Verdict
Summary
A joyless, spiritless exercise in melodramatic scripting, particularly for an “R”-rated animated movie from the DC Universe, Deathstroke: Knights and Dragons The Movie is at the very least a breath of bloody air away from the string of Batman and Justice League Movies they usually produce, but for a first feature entry for Deathstroke, it’s not very fun at all.
Plot:
Ten years ago, Slade Wilson-aka the super-assassin called Deathstroke-made a tragic mistake and his wife and son paid a terrible price. Now, a decade later, Wilson’s family is threatened once again by the murderous Jackal and the terrorists of H.IV.E. Can Deathstroke atone for the sins of the past-or will his family pay the ultimate price?
Review:
When he was a soldier, Slade Wilson (voiced by Michael Chiklis) was used as an experiment in some kind of trial for a new super soldier drug, and over time he developed extraordinary healing capabilities and heightened battle tactics. When he retired from the military, he became a mercenary named Deathstroke who takes only the most insurmountable missions, but his wife (voiced by Sasha Alexander) has no idea of the double life he’s living as he poses as a businessman. Their young son is kidnapped by a masked terrorist who calls himself The Jackal, forcing Deathstroke into a meeting that ends in near tragedy: Slade’s son has his throat cut, but survives, rendering him a mute, and Deathstroke goes on the warpath for The Jackal and his organization The H.I.V.E., a global network like Hydra from the Marvel movies that intends to control world governments. Nine years pass and Deathstroke is estranged from his family, but as it turns out, his son has developed extraordinary powers of his own, which H.I.V.E. intends on harnessing and controlling for their own purposes. Deathstroke must come back into the fray and convince his ex-wife that he has a chance of saving his son once again, but this time he’s in for a big surprise: He has a daughter he never knew about, and she’s got powers too…
A joyless, spiritless exercise in melodramatic scripting, particularly for an “R”-rated animated movie from the DC Universe, Deathstroke: Knights and Dragons The Movie is at the very least a breath of bloody air away from the string of Batman and Justice League Movies they usually produce, but for a first feature entry for Deathstroke, it’s not very fun at all. It goes through the motions, and yet it thankfully avoids an origin story (I don’t know who Deathstroke is and I don’t care about his origins), but even as it runs full speed ahead with its blood-soaked action and killing, it never rises above its assembly-line comic book material. It never feels human or humane. If you’re a fan of Deathstroke or the harder-edged DC Universe Animated movies, this might be best for you. From director Sung Jin Ahn.
The Blu-ray / DVD / Digital HD combo pack of this title features two special features; “Deathstroke: One Man,’ and “Deatch Machine,” a short featurette.
