Comics Review: Trinity War - Worth the Continuous Build-Up (SPOILERS)

Since the start of DC's New 52 relaunch, events across their books have been building up to an event known as the Trinity War. All that was known for sometime would that it would involve Pandora, the mysterious figure at the end of "Flashpoint" that had a hand in rewriting the DC universe's timeline, the infamous box she is associated with, and heroes fighting each other to acquire it. It wasn't until the solicits arrived that revealed that event would be a crossover between the 3 main Justice League books: Justice League, Justice League of America, and Justice League Dark. While some like myself expected "Trinity War" to be its own miniseries like events usually do, I was surprised to find out that it would only be a 6 part story throughout 3 book for about 2 months. After the first month/half of the event, in which the heroes try to clear Superman's name after he accidentally killed Dr. Light seemingly because he had been corrupted by Pandora's box which he encountered earlier, I had to say that the story was well indeed worth the wait. Everything since the New 52 began has lead up to this and it was delivering. I will admit that during the second month/half, things were moving kind of slow in parts 4 and 5, but the final issue of the crossover had my jaw drop. Even though the story didn't have a true conclusion and DC had already partially revealed the ending ahead of time, they still did it in a way that left me excited for what was to come next.

One of the things people wondered about "Trinity War" was which 'trinity' they were referring to. Well when you read the story, you'll find that 3 is the magic number throughout the book:

• The three Justice Leagues: Proper, America, and Dark.
• Throughout the story, members of each League mix and match and are led by one of DC's main trinity, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, as they try and figure out what's going on.
• The Trinity of Sin, Pandora, the Phantom Stranger, and the Question, all play a role in this story, as well as assist or are hunted by one of the mixed-up Leagues. Pandora is hunted by Wonder Woman's group, while Phantom Stranger and Question assist Batman and Superman's groups, respectively.
• Aside from the Leagues, the other groups involved are government organization A.R.G.U.S. and the Outsider's Secret Society of Supervillains.
• The Crime Syndicate of Earth-3 arrive in the story's conclusion.
• The Atom was revealed to be a triple agent, working for the Justice League, JLA, and ultimately revealing herself to originally be Atomica from Earth-3, arriving with the Outsider.

Now, I think some people may be turned off by the event because it's yet another "hero vs. hero" story like "Civil War", "Schism", and "Avengers vs. X-Men." However, I think how it's handled here works better because there is actually some corrupting force, i.e. Pandora's Box, making the heroes fight each other, and that really only happens in the final issue for the most part. What I find most interesting though is that when Shazam is affected by the Box, it not only affects other magic-based heroes in the prime DC Earth, but also Dr. Fate in Earth-2 as well. Considering the multiversal elements of the story and box itself, it probably makes sense for Earth-2 to be affected as well. Since the Outsider and Atomica arrived from Earth-3 during the simultaneous Apokoliptian attacks on Earth-Prime and Earth-2 in which the barriers between Earths was ruptured, it makes me think Earth-3 was attacked as well. Outsider did say his world was destroyed. But that's just my theory though.

It's probably clear, but it was the last issue that really made this event for me. I did not expect Atom to be working with the Society, that she was responsible for Superman killing Dr. Light by putting a sliver of Kryptonite in his brain, or that she was originally from Earth 3. It was quite alot of twists. Not only that, but I was shocked when Cyborg's armor became sentient and separated itself from Victor's remaining human parts, becoming I assume to be new Crime Syndicate member, Grid. With the push Cyborg's been getting the last few years, it makes me wonder if or how long Victor will survive without his prosthetics. I can't really see him dying, but I can't predict that far ahead.

As for the Syndicate itself, I liked what I had seen so far. For starters, when the Earth-3 Aquaman (known as Sea King) showed up, it was a nice little nod to the 90's Aquaman with a hook.

Unfortunately, Sea King didn't survive the transportation between worlds. I guess compared to the New 52's prime badass Aquaman, this evil Aquaman is just the opposite. Oh well. Nice joke from Geoff Johns though, even if you have to dig to figure it out.

Aside from that, while it was rumored that the Outsider would turn out to be Alfred of Earth-3, it didn't make it even less cool when he addressed Owlman as his master. Speaking of which, the symbol he had reminded me of the Court of Owls from Batman. Makes me wonder if Earth-3 had a heroic Court of Bats.

One last point of interest was that the Syndicate brought a prisoner with them with a bag on their head. It most likely hood, it's probably the heroic Alexander Luthor of Earth-3.

 

While "Trinity War" didn't have a true conclusion, it acted as a lead-in to DC's true event, "Forever Evil." It took me awhile to think about it, but the end of "Trinity War" did its job; it got me even more excited for what's to come next in "Forever Evil." It's like when TV shows' season finales have a huge cliffhanger that makes you anxious for the next season to start.

 

As part of a larger story, "Trinity War" does a good job introducing the latest threat to the DC Universe, and despite being just a lead-in, it was a wild ride.

 

STORY RATING: 9/10

RECOMMENDATION RATING: N/A

 

Since the story isn't truly over, I'll be withholding my recommendation rating for "Trinity War" until the conclusion of "Forever Evil" next year, so my recommendation rating then will be for both stories as a whole. Until then, let's see where the story goes next...

 

 

Movie Review: Kick-Ass 2 - The Censors Will Have a Hard Time Editing This for TV (SPOILERS)

Having loved the first Kick-Ass movie, I was hopeful that a film adaptation for the sequel comic series would arise as well. 3 years later, Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl return now with their own superhero team on a new adventure just as fun but much more violent than the first film.

On the topic of the violence, I can now understand why Jim Carrey decided not to make promotional appearances for the film. However, my own feelings on the issue are the same as Kick-Ass creator Mark Millar and Hit-Girl actress Chloe Grace-Moretz, that one needs to view art as art and try to remove yourself from reality. That's what makes it fun though. Where else will you see a now 15 year old superheroine slicing, shooting, and stabbing people like a pro, as well as throwing people underneath vans. Not only that, but the film's main supervillainess, Mother Russia, was just as violent, just taking out cop after cop that showed up, even with a lawn mower. It made me think, "Okay, I really don't think more cops are gonna help stop her." Given both their violent streaks, the final fight between Hit-Girl and Mother Russia was a good one, especially when Hit-Girl after an adrenaline shot stabber her whole body with sharp shards of glass. Hit-Girl's older, but she's hasn't lost her touch.

While the first film mainly focused on Dave/Kick-Ass, the focus was shared with Mindy/Hit-Girl trying to retire her superhero life as a promise to her stepdad Marcus. In doing so, Mindy meets the archetype of the high school beauty queen who thinks she's better than everyone else. Of course, Mindy gets humiliated by her, but since everyone knows that's a bad idea, Hit-Girl level revenge was expected and delivered in vomit and diarrhea fashion. Accompanying this was a kind of social commentary I tend to agree with about such girls. A good personality guarantees a good future, not a good body. So just because you're pretty, it doesn't mean you're gonna be successful in life or give you the right to exclude or reject others. All that does is make you a bitch. Food for thought. Personally, I always try to look for the best in people, but don't realize that I'm wrong until it's too late.

Speaking of bitches, one aspect of the Kick-Ass 2 comic that I wondered how they would handle in the film would be the character Katie Deauxma. In the comics, Katie is Dave's crush, but they never got together like they did in the first film; without going into vivid detail, when Dave tells Katie he's not gay, it does not go well at all. So while Dave and Katie were together in the movies, I wondered how much focus their relationship would get in the film. What was depicted was a break-up based on Katie misunderstanding part of a conversation between Dave and Mindy, thinking he was cheating on her with a younger girl, and then she tells him she was already cheating on him with another guy. So with that, I have made this scumbag meme:

 



So it seems that Millar's bitch of a character finally got to appear in film. She didn't even come to Dave's dad's funeral. Don't feel bad for Dave though; at least he hooks up with Night Bitch. I seem to be saying "bitch" alot in this review. Oh well.
Another Katie-related aspect that happened in the Kick-Ass 2 comic I wondered about the transition to the film was that she was raped by the Mother Fucker. In the film, the Mother Fucker attacks Night Bitch at her home and plans to rape her, but couldn't get it up. Considering the comics' over the top violence, the filmmakers probably handled this scene in the best way by not actually letting it happen. I mean, for the parents who didn't pay attention to the rating and took their kids to a "superhero" movie, it avoids an awkward conversation.

I really enjoyed Dave's character development. He got some training and was totally ripped by the end of the film. Not only that, but he's learning the hard consequences of being a hero by losing his dad. It was nice to see them interacting more. Dave's dad in the first one seemed like he was just there, but he actually served some purpose this time around. Speaking of his dad though, his death was really because of Dave's friend Todd, who tells the Mother Fucker Dave was Kick-Ass. Let me make that clear: he told the psycho with a huge mad-on for Kick-Ass whose crew just killed 10 police officers that his friend Dave was Kick-Ass and thought nothing was going to happen because of that. Sorry Todd, but you're dumb as shit.

As the main villain, Christopher Mintz-Plaase, the one kid from "Superbad" that doesn't annoy me, portrayed Chris D'Amico, now known as the Mother Fucker, very well. Becoming more and more crazy about Kick-Ass killing his dad and no one doing anything about it, I enjoyed watching him slowly develop his super villain persona and army. When I first saw a pic of his new costume, I was like "Oooookaaaay" but I was glad they explained the change in the film, that his mom threw out his Red Mist costume, and then he makes his Mother Fucker costume out of his mom's S&M clothing. I guess it kind of makes sense in a sick way why he decided to call himself the Mother Fucker now.

While Jim Carrey has distanced himself from the film, his character, Colonel Stars and Stripes, was a joy to watch and was the best character out of the Justice Forever group. He wasn't afraid to take down who need to be taken down, not to mention have his dog bite their genitals as well. It was just a shame he didn't last that long though.

A couple other notes I'd like to throw out:
* When Mindy visits Dave in his bedroom, the shirt he wears says "I HATE REBOOTS." I don't think anyone but comic fans will get a laugh out of that, given the constant reboots in both comics and movies.
* When Dave is reminiscing about his father, he's hanging a poster for another one Mark Millar's creator-owned series, "Superior." I like Millar, but sometimes he can have a big head. Putting up a poster for one of your books in a movie based on one of your other books is Michael Bay level douchiness (his Transformers films have referenced his other works like Armageddon and Bad Boys)

I enjoyed this film as much as the first one, so I wondered why critics were giving such harsh reviews to it. I have a theory though. While the first one was about people wanting to live out their fantasy, the second one is about the consequences. The premise of Kick-Ass are people without powers, high tech gadgets, or special training dressing up as superheroes and helping people in a grounded real world situation. Eventually, all the heroes will attract villains as well, and based on the evil acts we see in the real world, like theater and school shootings, it only makes sense for results to be just as tragic and worse. In the real world, you don't have evil masterminds that want to rule the world, plot out their every move of their grand scheme; just psychos that want to cause damage to make themselves feel good. That said, it would make sense for Mother Fucker to have his men attack Dave's dad's funeral. I just think some critics would rather focus on the fantasy and not think of the consequences, which is the opposite of the point this film makes. It's about growing up. Like Man of Steel, critics have missed the message or tone trying to be conveyed.

Right now, Mark Millar's Kick-Ass 3 comic has started and promised to be the end of Dave's story. As such, a third film will do the same. I hope that the negativity surrounding the second film doesn't mean no third and final film. Kick-Ass has an audience and I'd really like to see the film series have a proper ending like the comics will soon have.

RATING: 7.5/10

Movie Review: The Wolverine- A Film Actually Worthy of the Character (SPOILERS)

The 1982 miniseries by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller featuring Wolverine's adventure in Japan has been regarded by fans as one of the character's greatest stories. Even Hugh Jackman looked forward for many years to adapt the story on film. In fact, the story was at first going to be the basis for the first Wolverine film before Fox decided to do his origin story first. Instead of Wolverine in Japan, fans were presented with a film left wanting their own magical memory erasing adamantium bullets to the head; seriously, that plotpoint from the 2009 film still makes no fucking sense. While Fox did intend for Wolverine 2 to be a direct sequel, over time, the timeframe of the film would become a stand-alone story set after the events of "X-Men: The Last Stand." Apparently Fox wanted to distance themselves as far away from "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" as much as fans would like to forget it, and given it featured 'Barakapool', who could blame anyone? It is definitely the blacksheep of the X-Men franchise and its place in continuity has essentially been removed.
Alot was riding on Wolverine's second chance at a solo film. Original series writer Chris Claremont gave the script his blessing while Fox's Marvel consultant Mark Millar said this would be the "Iron Man" of X-Men movies. That's quite a bit to live up to. So did "The Wolverine" respect the character and wash away the taste of 2009's atrocity? Yes and yes.

This is the Wolverine movie we deserved back in 2009. However, given the slump Fox had been in with their X-Men franchise, it may not have turned out well back then. But since they seemed to have gotten their shit together, maybe it was worth the wait for them to learn from their mistakes and in turn bring about an actually enjoyable Wolverine film. This is Wolverine at his best and Hugh Jackman shows he still has what it takes to play him. When part of the story involves him losing his healing ability, you will definitely find yourself fearing for the character's well-being, especially when most of the time, he is damn near invulnerable.
I went into this film expecting a great story but was worried about the action scenes. When you have a PG-13 rated film involving a man who kills people with metal claws that come out of his hand, you kind of have to expect it would be watered down, and I was actually thinking that based on the clips released beforehand. However, it seems that those clips were actually watered down compared to the actual scenes in the film, because while the film does not get too gory, it still definitely had great actions scenes that kept with the spirit of the character. There's not much blood, but you can definitely tell where people get stabbed that will give people wanting a violent Wolverine movie their fill. It's comparable to the fight scenes with the soldiers invading the mansion in X2. Not only that, but fans of sword fights will have something to love as well, especially the battles with the two Silver Samurai (that's right, plural). He is the best there is at what he does, and he'll definitely show it in this film.
Aside from the action scenes, two other scenes really stood out that showcased how badass Wolverine can get. The first is near the beginning of the film when Logan is a hermit in the mountains, and tracks down a hunter who shot a bear with a poison tipped arrow which he had to kill to put out of its misery. When he finds the hunter, Logan jabs the arrow through his hand and pours alcohol in it. The other is when he interrogates Mariko's fiance about why the Yakuza are after her. The best part was when he threw him off the balcony, only to show that he landed in a pool not far below; Yukio asks him how he knew there was a pool, but Logan replies "I didn't."  So Logan. Gotta love it.

Speaking of the ladies of the film though, I quite enjoyed Logan's relationships with Mariko and Yukio. Watching Logan and Mariko's romance blossom was definitely enjoyable to watch. What makes it better is that he is still reeling from Jean's death, so he is learning to love again. As for Yukio, a mutant with the ability to forsee people's deaths, she made a good sidekick for Logan, or "bodyguard" as she put it. She definitely had good fighting skills as well.
The only female in the film that didn't really impress me was Viper. Yeah, she had the powers of a snake like poison spit and could even shed her skin, but she just didn't seem like that big of a threat compared to everyone else Logan fought, even though she was the second main villain of the film.
While I knew Famke Janssen would reprise her role as Jean Grey, I figured it would be one scene in Logan's dream. So I was genuinely surprised to see her keep popping up, acting somewhat as a little angel/demon on Logan's shoulder, and it shows just how tormented he is by having to kill her. Her role definitely gives the film that sense of having to let go of the past and truly live for the future. It kind of made me sad when Jean walked away from Logan in her final scene.

I think what really helped this film compared to the first Wolverine and First Class movies, which were prequels, is that it is actually advancing the X-Men universe, especially in terms of next year's "X-Men: Days of Future Past". I mean, for one thing, Logan had his adamantium claws cut off and in turn had his bone claws grow back in their place. I was quite surprised by that development and was half-expecting for the claws to get their adamantium back somehow. But no; as of now, the Wolverine of the X-Men movieverse has bone claws for the time being, and I am interested to see how that will play out.
As with most Marvel movies, fans should know to not leave when the credits begin, because there will usually be a scene to tease the future. With "The Wolverine", we get that in the form of Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart reprising their roles as Magneto and Xavier recruiting Logan to prepare for the next big threat to mutantkind. *cough*Sentinels*cough*finally*cough* And while it was nice to see them return before their main return in the next film, it left me questioning something as big as Wolverine's claw situation: Xavier is in a wheelchair again. Those who saw "X-Men: The Last Stand" know that when Jean destroyed Charles' body, his mind went into the braindead body of his twin brother, so that way, he'll look the same as he did. Maybe it was just me thinking this, but shouldn't Charles be able to walk now? My only theory is that with his brother camatose, for so long his legs are inactive due to lack of use. Unless we learn more about how Charles came back in the next film, that's the theory I'm going with.

With not only great action and top-notch character exploration, "The Wolverine" is a film fans of the character, the X-Men franchise, or Hugh Jackman can all enjoy.

RATING: 8.5/10

As a bonus, here is how I personally rank the X-Men movies from favorite to least:

• X-Men: First Class
• X2: X-Men United
• The Wolverine
• X-Men
• X-Men: The Last Stand
• X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Retro Review- FLASHPOINT: BATMAN- KNIGHT OF VENGEANCE (2011): Much More Than a Subplot

Watching the Flashpoint movie made me want to reread the Batman tie-in series to the event and post my review for others to see. This will be a shorter review compared to my other reviews because I will be avoiding spoilers. That being said, I would avoid my review of the Flashpoint movie since that one does include spoilers that reflect on this story, especially if you'd want to read this story with fresh eyes.

It isn't often that a tie-in series shines as bright as the event itself, but with Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso's "Batman: Knight of Vengeance", we get more insight into the life of Flash's co-star: Thomas Wayne as Batman. As one of the many divergent paths of DC's heroes in the Flashpoint timeline, readers would see a different and much darker course of events when the Waynes decided to cut through Crime Alley that fateful night. As this timeline's Batman, Thomas Wayne is much older, grittier, and much more willing to kill than his son.

While Thomas had helped Flash in his mission to change the world back to the way it was, he also had his own mission going on: rescue Judge Harvey Dent's kidnapped children from the Joker, who has once again escaped from Arkham Asylum. At the time of this story's publication, this was one of the most demented versions of the Joker I had seen, comparable to 2012-2013's "Death of the Family" storyline. Even rereading this story again, I still get goosebumps from the character's actions.
Now, the Batman/Joker relationship everyone is familiar with has always been unique in that they're opposites. Apparently, this is something Azzarello wanted to work with in the Flashpoint version of the characters, and it is the relationship between these characters that makes this story amazing on its own merits. While the Joker we usually know loves to torment Batman, this Joker genuinely hates Thomas Wayne and wants him dead; and while we know Bruce Wayne's code keeps him from killing anyone, no matter how much he would want to, particularly in the case of the Joker, one may question why a man like Thomas has become keeps allowing his own Joker to live and escape over and over again. The revelation of why will shock you, but in a way, will make perfect sense once you look back at the clues. By the end, the climax of their final confrontation will emphasize the tragic nature of the Flashpoint timeline.

As its own story, "Knight of Vengeance" ranks among the greatest Batman stories told in my opinion, even if it doesn't involve the Batman we are used to seeing. I'd recommend it to any Batfan, especially those who enjoy alternate versions of the character.

STORY RATING: 10/10
RECOMMENDATION RATING: 10/10

Movie Review - JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE FLASHPOINT PARADOX - Violence! Violence Everywhere! (SPOILERS)

In 2011, DC Comics published "Flashpoint", an event that showed readers a broken version of its heroes and universe that in the end, created the brand new universe now seen in all its "New 52" books. A year later, it was announced the storyline would be a future adaptation in DC's line of animated original movies, with a release set for 2013. While more movies would be announced far ahead of time before the release of an upcoming release, there was a period there was no announcement of any films following "Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox." Since there seemed to be some secrecy, this would lead to speculation that the movie would bring DC Animation into the New 52 era, making a big announcement as they did when they revealed the New 52 comics. I even watched the past DC animated films based on the main universe storyline in preparation of this film, sort of as a last hurrah to the old universe. Past and future films aside, how does DC's latest animated film hold up? In my opinion, it's one of the best the line has produced and emphasizes the darkness the source material brought.

To give everyone an idea about what the film is about, the timeline of the DC universe has been altered drastically; Superman has been held in a government detention center since he was a baby, Aquaman and Wonder Woman have waged a world that has ravaged Europe, and Thomas Wayne became Batman after his young son Bruce was killed. Only Barry Allen, the Flash, knows the world has changed and must find a way to make things right.
While the main story was adapted pretty well in the movie, the action of the film makes it even better. The constant battles will keep your eyes glued to the screen. Seriously, shit gets pretty intense and may not be for the faint of heart. While most superhero films are rated PG-13, this is also an animated film, which means the creators can get as graphic as they're allowed to and depict things that would get a live actions film an R rating. It's right up there with Batman and Joker's fight in the animated film adaptation of "The Dark Knight Returns." Only in this film will you probably see Wonder Woman murder a child, Batman shoot someone's brains out, or a man getting third degree burns all over his body trying to get superpowers. That's only a few examples of the over the top violence shown. Parents, if you think your kids will like this movie just because it's a Justice League cartoon, be ready to answer some questions or shut it off. They put ratings on these things for a reason; pay attention to them!

Since this is the story that got me into reading Flash, I'm happy that he was given the spotlight here. While it says "Justice League" in the title, mostly for marketing reasons, this is Barry Allen's story. His best moment in my opinion was when he disarmed the government agents stopping him, Batman, and Cyborg from breaking Superman out of his imprisonment, shown in slow-motion. It showed how awesome a guy who "just runs fast" can be. Since he's got a TV show and film coming out that will both tie in to the Arrow TV series and DC's budding film universe, people will be seeing alot more of Flash soon, and hopefully he is done as well as in this story.

As in the original comic series though, the standout character of the film was Thomas Wayne as Batman. He's an older, grittier Batman that's not afraid to kill; i.e., BADASS. Think Punisher, but with a cape. I guess losing your child before they even have a chance to grow up will do that to a person. He's basically a man that has lost all hope in the world. It makes him a great foil to Cyborg, acting as the world's greatest hero in the altered timeline, who believes in the government and the good in people. If you thought Superman and Bruce as Batman were opposites, Cyborg and Thomas as Batman are extreme on their ends. Probably the funniest example I can think of is when Cyborg says he doesn't drink and Thomas replies "Shocking" sarcastically." But what makes this version of Thomas amazing is that he is willing to die so that his son can live again. The final scene where Barry gives Bruce a letter Thomas should make you emotional.
My only wish though is that when Thomas killed Reverse Flash, he would have taunted him as he did in the comics here:

Thinking back to the source material to the main miniseries, I think the film makes improvements to help give viewers a greater grasp of the whole story, also adapting pieces from the various tie-in miniseries. We aren't just told what happens, we see what happens. We see why Aquaman and Wonder Woman went to war, and that Superman's rocket crashed into Metropolis. But the best bit of information from the alternate timeline revealed was the mere hint that Martha Wayne became the Joker of this universe, driven mad by her son's death. I tell you, I've watched that moment a few times now, and it still gives me goosebumps when she starts laughing maniacally, with her son's blood on her face looking like a big smile. While it would have been cool to see her and Thomas have their final confrontation in the film, I realized that it's its own story and would have just taken us off course of the main action.

Some additional positive thoughts:

• Kaldur'ahm, the Aqualad of Young Justice, makes an appearance in the film. He doesn't have that big of a role, but it's nice to see the character still getting some love even though the show's been cancelled. If only he got that love in the New 52 comics, where he has yet to even show up.
• For some reason, I really enjoyed Grifter. Maybe it's because he's a smartass and reminds me of Deadpool. Aside from that, he had some good action moments in the film, like teaming up with Batman to kill Black Manta, and kept fighting until the end, in which he got an arrow through the head.
• I'm glad that the Flashpoint Superman had his traditional "S" logo and not the one featured in the comic's storyline.

However, possibly due to knowing the source material well, I can't help but feel the film lacks in some areas. To start, two of my favorites scenes from the series were cut from the film. One was when the SHAZAM kids are discussing about how they may not be able to have another normal family night if they don't do anything to stop the Amazon/Atlantean war. The other is the scene where Barry says goodbye to his mother before running back to fix the timeline. I mean, that is a damn emotional scene that I think would have helped the film. The Captain Atom bomb wasn't covering the world that fast; Barry could have made a quick stop.
Speaking of which though, I find Barry's motivation to go back in time to prevent his mother's death a little selfish compared to why he did in the comics. In the comics, it was revealed that Reverse Flash went back in time and killed her as a way to screw with Barry. So with that reason, Barry was going back to fix something that shouldn't have happened. In the film, Reverse Flash just taunts Flash about his dead mom, which makes him decide to go back. Not much there in my opinion.
Another drastic change from the comics to the film involves Green Lantern. In the Flashpoint comics, Abin Sur survived the crash on Earth and Hal never took his place. In the film however, Abin Sur still dies and his ring flies off into space. I'm sorry, but I'm having a hard time believing that the ring wouldn't have gone to Hal. I mean, when a GL dies, the ring goes to the closest worthy successor. It's something I think the filmmakers botched up in my opinion.
Perhaps the thing I find most lacking is the overall conclusion. Yes, Barry is able to save the world, but it doesn't really have the same impact in the film as it did the comics. The timeline he comes back to appears no more different than before he went back in the time originally. For example, he and Iris are still together even thought they aren't in the New 52 comics. The only real difference between the films pre- and post-Flashpoint timelines is that Batman and Flash's costumes are slightly different. I honestly don't see why that would be the only change. I understand the need to make them look like their New 52 versions, but they could have at least included Pandora's involvement in the New 52's creation to explain the differences. That way, DC could also set up a potential "Trinity War" animated film.
One last thing: the post-credits scene shows Parademons coming through a boomtube over Earth, foreshadowing DC's next animated film: "Justice League: War", based on the League's New 52 origin story. The problem I have with that though, is that that story takes place before the New 52 scenes shown at the end of Flashpoint. Batman and Flash hadn't even met in that story yet. I understand the need to foreshadow new films like Marvel does, but it doesn't really work with prequels in my opinion.
I'll admit, I'm nitpicking things. But hey, I'm a comic geek. It's expected to happen.

Minor problems aside, I truly enjoyed the film, maybe even more than the source material. It's worth a view from any DC fan.

RATING: 7.5/10

COMING SOON: Watching this film has made me think back to Flashpoint's Batman tie-in miniseries, "Knight of Vengeance." So I'm going to reread that and do what I call a "Retro Review." If it's any indication that I'm reviewing a story from 2011, that should give you a sign of how I felt about it. But still, stay tuned.