Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons is available now on DVD, Blu-ray and digital from Warner Bros. Home Video.
Synopsis
Mercenary and master assassin Slade Wilson leads two lives: one as the relentless killer known as Deathstroke, and the other as a dedicated family man. When these worlds collide, forced together by the vicious terror group known as H.I.V.E., it is the killer in Slade who must fight to save his loved ones, as well as what remains of himself. With his soul torn apart and his young son held captive, Deathstroke will have to atone for the sins of his past to fuel the battles of his future!
Review
DC Comis and Warner Bros. Animation have built a now legendary library of direct-to-video movies which have covered a wide ranger of characters from across the universe.
Their latest endeavours have also included short animated series which are streamed via the CW Seed app in North America. This started with Vixen and has seen a number of characters take the spotlight.
Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons follows the release model of another of those animated series, Constantine: City of Demons.
The home video release, reviewed here, features an extended version of the series. Now fleshed out in to a feature-length animated movie which is sure to pique the interest of Slade Wilson’s many, many fans.
The film acts as an overview of his origin, flashing back to the military experiments which created the Deathstroke name. It does so without lingering on it or retreading any of the steps covered by either the so-called Arrowverse or Titans versions of the character.
Instead Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons wraps up the origin in a present day tale which is much more centred on the wider Wilson family.
I’ve complimented the DC animated line for this before. But once again Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons takes plenty of cues from the comics but adapts them from brand new angles to keep the story fresh for all viewers.
Writer J.M. DeMatteis makes excellent use of the shady organisation H.I.V.E. to craft an underground world of espionage which is very much grounded in the DC mythos. Within that he’s able to bring in both Jericho and Ravager in ways which feel organic to the animated world but also fresh to the story.
Unlike other projects within their animated world, DC doesn’t hold back here. There’s the usual level of action we’ve come to expect from these animated movies. But this time around there’s a lot more gore and a lot more death. Keeping the action in earnest to the Deathstroke character.
What I found incredibly intriguing about this movie is the animation style. It feels rooted in the rest of the DC animated line, but on top of the added gore is a new layer of pop art surrealism.
Gunfire explosions and sweeping sword movements are accented with a Litchtenstein style. The popular Ben Day Process is used a number of times throughout the movie and it looks great!
Casting is excellent with both Michael Chiklis and Sasha Alexander standing out for their incredibly emotional portrayals of the two leads at different times in their relationship.
Both actors approach their roles with a similar level of commitment to any live-action project and it really shines through in their scenes together. Colin Salmon, no stranger to DC projects, also crops up as Slade’s handler Wintergreen. Always great to hear a familiar voice in this projects.
Verdict
Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons gives fans a new insight in to the history of the Wilson family. Taking interesting new twists on the comic book lore and crafting a new, bloody animated adventure.
6/10
Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons stars Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Michael Chiklis (The Shield, The Commish, American Horror Story: Freak Show) headlines the cast as Slade Wilson/Deathstroke, alongside Sasha Alexander (Rizzoli & Isles, Shameless, NCIS) as Wilson’s wife, Adeline “Addie” Kane Wilson.
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