Teen Titans: The Judas Contract is an (almost) feature-length animated film that once again proves that DC's animated films highly surpass their live-action Hollywood disappointments. Being only an hour and 15 minutes long, this film covers a lot surprisingly well in that short amount of time. The greatest parts about this film were definitely the character development and relationship subplots throughout the movie. While I wish the titular plot was better integrated, there are still many aspects of this film to rave about.
The absolute best part about this film would have to be its character development and relationships throughout. I always watched Teen Titans as a kid, and seeing these characters brought back to life made me very happy. The same creative team behind the show worked on this film, and I am glad that they matured the characters into a more professional tone while still keeping the humor and childlike fantasy of them all. While this film sadly did not feature Cyborg, seeing the relationships grow with the new additions to the team was great. The older Titans, Nightwing and Starfire, who had returned to the team to be sort-of mentors, were portrayed very well and their dialogue was fantastic. Speaking of the more mature tone, the clashing of the younger Titans' actions and Nightwing and Starfire's adult relationship was hilarious. The writers managed to maintain a good adult relationship (often borderline sexual) with the innocence of the younger members, like Blue Beetle and Beast Boy. All of the subplots and character revelations throughout the film were handled very well, especially with the new recruit Terra, who had sinister undertones.
The plot regarding Terra was tied in to the overall antagonist's plot, as she turned out to be Deathstroke's pawn and lover. The story of Terra infiltrating the Titans was very interesting, but I feel that her relationship to Deathstroke could have been written a bit better. This film is based off of The Judas Contract comic series, which focuses on Deathstroke attempting to kill all the Titans. However, Deathstroke was not the main focus of the villain's plot, rather, Terra was. And for her to be revealed as Deathstroke's lover was not only a bit creepy (she's 18 and he's in his 30's), but a bit demeaning for her character as well. I feel that the antagonist should have been either Terra working on her own or staying true to the comics and having solely Deathstroke. Other than that minor writing issue, there is not much for me to complain about this film. In fact, there are more good things than bad. Some of the smaller aspects of this film that I enjoyed included the DC signature animation style, the humor, and a funny animated cameo. As for the animation, the style was taken from anime, but definitely Americanized. This is DC's typical style, and it is very original and beautiful, which fits the tone of this film well. The humor in the film mostly came from Raven, surprisingly, which worked well for her character in the long run. Finally, the very last scene with Beast Boy getting interviewed by comic fanboy Kevin Smith himself was funny and pleasant to see. I love seeing worlds collide, and it's always fun for the audience as well.
Teen Titans: The Judas Contract is a fun and great addition to the DC animated universe. While the animation was gorgeous once again, the character development and humor worked quite well for this team of heroes. Despite some minor writing flaws, this is a great and quick film that I would strongly recommend.
My Rating: ★★★½
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