Justice League vs. Teen Titans (2016)

Another movie in continuity with the other recent ones playing in the same universe! Keep an open mind and you will feel the time watching it is well spent.

Let's start with technicalities! The animation quality and design of the movie is good to very good if you keep in mind that it is a direct-to-video production - there have certainly been much worse ones around. The visual style is a continuation of the other movies that were released in the last year or two, so if you've gotten used to that, you'll feel right at home. Frederik Wiedmann did a nice job with the soundtrack, and his choice of instruments stands out immediately once the movie gets to the first mystic scenes - I think it is a good match.

The pacing is good. There is not really any part that feels too slow or drawn out too much, and enough action takes place throughout the movie to keep up the entertainment. A few scenes could benefit from a deeper exploration, but then again that would break the available time-budget. The story is entertaining, but a bit predictable. Not as predictable as the stories of some of the other DC movies, but there is still room for more complexity. It is targeted at a broader audience, most likely. The movie is somewhat family friendly, teens should feel right at home.

I'm not really a fan of Damian in a leading role, but in a team the character plays out much better. Sort of like how Batman integrates nicely with the Justice League - both characters can add a bit of spice to the mix once they're able to clearly contrast with other characters. In my opinion this is the first movie in this line that manages to do this, so that is good to see. More of that please. Damian needs to be put on a leash for good! I could not relate a whole lot to the previous versions of the Teen Titans, so I am happy to see a version of them here that feels a bit more mature. Less goofy is good!

There are some parallels between a few appearances in here and in Young Justice - some designs are related without a doubt, some characters share close or relatively close resemblances, but they are different personalities (and have different voice-actors). Wasn't sure how to take this at first, but they're likable. Would take another movie to get to know some of them a bit better, so here's hope we get that chance eventually.

Overall it is an enjoyable movie. Anyone who liked the recent DC movies should give this one a watch.