Okay, so I just saw Flashpoint Paradox, and I want to share my thoughts with you.

The first thing you need to know is that there are numerous changes to the original story that make the 1st half or 2/3rds of this film more bearable. A lot of the plot changes are for the good and will get you immersed into the story, which flows much better than the source material--at first. There are added fight scenes that are just beautiful to watch even though the character models for every male character other than Steve Trevor, Batman, Green Lantern, Flashpoint Superman, and Flash is way too bulky. The faces for almost every male character are downright ugly. The animation itself is high quality.

Then comes the last 1/2 or 1/3 of the film that really ruins things. We are treated to changes that are just unnecessary or are in VERY bad taste. A lot of fans won't mind the uber violence in the final confrontation, but this is not a film you can show a child or even your non-comic-reading girlfriend/spouse. Some 14 year old boys may think it is cool to chop off limbs on screen or to have a hole blown through a character's head--all very graphic--but I do not. I like action and violence, but I don't see why it had to be at this level. Leave this kind of violence to anime or to live action stuff, but don't do it with the Justice League. Jeebus! DC makes Superman kill people in the most violent way in this film, which is only forgivable because he's so inexperienced, but come on, really? He's starting to make the uni-bomber look like a lightweight these days. Why couldn't it be the same kind of action we see in Bruce Timm's work or in the Incredibles? Does someone at DC really get off on this or think Kill Bill violence with these heroes in particular is cool? It doesn't even add more tension to the story... I mean, the Tim Drake scene in the Batman Beyond movie was so horrifying because they DIDN'T show it. You had to use your imagination. This is just some weirdo ****ing off to this and not realizing how dumb/creepy it is.

That's not the only problem with this film. It doesn't help that Batman's dialogue is terrible. He has some really bad jokes and is constantly drinking from a flask, like he's a wannabe 1980s bad***. Le sigh, DC, le sigh.

Flash fans have a lot to be happy about, but this film WILL piss off Superman fans and could piss off fans of Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and Cyborg. Hal fans and Batman fans have nothing to celebrate or worry about.

The voice acting is not as bad as some of the released clips show, but most of it is nothing to write home about--with regards to the main characters. The side-characters are pretty good though.

There are some really nice cameos from characters who were not in the original story or who were in the story in a different capacity--like Kaldur'Ahm, Garth, and Tula. But the replacement of Geoforce was dumb IMO.

Anyway, I give this film somewhere between a 2.5/5 and a 3/5. I can't decide.

Final verdict: Borrow it or download it from online. A hard copy isn't worth it because of the last 1/2 or 1/3.

Spoilers

How did you see this?

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It was...ok

@outlawrenegade said:

Wow, what an ass.

@sandman_: Agreed. The first half was good, but the final confrontation was really bad IMO. I mean, some of the fights were cool, but the insane violence that came out of no where dragged it down for me. I mean, I don't need to see decapitations and stuff in this kind of film...

It was terrible, 1/5 at max

@outlawrenegade: Yeah, it was pretty violent. But hey! Comic Books, people! Though it could have been better.

@outlawrenegade: speaking of flashpoint every time i try to go to that page on the vine it keeps saying that the page doesnt existe i sence conspiriosy!

God-DAMN, this movie was violent and depressing as hell. Still really liked it though, but I gotta agree that some of the violence towards the last third of the film got pretty gratuitous at times, especially the stuff with Cyborg and Reverse Flash (What the hell was up with the latter?! Was that really necessary?).

I agree with the violence in the movie really made me kinda depressed. I like the overall story since I never read flashpoint comics. But they could have done without all the killing and blood.

It was alright. Better than I was expecting. I agree about the unnecessary level of violence and the final battle was really down heartening. But the bigger flaws were the crammed story material from the various expanded mini series of Flashpoint which were shoved in and not developed properly. The story really suffers from this. And whilst the animation was better than expected, the male characters were too bulky. Still, at least the voice acting is good and Flash got a prominent role. But Superman killed and obviously that irks me a little bit even though this version is not the character I know and love

It was stupid. They shitted on the Rogues. They tried to cram so much in so little time. Cyborg felt so forced as well as Hal Jordan. I would've liked to see one last sight of Martian Manhunter with the League as a final sendoff.

And I hope to god this will not be the animation style for future DC movies.

It was ok. Not enough Wonder Woman screen time. Thats my only GRIP but DAMN she kicked ASS... she was truly scary! I wished they went more into the the events that caused the war but its understand able of how they handled it due to time constraint

AQUAMAN and some others are WAY to BULKY no neck brutes!

@outlawrenegade: I liked it too. I thought all of it was good.

Honestly, I thought it was awesome all the way through. The violence was over the top though

I enjoyed the film very much, i agree the violence was much more vivid then it has been in the past, but as the comics are gearing up towards the older teen audiences so must the animated universe so im all for it. Wonder woman was a beast in that film she was not f'ing around at all, the way she got that crown was awesome. Definitely recommend if people cant find it anywhere ill give them a link just pm or reply to me.

The violence isn't over the top, it's just more than what we're used to.

I never liked Flashpoint -- it's such a poorly thought out storyline. I wonder if the movie will change my mind.

@muyjingo: How would you know if the violence isn't over the top if you haven't watched the movie? We've never needed decapitations, hangings, child murder, an exposed heart stabbing, a fully-visible bullet through the head, or chopped off limbs before in other DC animated films.

Because I skipped through it and watched the action scenes.

Like I said, it is more than what we have had before -- that doesn't make it over the top.

After the two Dark knight returns films... I saw a huge drop in quality here. The animation was very rushed and sloppy at times, the character designs were again very poor (as in Superman Unbound as well), and the plot/dialogue felt silly.

As for the action scenes, I didn't mind them. Yeah its not a movie you'd show to anyone but that goes for reasons beyond the action. This movie just isn't for the general audience. I mentioned the 2 parter DKR movies and they also had some more intense scenes but they made more sense, they had more meaning to them.

Lastly, the moments in this movie that were supposed to be emotional scenes just missed completely. Idk what's happening over at DC animated but casting and animation need to be rethought, so does the choice of plots.

Trying to push out 3 animated movies a year is a cool idea and all... but at this quality, idk, I'd rather one or two (at most) but with more detail and more time invested in them.

How did you see the Movie early

U guys are sum serious punk ass b!/$#3s. Complaining it was too violent. Get bent. This wasn't young justice. It was great. Reminded me of civil war. Whichh pulled no punches. Hero vs hero. U guys are giving dc the WRONG feedback. The violence makes the stakes higher. I'm ashamed to be a comic book fan cus then I'm associated with girly queens like u people. I guess dark night returns "was too violent". The brutality took away from nothing. It made it better, this was a different world. This was the best dc animated movie ever. Complaining about violence only exposes ur weakness.

Dark Knight returns was mostly less violent and was within appropriate confines 99% of the time. When it did go out of bounds--like in the Joker killing--it was effective to the story. This was not. Killing a child in full view on screen is never appropriate. There was lot of other stuff than felt more like violence wank than service to the story. But my response doesn't really matter since you're probably a troll. Good day, sir. You'll get no further response from me.

Well...that was a depressing film. Like several users have commented, it was needlessly violent.

Also, the script changes also made the film seem too similar to Johns' previous work on Booster Gold.

@lolzstastic: It was an apocalyptic war, it showed realism.

#

I enjoyed the film but what the hell was wrong with Captain Marvel, he got owned, that fight was waaaay to ani-climatic.

@sonofodin25: I hate this argument! People will always have something to complain about! When Superman Returns came out they said there wasn't enough action (I agree) but then people were saying Man Of Steel had TOO MUCH action. This movie features an all out war. Casualties will happen. War isn't pretty. It showed that it was absolutely vital that Flash succeeded to stop these events from occurring again.

with this release i official have three dc animated films i like and will be in my collection (wonder woman, justice league doom and now flashpoint). i agree with you on the part of the male animation but that is about it. i personally enjoyed the flashpoint comic and though it has been a couple of years there were moments that i went "yeah, i remember that". other than the male animation the animation was awesome. very anime and im a huge fan. the opening part (sans justice league) made me long for a flash solo film with the rogues. perhaps a "rouge's rising" origin of flash and the rouges or "rouge's revenge" where the rouge's break out of prison and seek revenge against flash. again dont remember everything cause its been so long since i read the story but i dont recall diana killing billly. it was shocking and thats good. it caused an emotional reaction in me cause i cared. my girl diana rocked in this. makes me long for another wonder woman movie with this animation style. to see her fly and just be awesome was awe inspiring to me. just over all a really good movie. other than it being too short and a bad voice actor for cyborg no complaints her. 4 out of 5 for me. just waiting for the blue ray

@outlawrenegade: blackvengence is absolutely right. I can't believe you people are giving such feedback to this amazing animated JL movie. The point of Flash's main struggle in this story is that he wants to fix a grave mistake he made. The Flashpoint world is dark, violent and it is not the regular DC universe and the horrors you people are complaining of seeing is exactly what Flash is trying to fix and thru sacrifice and heroism he does just that at the end! You fixate on the violence when that is the POINT, you don't want this world, it's the wrong world. I kept thinking when I was watching, wow this is really story driven and it's great. The animation was appropriate, the voice acting simply flawless and the respect for the source material was intact. What were you guys expecting to see? Did you have no idea what the source material was about? Aquaman and WW aren't good guys in the Flashpoint universe. Superman was not raised by the Kents and never inspired any heroes in the Flashpoint universe. Bruce Wayne was not around to impose his no killing rule. And yet there was plenty of heroism in the story... Cyborg fights until the end, Hal Jordan sacrifices his life to make a difference, and many others die to save the world. But I am ashamed to see so many negative comments here. Where do you people come from? Comic story lines have been very violent for decades now. And if you guys are so sensitive then read the rating warnings next time and stop acting shocked. Video games, movies, and many other DC products are violent and yet they also offer so many kid friendly stuff that maybe is what you are looking for. Batman Brave and the Bold, Teen Titans, the GL animated show and so much other stuff is there for the kids AND the sensitive pu&&ies. Man you people are full of it!

Man please I'm watching this movie thinking its going to be really violent and depressing but it was barely violent at all. I don't know what you guys are talking about.

What movies and TV shows do you guys watch?

My least favorite of any DCUAOM. Character designs were horrid on every level. Not a single face or build did not look utterly ridiculous. I seriously hope that this animation is NEVER used again for future films. Because I'm not sure I can take to see it any more.

Voice cast was hit or miss. I wasn't a big fan of the choice for Barry Allen. But most of the other voices were decent enough.

The plot progression was choppy. I found myself completely losing interest through most of the endless and over-the-top fight scenes. The inclusion of several elements was completely needless. Take Barry's mom for example. The beginning of the film had me pretty interested in her and her relationship with Barry. But the plotline was completely dropped after the first fifteen minutes and never looked at again except for a half-mention at the very end.

And yes, the explicitness of the violence was a bit trying. I don't need to see limbs cut off on screen or anything of the like. It didn't bother me too much or affect my rating of the film, but since it's already been mentioned, it's worth commenting on.

1.5 out of 5. Generously. I wish I had downloaded or borrowed as was recommended rather than waste thirteen dollars on something I will likely never watch again.

Hmmmm...I was going to buy this......I may not now.

Worst phone game ever

I thought this was awesome. A step in a different direction for DC Animation. Did we need all the violence? Probably not, but it helped set the tone for the darkness of the alternate timeline. The animation style was just okay for me. I'm more of a Bruce Timm guy. I enjoyed this show though. I'm looking forward to Justice League: War.

Was anyone else as annoyed as me at the "plot twist" reveal that Barry caused all of the problems when he went back to save his mom, even though they never once mentioned he did that, showed him doing it, effectively implied he did it, or even once suggested he - and not Zoom - were dabbling with time? Isn't the only mention of Barry being able to go back in time when he tries to do it after regaining his powers?

Really, when Zoom revealed that, I had to really think "he did? When?" I re-watched the beginning of the movie when Zoom taunts Barry about being really terrible about saving people he cares about (a general statement) and then Barry runs really really fast and triggers some speed force around him (which is insignificant because that is literally his superpower he uses day in, day out, all the time) and that was it. Yeah, he didn't seem THAT surprised his mom was alive, but there wasn't anything like a "hey, it worked!" or anything to hint that he knowingly did something.

If a plot twist is going to have any meaning, it has to be set up well enough so that a rug can be pulled out from under the audience. They didn't even tell me I was standing on a rug. Hell, they didn't even tell me what rugs were. Like, wasn't this supposed to be the paradox? But it's not one, at all. It's not really a paradox that if you travel back in time, it messes everything up as well. That's the, um, Flashpoint Butterfly Effect. The only thing close to a paradox I can figure is that if Barry loses his powers - ie never becomes the Flash - then Zoom doesn't exist either, because that's the only reason he because Reverse Flash. Why does Barry lose his powers and Zoom doesn't? It seems like the one who traveled back in time should keep their powers because they exist outside of the normal time stream, which would have made sense if Zoom was responsible for the change. It would have even been darker if Zoom saved Barry's mom causing all the changes, thus forcing Barry to make that sacrifice from a less "this is my fault" point of view and more of a "just when I thought something good was given to me..." idea. Bigger loss, I think. With a plot hole / story element ball getting dropped that hard, it's no wonder the movie feels like nothing more than an action showcase, even if the action was really stiff at times.

Still, better than Superman Unbound, eh?

And of course I have about five dozen questions regarding time travel and Zoom, now. If all Zoom does is travel back in time to kill Barry's friends and family, how come THAT doesn't create new, hellish realities? As I understand it, in the comics, Zoom has more control over his powers and possibly more powers than Barry. But this movie doesn't really establish any of that ... just that Zoom traveled through time once from the 25th century and that was about it. Maybe in the comics, Zoom is able to travel without causing the ripples Flash does. It's more of a question for the comics I suppose. Is any of that ever addressed, that all Zoom does is travel through time and mess things up but this ONE time Barry does it, somehow everything breaks? I tapped out around Brightest Day and the only Reverse Flash story I ever read was Flash: Reborn so this movie raised a lot of questions for me.

Personally, i give this a 4/5 because from MY point of view the film was the best DC has to offer. It was realistic, the violence is what you expect in an all-out war which would end the world, the flashpoint timeline is dark and gritty which had a DIFFERENT batman (Thomas Wayne) who is a beast and is willing to kill or perhaps torture. In the alternate timeline, some heroes are villains as well as socially inept or fragile (superman) which illustrates a different portrayal of the justice league from the the mainstream timeline where the justice league are the saints that the fans know and love.

It may not be your preferences, but you can only speak for yourself and others may agree or disagree. What i did not like about this movie was the character designs and i didn't see a Martian Manhunter or plastic man, but what i did like was the fact it had two Kaldurham from young justice as well as the fight scenes along with the fact that professor zoom is portrayed as a villain who is sociopath or perhaps borderline psychotic who wouldn't care about his own life as long as he gets to see the flash die. Remember, this is a different timeline and the characters are alternate counterparts, but you expect them to be or act the same as their mainstream counterparts, however this is a grim, gritty and dark portrayal of the heroes in an alternate timeline. Some fans may not like it, but they can only speak for themselves as there are others who enjoyed the film and believed it to be amazing.