While this is technically a sequel to 2017's "Justice League Dark" film and has John Constantine as the central character, "Apokolips War" features every prominent character from every movie in the universe, from the Justice League, Teen Titans, and even the Suicide Squad (who are more entertaining here than in their own previous film). It's a star studded line up, and while not every character featured has a speaking role, we still have so many prominent voice actors like Rosario Dawson (Wonder Woman), Jason O'Mara (Batman), Stuart Allen (Robin), Tony Todd (Darkseid), Jerry O'Connell (Superman), Matt Ryan (Constantine), Rebecca Romijn (Lois Lane) and so on and so forth. Such a line-up is just one of the things that shows they went all out for this one. For one, this is the longest film in the series at 90 minutes (trust me, that's pretty long for these films).
More important than that though, with the R rating given, "Apokolips War" holds nothing back with everything that's at stake. The film is the payoff to the post-credits scene of "Reign of the Supermen" with the Justice League taking the fight straight to Darkseid on Apokolips. In any other movie, the good guys win with very little repercussions; this ain't that movie. Things go horribly wrong with our heroes either killed, enslaved by Darkseid, or left to survive on a desolated Earth. Basically, no one is safe and the deaths can get pretty brutal. The violence and action is comparable to "Flashpoint Paradox", but "Apokolips War" gives you more of a sinking feeling. In "Flashpoint", whether you knew the story before or not, it was obvious that the alternate timeline was going to be done away with in the end. "Apokolips War" features the main universe, characters and relationships that we've been following for over six years. While most of the deaths involve characters going down in battle, there are a few that deliver a real emotional gut punch. In either case, there's weight to every death in the cause of saving the world.
Despite the darkness of the film, there are surprisingly some humorous moments to enjoy. Like I said back in my "Infinity War" review, humor is needed to have some levity so it's not doom and gloom through the whole story. Most of the funny moments come from character interaction, but the VIPs in this department are Etrigan and Harley Quinn. Etrigan is in such a drunken stupor for most of the movie that when he does contribute to a scene, it's hilarious. As for Harley, even in the face of Armageddon, she's singing, laughing, and having the time of her life while fighting with her giant mallet.
In all honesty, I don't think everyone will be satisfied with how the DCAMU wraps up. Lots of story potential is now gone and some people's favorite characters won't get a satisfying conclusion. To me though, "Apokolips War" is brilliantly executed and ties in all the previous films in some way. While superhero universes seem never-ending, be it comics, movies, or TV, "Apokolips War" is unique in bringing finality. Without spoiling anything, the ending is somewhat meta in that while this universe is ending, a new one might takes its place. When it comes to the future of the DC animated movie line, I'm kind of hoping they return to stand-alone films at least for a little while. Starting a new interconnected universe so soon after the last would cheapens the ida; the DCAMU at least started eight years after the end of Justice League Unlimited and the original DCAU.
In conclusion, if you've followed these films at one point or another, "Justice League Dark: Apokolips War" is a must-watch to see how the journeys of these characters ends.
And with that, here are my final rankings for the DC Animated Movie Universe (with links to my reviews attached):
1. Justice League Dark: Apokolips War
2/3. Death of Superman/Reign of the Supermen
4. Teen Titans: The Judas Contract
5. Justice League vs. Teen Titans
6. Batman vs. Robin
7. Justice League: War
8. Batman: Hush
9. Wonder Woman: Bloodlines
10. Batman: Bad Blood
11. Justice League: Throne of Atlantis
12. Justice League Dark
13. Son of Batman
14. Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay
