AUTHOR’S NOTE: BOF received a copy of this Blu-ray/film for reviewing purposes.
Superhero sidekicks and “super sons” aren’t really my cup of tea.
Regardless, I went into watching BATMAN and SUPERMAN: BATTLE OF THE SUPER SONS — directed by Matt Peters (INJUSTICE) from a screenplay written by Jeremy Adams (BATMAN: SOUL OF THE DRAGON) — with an open mind and with the intent to review it subjectively.
I found BOTSS to be more of a Superman film than a Batman one or even an even mix of the two. And the focus is more on the “super sons” than the Big 2…as the title suggests.
BOTSS serves as both an origin story for Jon Kent/Superboy (Jack Dylan Grazer) and a team-up film featuring Jon and the Damien Wayne version of Robin (Jack Griffo) who meet for the first time. The first part of the film focuses on the Kent/Superman family and the aforementioned origin story of Superboy and it’s nearly a half hour before Robin shows up and the main story is underway.
As far as Robin, if you are familiar with Damien Wayne in the comics, then you know what you’re going to be getting with this version of the character in the film. His past and, well, dysfunctional relationship with his father — Batman/Bruce Wayne — is only briefly hinted at. I thought that was perfectly fine because if you know the character then you know the deal going in.
BATMAN AND SUPERMAN: BATTLE OF THE SUPER SONS isn’t on par with the best of these animated DCU films, but it’s OK. I enjoyed it (slightly) more than I thought I would. With that said, this isn’t a movie that I would watch on my own. If you’re a fan of the “Super Sons” you’ll probably like it more than I did. It’s rated PG-13 and leans more toward PG as opposed to R — I figure young boys between the ages of 10-14 are the target audience.
On a final note, I really liked the CG animation used here and it felt like an improvement on the traditional 2D we usually get with these movies. – Bill “Jett” Ramey