Sommerleigh Pollonais – Senior Writer
Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons: The Movie. I know, I know, it’s a long ass title but I have to add “The Movie” as this is just the jumping-off point for a CW Seed web series based on the eponymous DC anti-hero. The series has just one episode so far (which dropped in January) and this covers about one third of the animated film. It is unclear when and if the other 11 planned episodes will be released.
For the uninitiated amongst us, Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke is a super enhanced assassin who goes rogue and starts doing his own thing. After catching the attention of a terrorist group called H.I.V.E. he makes a terrible mistake and his wife and son pay the price. Decades later, the sins of the father once again threaten to tear apart what’s left of their lives.
For fans of Deathstroke, there’s a lot to enjoy here. The hard R for instance. Unlike the Disney-owned Marvel, who took decades before they even considered making an R-Rated movie (and only because a certain Merc with a Mouth showed it could pay off big) DC has been using their VOD market to give fans what they want – animated stories that fully embrace the personalities of the characters on display. So instead of pretending people don’t bleed when you stab them (et tu Wolvie?) we get bloody stabbings, decapitations and exploded limbs all courtesy the most proficient assassin the DC Universe has to offer.
Michael Chiklis as the voice of Deathstroke. I would’ve never thought to cast him in this role but boy does he nail it! the intensity, the focus, the gravel in the back of your throat sexiness. And yes, I’m aware I just called an animated character sexy. Like you haven’t?! Glass houses people!
The animation style is…not bad. It looks a bit wonky at times, almost like the FPS (frames per seconds) were off a bit. But for the most part it works and it made me nostalgic for another R-Rated animated series I loved from back in the day, Spawn.
Deathstroke: Knights and Dragons isn’t the best the DC animated film, but it most definitely entertained and intrigued me enough to want to check out the full series when it finally comes out.
Fun tidbit: Marvel’s Wade Wilson/Deadpool was basically a rip-off of Slade Wilson/Deathstroke. Creators of Deadpool Nicieza and Liefeld deliberately did this because they were fans of the DC assassin. #TheMoreYouKnow
For more of my take on this film you can check out my video review here.
Rating: 7 out of 10
For my review of Justice League Dark: Apokolips War you can click here.
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes.
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