Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (Spoilers!) 8 Out Of 10

My review on my the latest Teen Titans animated film.

Teen Titans: The Judas Contract ( Spoilers!) 8 out of 10

Lately DC has suffered a loss of credibility, when it comes to Warner Brothers live action adaptation of it’s heroes.

DC animation on the other hand has been well received for story and quality.

Teen Titans: the Judas Contract is the latest animated film by DC entertainment, and it has continued the tradition of top-notch animated films.

In my opinion, Teen Titans: the Judas Contract, is one of the best animated films DC has done.

Teen Titans: the Judas Contract or TTJC, is based off of a 1980s comic book story arc that involves the birth of Nightwing and the betrayal of Terra, their newest team member.

TTJC follows the original comic book story, but shakes it up enough to align itself to the prequel Teen Titans vs. the Justice League. In doing so Cyborg is replaced by Blue Beetle, Damien Wayne is added to the roster and Dick Grayson is already established as Nightwing.

In the film, Deathstroke works alongside Brother Blood to defeat the Teen Titans.

Brother Blood wants to capture the Titans so that he can absorb their powers and achieve his birthright as a super powered god.

Blood sits in the background of the story. There is nothing compelling of the character. In fact, Blood is one-dimensional and extremely clichéd

Deathstroke provides most of the intimidation and he also provides the main antagonist role.

The film does an exceptional job at creating a fully functional team of adolescents, that is both light-hearted and engaging.

The quips and humor are sexually charged, brought on by Damien’s blatant nature or are at the expense of Beast Boy.

Damien Wayne serves as a surrogate Batman to the team, only more “dickish.” He has some great banter with Nightwing, but there is not enough to satisfy the need. It would have been nice to serve up some more together time with the two, just because they compliment one another so well in terms of opposition and brotherhood.

Damien Wayne has very little to do in the film, that the addition of his character is quite underwhelming. He spends the majority of his time off screen, as a prisoner to Deathstroke.

The romantic chemistry of Nightwing and Starfire is good. It’s charming and grown up. The sexual tension hovers above the pair and is often times misconstrued by Starfires naivety. The couple’s dynamic works, but stifles down Starfire’s role as team leader.

The film is predictable to comic book fans and fans of the 2003 Teen Titans animated series. Occasional onlookers, would most likely figure out who the traitor is in a matter of minutes. To say the least, the film is quite predictable.

Terra is known a formidable force. In this film she’s more of a distant and dysfunctional whiner. She is also very unlikeable.

There are moments where Terra is empowered, but it’s further hindered by her love affair with Deathstroke.

This development cheapens the characters prowess and subjects her to the stereotypical love-starved foolish little girl that she is.

I was shocked at first, but could not believe Deathstroke as a pedophile, simply because he is more complex than that. Obviously, he was using her. It was a shame to see that Terra was such a schmuck. I expected more.

The fights scenes were well thought out. Each sequence exemplified the individuals unique power set. Everybody has a role to play and no one was shoehorned in.

As always Raven provides the best action visuals with her demon like powers. It’s a visual goldmine that is executed quite well.

The same thing can be said about Terra’s meta-human abilities, to control the earth around her. Glad they got something right about Terra.

The most badass thing about the film was watching as Dick Grayson got his assed kicked by Deathstroke.

Grayson had to escape the attack by jumping through a window and dislocating his arm. He made his way to the pier where Deathstroke shot him in the chest and tossed him into the water.

Of course, prepared as always, Grayson survived the attack and pops his arm back in place. He then continues on casually, as if it was just another ordinary Monday. Bruce taught this one well! (Probably why he’s the only original Robin yet to be tainted by Joker.)

The final showdown does not holdback. It presents the Titans with one of their most grueling challenges yet.

On one side Nightwing and Damien face off against Deathstroke, in a thrilling battle of skill, while the rest of the team face off against a hyper-powered Blood.

Terra literally brings down the house, as she tears to the earth in half with her sights set on the destruction of Deathstroke, who decided to double cross her for the sole purpose of cash.

Terra ends the great feud. She decides to kill herself in the process. Leading to a heartfelt end I was not prepared for.

The film is a fine addition to your animation collection. It provides the action, humor and drama every great work of art deserves.

It translates well to the screen and provides a complete and satisfying end to the story.

Don’t fret though, there is an end of credit scene, that nods toward a sequel.

I highly recommend the film to any Titans fans, although not as good as the 2003 series, it will be worthy of your time.

Teen Titans: the Judas Contract deserves an 8 out of 10. It could have been higher if not for the lack of character development, that many of the characters lacked

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On a side note, the film pays tribute to Deathstroke’s son and power set. He was featured in the comic but cameos in the beginning and ending of the film.

Maria Canals-Barerra, the voice of Hawkgirl, in the Justice League animated series, lends her voice to Blue Beetle’s mother.

BB’s mom seems to play tribute to Hawkgirl when she appears wearing a yellow blouse. The color scheme of her hair and blouse pay homage to the character of Hawkgirk. On the other hand I might just be looking to hard.