Rating: ***
Review Date: 4/30/23
The Justice League (Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Cyborg, and Vixen) are transported to Remnant, where they are turned into teenagers with subdued powers. There, they meet huntresses Ruby, Yang, Blake, and Weiss, who are dealing with a new strain of superpowered Grimm. But that's not all that's weird. All of Remnant seems to be a bit off, and Team RWBY feels just as disoriented as the Justice League does. After the initial tensions and distrust, they all team up to figure out what's wrong and try to get things back to normal.
The film looks great and the Justice League character designs are nicely adapted to the faux-anime world of Remnant. The character arcs and interactions are well-scripted and appropriately dramatic, and it's fun to see everyone bounce off of each other. The action scenes are exciting and hyper kinetic in the style that you'd expect from the RWBY team. Unfortunately, none of it makes a damn bit of sense. The story plays out like fan fiction, and much like a dream, the inconsistent logic, constantly changing rules of reality, and complete lack of focus leave you stranded in a sea of irrationality. Just check your brain at the door and make sure not to question anything, because it's all style over substance and nothing gets explained. While the final scene attempts to provide some closure and rationality, all it manages to do is invalidate everything that just happened and set the stage for a sequel. However, to its credit, the movie features the most ominous and unsettling closing credits music I think I've ever heard, which left me feeling off balance and gave me a lot to think about.
I've never cared much for the RWBY voice actors, but at least they're consistent. The Justice League voice actors do a fine job and Green Lantern's performance actually moved me to tears. Blake has always been my favorite character, but she seems underutilized in this story. To my surprise, Yang and Weiss turn out to be the real stars, and Weiss isn't nearly as annoying as she usually is. That said, I'm also missing A LOT of continuity, since I never made it past Season 2 of the series. While this movie is ultimately an empty and unsatisfying experience, I'm still curious to see where it goes.