discuss how all the intense drama and unabashed action was brought to life.
-DC Universe Movies Flashback
—The Death of Superman
—Reign of the Supermen
-From the DC Vault
—Justice League – Injustice For All, Part I
—Justice League – Injustice For All, Part II

Please note this talkback is for both the Injustice animated feature and its home media release. Basically, discussion for both the feature and its home video release/bonus content can be found right here. Spoilers are also allowed, so those who have yet to see the movie may want to avoid this thread until they have!

Discuss the Injustice animated release here!

Related Discussion
-Injustice The World's Finest Subsite (Spoilers)
-Injustice Animated Feature Review (Spoilers)
-Injustice 2 Video Game Talkback (Spoilers)
-Injustice: Gods Among Us Video Game Talkback (Spoilers)
-Injustice 2 (2017 Ongoing) Comic Series Talkback (Spoilers)
-Injustice: Ground Zero (2016 Mini-Series) Comic Series Talkback (Spoilers)
-Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Five (2016 Ongoing) Comic Series Talkback (Spoilers)
-Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Four (2015 Ongoing) Comic Series Talkback (Spoilers)
-Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Three (2014 Ongoing) Comic Series Talkback (Spoilers)
-Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Two (2014 Ongoing) Comic Series Talkback (Spoilers)
-Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year One (2013 Ongoing) Comic Series Talkback (Spoilers)
-Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Zero (2020 Ongoing) Comic Series Talkback (Spoilers)
-Injustice 2 - What part of the Injustice universe would you like to see explored in an animated feature?
-Injustice: Gods Among Us - Would it make a good direct-to-video animated feature?
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[Classic Speedy]

I thought this was one of DC's best overall animated films in a while. It delivered in pretty much every department- the action, the philosophical arguments, the amount of characters here, and there are some shocking moments that I won't give away. Yet, surprisingly enough, as dark as this film got, it also had quite a few genuine laughs- granted, many of them were from dark humor but still.

Best part: You don't have to have played the games to get into it. It has its own unique take on the storyline, so if you've played the games it won't feel like a retread.

As for a favorite moment, everyone will bring up the fights or the club scene, but another moment that I really enjoyed was when the security droid blew up a guy's car who unknowingly littered and then start picking off cops as well (deeming the cops a threat to authority in the robot's twisted logic)... talk about good intentions going hopelessly awry due to a non-feeling robot.

 

[Otaku-sempai]

As for a favorite moment, everyone will bring up the fights or the club scene, but another moment that I really enjoyed was when the security droid blew up a guy's car who unknowingly littered and then start picking off cops as well (deeming the cops a threat to authority in the robot's twisted logic)... talk about good intentions going hopelessly awry due to a non-feeling robot.

To be fair, Amazo was performing precisely as Ra's al Ghul intended. Kal should never have trusted him.

 

[CyberCubed]

I'm really surprised this was much better than I thought it would be. It's basically nothing like the game story (aside from the very beginning with Lois dying and Superman killing Joker), and Superman was the only one unhinged in this. In the games Wonder Woman is just as "evil" as Superman and it doesn't make sense for her to be, in the movie adaption she was only helping Superman impose law until she saw he was going too far and couldn't side with him anymore.

Superman is still too far gone, but at least he somewhat redeems himself in the end unlike the game version (at the end of Injustice 2 Superman swears his revenge when Batman puts him in the phantom zone), and seeing an alternate Superman and Lois was a nice surprise.

Nightwing dying and becoming Deadman was really weird though. Came out of nowhere and wasn't from the games or anything. I have...no idea what to make of that.

I also wish not every hero died, Flash and Cyborg especially had no reason to be killed off. Superman also still killed Green Arrow which cannot be excused. But it was a better version of the game.

 

[Yojimbo]

Nightwing dying and becoming Deadman was really weird though. Came out of nowhere and wasn't from the games or anything. I have...no idea what to make of that.

Took some cues from the Gods Among Us comic.

 

[Classic Speedy]

I also wish not every hero died, Flash and Cyborg especially had no reason to be killed off.

They addressed that in the round table discussion included on the Blu-ray. They killed off Flash early on so that he couldn't do his "run so fast he turns back time" shtick.

 

[Frontier]

They addressed that in the round table discussion included on the Blu-ray. They killed off Flash early on so that he couldn't do his "run so fast he turns back time" shtick.

I mean, that never actually came up during the story of the game or comic where he's alive, but I guess he's done it twice in the animated movies and TV shows so more people expect it at this point .

 

[Yojimbo]

Anyone know who that was sitting with Mantis in World's End?

 

[Spider-Man]

That was not a good movie. While the action and animation were nice the story was rushed and didn't take any time to actually develop the story. It just moves from one thing to the next and then it just ends in a really anti-climactic fashion. All the emotion needed for the story isn't there and they really do treat some of the characters dirty here. A big letdown. I was really looking forward to this one being a fan of the game and especially the comics but boy this movie didn't work. Worst DC animated movie of the year no doubt.

 

[Yojimbo]

Anyone know who that was sitting with Mantis in World's End?

View attachment 291918

She was Enchantress.

 

[Frontier]

She was Enchantress.

I guess the clincher was she's wearing a hood ?

 

[khuddle]

That was not a good movie. While the action and animation were nice the story was rushed and didn't take any time to actually develop the story. It just moves from one thing to the next and then it just ends in a really anti-climactic fashion. All the emotion needed for the story isn't there and they really do treat some of the characters dirty here. A big letdown. I was really looking forward to this one being a fan of the game and especially the comics but boy this movie didn't work. Worst DC animated movie of the year no doubt.

You thought the art and animation were nice? I thought the movie looked atrocious, one of the ugliest DC animated movies to date. It tried to mimic the look of "Superman/Batman: Public Enemies", but without success. Ironic, coming off the heels of "Batman: The Long Halloween", which looked gorgeous.

 

[Spider-Man]

You thought the art and animation were nice? I thought the movie looked atrocious, one of the ugliest DC animated movies to date. It tried to mimic the look of "Superman/Batman: Public Enemies", but without success. Ironic, coming off the heels of "Batman: The Long Halloween", which looked gorgeous.

Yeah I did. I liked the designs and the Mortal Kombat Legends creators work on them. The costumes are big and bulky and are not the best but I thought the designers did their best adapting and even improving some. Animation was a step up compared to Long Halloween. Part 1 had some of the worst animation in the DC titles this year I thought but the designs in those movies were great. But it's all subjective and we aren't all going to agree.

 

[Yojimbo]

Interview with Matt Peters. He mentions there was a Wonder Woman and Ares scene but it was cut for pacing.

It was scripted that Harley hit Green Arrow on the head but Matthew Bordenave changed it to the crotch.

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

Interview with Matt Peters. He mentions there was a Wonder Woman and Ares scene but it was cut for pacing.

Huh... so they were paying attention to pacing. Who knew?

Yeah, this was a misfire pretty much from the ground up for me. Basically every flaw that has been occasionally creeping into DC Animated movies in the past few years was cranked up to 11 for this one.

- Rushed, bloated script.
- Uneven voice acting (Although Anson Mount was good).
- Choppy animation.
- Lackluster score (I really don't need to hear the Superman: Doomsday theme on every project Kral scores).
- Severely underwhelming ending.

I hate being negative, but this was just bad for me. Whoever greenlit this as a 75 minute DTV was all about the money that the brand would bring in and nothing else. Keep the budget low and maximize the profits. This should have been a show on HBO Max, with the video game voice cast, expanding the lore of the original continuity and allowing any adaptation from the comic run a chance to breathe.

Yikes. Things can only get better, right? Catwoman: Hunted looks like alot of fun.

 

[-batmat-]

I enjoyed it, but yeah, it was soo fast paced, they killed major characters and didn't have time to mourn or process, they just kept going.

It had a few cool moments here and there, bringing Superman and Lois from paralel Earths was great I felt. But Superman had gone so evil at this point, I couldn't buy how fast he changed his mind, and then the movie just ends! A bit abrupt all the way.

Entertaining, but once and done for me.

 

[Yojimbo]

Injustice is now on HBO Max.

 

[RoyalRubble]

Injustice was apparently the second most-streamed film on HBO Max on January 22.

 

[Frontier]

Injustice was apparently the second most-streamed film on HBO Max on January 22.

Being tied to a massively popular game has its perks .

 

[Fone Bone]

Injustice

That was like the goriest episode of Marvel's What If...? ever.

We have some things to talk about. For sure. Not all of these things will be good. But on the whole, my opinion was favorable. Before I tell you the larger reasons why my opinion is favorable, let's get the elephant in the room out of the way, and tell you why I don't like the premise or the myriad similar premises to this DC has done over the years. Superman going nuts and turning into a killer fascist whenever Lois Lane dies is problematic in every circumstance. It wouldn't be if the different Supermans in different Universes processed that loss differently. But somebody kills Lois, Superman turns into a murderer and / or a monster. If that happens in every single Universe Lois is killed, it suggests that deep down in OUR Universe, Superman is secretly crazy. This movie tried to mitigate that some by bringing in "Earth-1" Superman to suggest an emotionally healthy Superman for contrast. The problem is Earth-1 Superman would probably be doing the same thing if his Lois was killed. So he's not actually emotionally healthy. That's my problem with the premise.

For the record, they should have gotten Darren Criss to voice Earth-1 Superman. It's such a no-brainer it is actually a missed opportunity.

I'll tell you why I liked the movie though, and why I'd sing its praises before the totally overrated and in actuality lousy Justice League Dark: Apokalips War. As bleak as the scenario was, the Universe was still there at the end for the heroes to pick up the pieces. The movie left behind survivors having to deal with what happened like adults, instead of having Flash travel back in time to reboot the Universe. There is fall-out, it is real, and treated as such.

Very few of these projects use Green Arrow. Mr. Terrific was in the DCAU Fatal Five, but he's rare too. Plas is kind of a first.

The Quiver is WAY better than Arrowcave. Somebody at DC needs to trademark that. Now.

Let me offer an unusual opinion: I have stated elsewhere that there is not a single actress who has voiced Harley Quinn besides Arlene Sorkin who has done a good job. Kaley Couco is adequate, but that's as far as it goes. Her voice is also one I'd only really accept for that one specific TV-MA project. I personally think Margot Robbie sucks as live-action Harley too. But whoever thought to cast Community's Gillian Jacobs as Harley in this project deserves a medal for DC Animation. Frankly, Jacobs needs to replace the overworked (and overpraised) Tara Strong as the "House Voice" for Harley in DC Animation going forward. She's amazing. And she lost herself so into the role that I didn't recognize it was Jacobs until I saw the credits. Let me also offer a sad prediction: This will be a one-and-done role for Jacobs. DC doesn't tend to appreciate good things when it finds them. Otherwise Lucy Lawless would have been cast as Wonder Woman multiple times after Justice League: The New Frontier and James Denton would have been Superman many times over after All-Star Superman. But considering how crappy almost all Harley voice actors are besides Sorkin, were I DC, I'd take a LITTLE freaking notice here. Just this once.

Finally, while I do find Superman's morality disgusting in the movie, none more-so then when he murders a club full of kids for the crime of being stupid, let me offer a potentially contrary opinion to perhaps the rest of fandom. When Superman kills the Joker, that was the right move. Whatever else Superman did past that point was overkill bordering on evil. But frankly, considering what the Joker has done in the past, Batman should have put a Batarang in his brain long ago. The fact that he didn't means to me at least, Batman's stance in the film is not 100% right. It's mostly right, and gets more and more right as it goes along. But the Joker still being alive means it's not 100%.

Also should point out that Damian Wayne is a little turd and always has been. I don't understand why DC writers want to always portray him that way, but I've always hated the character and the writers crazily think it's interesting, instead of stupid to essentially make Batman's son DC's version of Joffrey from Game Of Thrones. I don't understand the logic there. At all.

Diana nurtured a monster and is shocked it turned on her. Diana is probably one of the most unlikable characters in the movie. It could be argued Superman would have slowed his roll earlier on without her giving him positive feedback for every psycho thing he did. When she's appalled about the murdered kids I'm like, "You did that too, Diana. It wouldn't have happened if not for you. Little late to distance yourself from it." I thought her trying to kiss him was way creepy and added some unpleasant subtext to her nurturing his dark impulses. Ick.

As an idea Deadwing is equally lame and cool. I couldn't tell you which it was more. I'm 50/50 on it.

So in conclusion, a decent movie exploring every moral inch of a frankly terrible premise. I think DC REALLY needs to do some Elseworlds where Lois is murdered, and Superman does the Jim Gordon thing from The Killing Joke instead, and have her loss make his virtue even more entrenched. Until they do that, I'm thinking every Superman everywhere is secretly a dirtbag and a monster deep down. ****.