If you're familiar with DC animated movies, then you generally know what to expect, which is something dark, violent & fun. This delivers on all fronts, with the excellent director Jay Oliva (The Dark Knight Returns & Under The Red Hood) who shepherds this towards being one of DC's finest films.
If you're unfamiliar with DC's animation, then trust me when I say this, you'll be in for a shock. This is so dark, it's hard to recommend a kid to be allowed to watch this. It's more violent than the recent live action Batman films. There's beheadings, head shots, and all kinds of other violence. That said, it's nothing too gruesome either, it is M after all, but it definitely pushes it to the edge. If you're a fan of superhero movies, and think that the animation might be too kid friendly, like the Justice League, or Batman cartoons now and from a few years ago, it really is nothing like them at all.
As for the story, it's refreshing as hell to see a DC animation that isn't about Batman, or Superman. Don't get me wrong, they definitely feature in this animation and have really great parts in it too (one of the most interesting Superman depictions, I've seen). The story follows The Flash who wakes up to find he's in an alternate universe where The Flash doesn't exist, Batman, Superman & the rest of the Justice League are wildly different, and much less friendly. It's an interesting mystery, with an ending that you may not quite see coming.
It's just a fun film to sit through, with excellent action, some decent voice acting, music that's almost as good as The Dark Knight Returns', and story/characters that are a blast to watch. If you're a fan of superheroes, especially the DC animated ones, you'll love this. I'd place it just behind TDKR P1 & 2 as my second favourite DC animated movie.
