By Will Barber – Taylor

Batman learns that he has a violent, unruly pre-teen son with Talia al Ghul named Damian Wayne who has been secretly being raised by Ra’s al Ghul and the League of Assassins. When Ra’s al Ghul apparently dies after a battle with Deathstroke, Batman must work to stop his long-lost son from taking revenge and guiding him to a righteous path, in addition he must try to get the chance for the pair to truly acknowledge each other as family.

Son of Batman, unlike the previous DC Universe Animated Movie, Justice League: War is more story lead. Indeed, it has a much better story than Justice League: War did. The story presents two very different ideals on justice. The League of Assassins take on justice which, in essence, is the same as vengeance and Batman’s take on justice that it is to punish the wicked and uphold the justice are a direct contrast.

Batman’s policy of not killing also comes under siege in this story as Damian questions the validity of such a policy.   The ethical battle that rages throughout the story keeps it grounded and focused and gives a solid story question: Will Damian accept Batman’s methods? I’ll let you watch the movie to find out whether this is the case.

The acting in the film is superb from all the cast. Jason O’Mara’s Batman has the grit to it that you would expect from The Dark Knight but also has a softer side which shows through in his scenes with Damian and Talia. The best performance in the film however goes to Thomas Gibson as Deathstroke. He oozes Bondian villainy and plays all his scenes to their full potential. He really does suit the part of Deathstroke and is at his best when mocking his opponents. He works particularly well in his scenes with Talia as he reveals his diabolical plans. Even without the fantastic story and drama that the movie provides, Gibson’s Deathstroke is reason alone to see the film.

The animation is wonderfully put together and realistic as can be for drawings. However, my one criticism is that sometimes Batman does look slightly off kilter and doesn’t seem to be as smooth as he could be. Aside from that the animation is perfect.

Son of Batman is DC Universe’s best original feature for a while and I would highly recommend that you see it because it is certainly worth the price of the DVD.