Published on June 14th, 2017 | by Richard Boom
0Review: Teen Titans: The Judas Contract
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment shipped out Teen Titans: The Judas Contract on DVD on May 31 2017. This successor to Justice League vs. Teen Titans is the 28th animated feature in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies.
In this new animated movie the Teen Titans must try to stop their enemy Brother Blood. They are so headstrong about this they do not notice that there is a traitor in their group …
The Teen Titans – Beast Boy, Raven, Blue Beetle, Robin, Starfire and Nightwing – together form a strong team that fights against evil. At one point (and you have to check out the previous movie for that) they get a new team member, the mysterious and powerful Terra.
Terra is a girl with power over earth and stone, but there still seems to be more to her… Meanwhile, Brother Blood has awakened and -just as Deathstroke – is eager to strike unexpectedly.
What is fun about this movie is that there is a flashback to when Starfire lands on Earth, smack in the middle of Robin (now Nightwing) and the much younger Teen Titans and it makes for a deeper understanding of their relationship.
Is the newest member (talking about Terra now) of the team an ally or a threat? And what are the plans of mercenary Deathstroke for the Titans? You will see it in Teen Titans: The Judas Contract.
To prepare myself for this movie it would have been best to pick up a copy of The Judas Contract and dib myself into Marv Wolfman’s classic story considering I have yet to read it. It has been long on my list, but never gotten around to get it. So well, I did not have any hesitation although I did start out believing Starfire to be the traiterous one in the comics and Terra was a later creation courtesy of Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner, but this is where my knowledge of DC falls flat, I fear!
The movie then…
I actually was feeling a tad disappointed at the start of the movie with the mediocre art, but that was apparantly more indicating the flashback-period. In the “now” the art, story telling, characters… it all steps up a notch, making this a rather fun story even.
The multi-layered persona’s make this not only a kid-movie, with Beast Boy trying to get his odd behavious in balance, Starfire and Nightwing getting their relationship balanced, Terra finding the balance between friends and fiends, Daiman aka new Robin with his superiority complex.
I have to HOPE that in some other story TERRA was better established because the introduction of her character in this team is the only negative aspect. Other then that, you also have to have a basic idea about who Deathstroke and Brother Blood is (which I did NOT) so there you go 🙂
The stakes in this flick feel very personal with characters set in positions that feel believable and action that makes sure the movie continues on a fast pace. The action even helps develop characters in building their persona’s and actually all the juicy scenes and interactions.
Overall: this movie surprised me and although it might not be the best DC-animation ever it will stand the test of time. Or at least makes you happy you saw it!This is a FUN RIDE!
Release Date: May 31, 2017
Running time: 80 minutes
Rated: 6, violence and fear