Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons - The Movie Blu-ray Movie Review

Eye for an eye.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III August 13, 2020

Co-created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez, Deathstroke the Terminator (now more commonly known as "Deathstroke") is one of DC's deeper cuts for their Animated Universe feature-length films. Although often portrayed as a supervillain, Deathstroke is better described as an anti-hero with a specific moral code... but more importantly, a total bad-ass with awesome abilities and cool weapons who just happens to be blind in one eye. Debuting in December 1980 (years before The Terminator and anything by Rob Liefeld, who totally didn't get any inspiration for Deadpool), his origins are that of a skilled young soldier named Slade Wilson later "enhanced" with greatly increased strength, speed, intelligence, and healing abilities via experimental testing. Slade's marriage to his Army mentor, Captain Adeline Kane, resulted in a son Joseph, who was later left mute by a ruthless mercenary known as The Jackal.

DCAU's Deathstroke: Knights and Dragons plays it mostly straight with the character's spirit, serving up a solid "first step" feature-length adventure that doesn't feel like a traditional origin story. Moments from his formative Army years are briefly hinted at via flashback, as most of Knights and Dragons plays out right where that opening paragraph ends. Its subtitle refers to a favorite book shared by Slade and his son, who adores his dad even though he's rarely able to read it to him in person. His marriage to Adeline is clearly on the rocks, fueled by his previous affair with a Cambodian woman and all-too-frequent "business trips" that are actually top-secret missions -- yep, ol' Slade is keeping that whole "unstoppable killing machine" thing a secret from his wife too. Both worlds collide once Jackal invades their home while he's away, leaving Adeline badly hurt and young Joseph kidnapped, but it's not until Slade finally admits the truth to his wife -- and confronts The Jackal at her begrudging insistence -- that their son's life-changing injury occurs.

There's more to the story, including Deathstroke's trip to a remote island that hides a terrorist organization known as H.I.V.E., as well as the fate of its mysterious leader...and Joseph, who learns to live without a voice while discovering his own genetic abilities. Slade and Adeline's relationship also changes drastically, and it's not long before her initial distrust of his secretive behavior fades enough for them to finally join forces. All told, Knights and Dragons unfolds at a good clip and offers a tight adventure that should appeal to newcomers while not completely alienating die-hard fans. (I'm definitely more in the former camp and had absolutely no problem following along.) While its second half almost stretches itself too thin, the story stays together thanks to great core characters and attention to detail.

Those who have followed Deathstroke much more closely over the past few decades -- whether through comics, or even his sporadic appearances in shows like Arrow, Teen Titans, and earlier DCAU films such as Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox -- will be glad (if not a little shocked) that the character's hard edge has been largely retained, as Knights and Dragons isn't afraid to drop a few F-bombs and serve up graphic violence that isn't all that far removed from the gleefully squishy Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge. Yet it's clear that, while many of Deathstroke's past actions (and more than a few current ones) are less than honorable, Knights and Dragons ultimately paints him as something of a sympathetic character on the road to redemption. This makes for an engaging amount of personal drama that will likely continue with future installments, which should hopefully arrive sooner than later.

Overall, it's a solid film and just more step in the right direction after Scorpion's Revenge; I like Batman, Superman, and The Justice League, but it's nice to see a few different faces in the spotlight for once. Perhaps the only downside this time around is that its home video release doesn't have the same bells and whistles as earlier DCAU discs: not only is there no 4K option available (and no store exclusives either, as far as I know), but the extras are very slim as well. It's still a decent little package, and one that established fans and newcomers should definitely look into.

Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons - The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Despite the lack of a 4K option, Knights and Dragons looks great on Blu-ray and there are no real problems outside of the format's native limitations. Like Scorpion's Revenge and a few other recent DCAU productions, its visual style features lots of angular black shading in some areas and a much smoother appearance in others. (The formaer is not exactly an appealing look for me personally, but it more or less suits the film's dark subject matter.) Outlines are thin and colors are often soft and slightly diffused with very few strong gradients, which minimizes banding and gives many scenes and individual shots a uniform appearance. Most of Knights and Dragons favors a cold and muted color scheme, although there are key exceptions and much of its second half warms up considerably. A few nice textural effects are also introduced here and there, some of which even attempt to mimic screentone AKA "Zip-A-Tone", the dot shading process commonly used in comics of yesteryear. As usual, the 1080p transfer is supported by a reasonably high bit rate and, due to its short length and lack of extras, gets plenty of room to breathe. This is a good-looking disc overall and one that looks even better upscaled, but a true 4K comparison with HDR would have been interesting.

Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons - The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The default DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix also pulls its weight, featuring all the hallmarks of a typical action-drama hybrid: strong channel separation, a wide sound stage during the biggest moments, and good all-around support for the original score and background effects, which also include certain characters' superhuman abilities. Dialogue is crystal clear and typically remains right up front, save for more crowded conversations or much larger settings with noticeable echo. Knights and Dragons features a solid voice cast (Michael Chiklis, capably filling in for Ron Perlman, is a genuine highlight) that doesn't sound overly smooth and polished, which works in its favor much more often than not. But of course, the real selling point is Knights and Dragons' sporadic shoot-'em-up sequences, which deliver all that hard-hitting action and a dynamic atmosphere that will likely draw in Deathstroke's most die-hard fans.

Optional subtitles, including English (SDH), are included during the main feature and a bonus featurette. These are formatted perfectly and, like the audio itself, do not suffer from any obvious sync-related issues.

Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons - The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deathstroke: One-Man Death Machine (13:44) - This brand-new featurette offers a brief history of the character, from initial creation and visual design to his backstory and adapting it into a full-length animated production, as well as his portrayal in other media. Featured participants include co-creators George Pérez and Marv Wolfman, voice actor Michael Chiklis, Arrow actor Manu Bennett (Slade Wilson/Deathstroke), and more. This is a short but very thoughtful overview that serves as a great primer for those new to the character.

• Trailers for Superman: Red Son and Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge.

Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons - The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A solid showcase for one of DC's lesser-used characters, Deathstroke: Knights and Dragons should appeal to die-hard fans and newcomers alike. With an engaging story by J. M. DeMatteis (his fifth in the DCAU), a great voice cast, and plenty of hard-hitting action and drama, this is another step in the right direction following Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge. Warner Bros.' Blu-ray offers a great A/V presentation, but the lack of extras (and no 4K option!) is a little disappointing. For basically a movie-only disc, though, you could do a lot worse. Recommended!