Speaking of pointless miserygore-porn, I watched the conclusion to the DC Animated Movie Universe (DCAMU),
Justice League Dark: Apokolips War.
It's pretty much Flashpoint: Again, just with the apocalypse "really happening" (but not really), some character starting positions changed around, and a bigger emphasis on Constantine (it's JL Dark, after all) and paying off the previous 15 movies in this continuity. It mostly works, but the 100% RottenTomatoes score is insane to me, and I really worry it sends the wrong message to DC execs.
You don't need gore to pull off mature storytelling. And I've criticized the DCAMU for this before, and it's the worst it's ever been here. And honestly, in this extremely cheap-o animation style, it just comes off as comical for the most part. Oh hey, it's Starfire's entrails! 15-year old Superboy gets his neck violently snapped in a close-up! Batgirl gets cannibalized and it's somehow MORE brutal than Blob's acts in Ultimatum!
WOW!!!! HARDCORE!!!!!
It depresses me Marvel balances an anti-gore mentality with high-stakes action so well, because that kinda only leaves "edgy as fuck" for DC films to go. It used to be the animated side was thankfully spared from that direction, but fuck it, we got R-rated cartoon decapitations now! And if you're not on board, fuck off to Weeny Hut Jr I guess.
Aside from the gore, the writing cribs a lot from Flashpoint as I mentioned. I have to laugh that every time we're introduced to a new "wacky 'alternate' universe" situation, we're thrown into things in-media-res for like 2 minutes of action, and then everyone stands around for 5 minutes explaining how that scenario came to be in the two years since Darkseid conquered Earth.
This was my first introduction to King Shark as he is portrayed in Suicide Squad, and he's basically Cannibal Groot? Ok.
3 / 5