But to be fair, casting actual preteen voice actors creates its own set of problems. The worst that could be said for both performances is that Grazer and Griffo sound too old for their characters (neither of whom seems to be older than 12 or 13). Likewise, Griffo excels at portraying Damian as a spoiled jerk while still conveying the humanity beneath. Jon is a very different character in many ways, but the warmth and humor are still there. Grazer basically stole the show in 2019's Shazam! with his rendition of the socially awkward, superhero-obsessed Freddy Freeman. It helps that both Grazer and Griffo bring so much life to their characters.
#Rolex batman series#
Kudos for the decision to focus on the classic Super Sons dynamic, rather than aging up Jon as the more recent Superman comics and the CW series have done. These two have always brought out the best in each other in the comics, and that's a quality Adams channels into his script. Damian is the hardened assassin who acts like a jerk to hide the fact that he really just needs a friend. Jon isn't an angsty teen burdened by power and responsibility, but a wide-eyed kid who's thrilled at the new world that's been opened up before him. The film really nails the two characters' respective voices and their unusual friendship. Still, for however long it may take to bring the two heroes together, Battle of the Super Sons thrives on the strength of the Jon/Damian dynamic. As the thoroughly enjoyable Catwoman: Hunted proved earlier this year, less setup and more forward momentum is usually the way to go with these animated movies. The fact that Jeremy Adams' screenplay is so efficient about laying out that background only further serves to make the early Jon scenes feel unnecessary. There's only time to hint at his troubled past and loosely establish his dysfunctional relationship with his father. Battle of the Super Sons probably would have benefited from diving into the meat of the conflict sooner, rather than devoting so much time to Jon's origin and the typical superhero teen cliches (including a painfully stilted school bully subplot).ĭamian doesn't enter the picture until roughly 25 minutes into this 80-minute film. Like so many of these DC Universe Movies, it feels slightly hampered by the limited runtime. Battle of the Super Sons unfolds pretty much exactly as one would expect, with only a few twists along the way to subvert the standard rookie teen hero formula. The plot is entertaining, if more than a little predictable. From there, Jon reluctantly teams up with the much more experienced, slightly pathological Robin and the two face their first true test as superheroes. The first act focuses on Jon discovering his burgeoning powers and coming to terms with the truth about his father, material that should be familiar to fans of the comics or The CW's Superman & Lois. That alone is a major point in the film's favor.īattle of the Super Sons acts as both an origin story for Jon and a showcase for the first team-up between Superboy ( Shazam's Jack Dylan Grazer) and Robin (The Thundermans' Jack Griffo). Battle of the Super Sons takes many storytelling cues from the work of Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason, whose Superman and Super Sons comics set the standard for the Jon/Damian dynamic. It's instead a standalone story that has the distinction of being the first fully computer-animated film in this long-running series of direct-to-DVD projects.
This latest entry in the DC Universe Movies line isn't connected to recent releases like 2020's Superman: Man of Tomorrow or 2021's Batman: The Long Halloween duology. These days, Damian Wayne and Jon Kent have devoted fanbases all their own, and those fans will likely be pleased with how this junior Dynamic Duo is handled in Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons. But both characters have taken a major step forward in recent years, as they've both become fathers to aspiring superheroes.
0 kommentar(er)
