TV/DVD Review: Invasion - CW Crossover; Arrow, Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow (with Supergirl)

TV/DVD Review: Invasion - CW Crossover; Arrow, Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow (with Supergirl) - (2016-2017)

It may seem odd to be reviewing a three episode crossover event from 2016 in 2018 but I only recently happened across this DVD release of just the relevant episode from each of the CW DC series, Arrow, Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow for their crossover event Invasion. As well they also bring Supergirl into the mix even though her series doesn't have a crossover episode.

The reason I wanted to review it now is that this crossover parallels what I feel Zack Snyder was trying to achieve in his films, Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Justice League before his vision was derailed by WB execs and public opinion.

At its very core the plotline for Invasion is, Barry Allen (a.k.a. The Flash) brings together The Justice League (essentially, they never actually call themselves this) to fight off an alien invasion force who are out to stop the threat of metahumans.

To me that sounds a lot like the basic arc of Snyder's movies and his intention to bring in Darkseid as the original, ultimate alien bad guy.

What's both interesting and exciting about Invasion is that they tell such a similar story on a TV budget, with more characters, and more clearly defined motivation for all the characters involved - including the aliens, in around about two hours. Within that you see heroes fighting heroes, heroes fighting aliens, time travel, alien motherships, space battles, alien hordes, virtual worlds, mind control, and even a Hall of Justice exterior that looks very inspired by the old Super friends, Saturday morning cartoon.

Even with all of that, it never gets confusing, nor do any of the characters feel like they don't have a part to play in the main story arc.

If you've never seen any of the CW shows, sometimes referred to as the 'Belantiverse' after writer/producer Greg Berlanti's production company, Berlanti Productions, then Invasion is actually a great sampler starting point for all four shows, Arrow, Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl. It gives you a good sense of most of the main players in their fully fleshed out form and may encourage you to want to go back and see their back story leading up to this crossover event.

It does contain minor spoilers for some of the individual series story arcs but they're presented in a way that might entice you watch that series for more information and to see those events (as opposed to not watching it because you've been spoiled). Or you could just start watching the shows from these episodes forward, if you like the characters as is and just want to follow their adventures moving forward.

For those of you already following one or more of the CW shows you don't need to be watching all of them to follow what's happening in Invasion. Personally I've watched Arrow up to Season 5, and only seen season 1 of both Flash and Supergirl. After watching Invasion I'm now more interested to see more of Flash, Supergirl, and especially try out the first season of Legends of Tomorrow (which was actually the reason I bought the DVD. I wanted to get a sample of the Legends characters without having to pay for the entire first season price).

If you've already got all these episodes in your individual series collections the DVD does include special feature interviews with various writers and production people involved with the creation of each episode. It does give you some good insight into how tuned in the writers are with drawing inspiration from the comics and then adapting that material to their show.

Given the ambition of this story which, contains full, walking, talking, CGI aliens, the special effects are still pretty good for a TV budget. Sure it's not entirely seamless but it's easier to be forgiving with TV special effects. Especially when the story is well told with characters that are on point with their comic book counterparts.

Even if you don't want to start watching any of the series I'd highly recommend Invasion as one to add to your comic book movie collection. It works as a stand alone feature, and you get a good cross section of DC characters interacting with each other, not always as the best of friends. (I particularly enjoy the interactions between super serious Arrow and the somewhat perky Supergirl - this being the first time those two characters meet).

It definitely has rewatch value. Worth your time. Especially if the current line of 'Snyderverse' DC films isn't really doing it for you. You may just be more of a 'Berlantiverse' kind of DC fan.

Comments

How to Transfer Any Line Art to Your Griptape - Easy Skateboard Griptape Art Tutorial

Dog Star Griptape Art by TET Griptape art is once again gaining popularity amongst modern skateboarders. For those of us who have tried to create our own griptape art, using paint pens, you'll know reproducing your design onto the grip, without making any mistakes is incredibly challenging. Mostly because you just have to go for it and draw the design freehand, with paint pens, directly onto the griptape. You can make the odd mistake here or there but if you get the proportions of the design completely wrong, it can be very difficult to fix. Often you just have to live with the mistake. To address the problem I've come up with an easy way anyone can transfer a line art design to their griptape, removing almost all the anxiety of getting the proportions wrong. In fact, you could do this with any line art design, even if you have no drawing skill at all. Watch the video below to see my technique in action and/or skip past the video where I highlight the basic steps to get your de

Guest Post: New Novel - Alias Jeannie Delaney - Book 2 - The Outlaw's Return

A lmost a year ago I featured Go West Girl , Book 1 of author, Kit Mackenzie's Alias Jeannie Delaney series. Now, the next book in the series, Alias Jeannie Delaney - Book 2 - The Outlaw's Return , is soon to be released in August, and is available for pre-order on Amazon. If you love a powerful female lead in a traditional western packed with action and adventure, this is the novel for you. The story centers on Cowgirl Jeannie Morgan who grew up in Coyote Creek, Wyoming, where she became persecuted for her lethal gun and a sexuality that swings both ways. Tomboy beautiful and tough as the nails in a miner's boots, she is on the run with a bunch of boys who would die for her. Her snake strike gun, soul-slicing gaze and dangerous magnetism leaves a trail of intense emotions, killings and would-be death threats in her wake. Heading south, she finds herself becoming a legend. She's in deep trouble, but her home town demands her return and they pin a badge on her. It'

Skateboard Trick Tips: Two Ways to Ollie North (Ollie One foot)

You have to be quick to see my Ollie Norths! Ollie One Foots, otherwise known as the Ollie North, is one of those skateboard tricks you learn and then tend not to do very much as more interesting trick challenges grab your attention. However it does look really cool if you learn how to kick your front foot well past the nose of your skateboard. Still shot from Braille Skateboarding's Ollie North tutorial. I was inspired to make my video below, showing two different techniques to achieve a successful Ollie One Foot, when I not only saw that Braille Skateboarding's Tutorial used a different method to the one I had learned but also, when I looked at various other video tutorials, I discovered yet another technique, with no one using the method I had originally learned. Braille's method is to simply Ollie and drag your front foot past the front of your board. The second method I came across in several video tutorials is to Ollie, drag your front foot and tap your

I'm Joining the Illuminati Brotherhood By Personal Invitation of Hiltom Rothschild... Wait, What?

How special am I to have finally come of age (53 years young) and am now eligible to participate in building the world alongside other members of the Illuminati Brotherhood... Yes I've received the call by way of an email, which I'm sure is real because I had to translate it from the Dutch language and it was personally written by Hiltom Rothschild, one of the non-existent members of the Rothschild family (or perhaps deep undercover because Google has never heard of them?). A Transcript of the email below: To: etourist From: Illuminati Brotherhood Subject: Illuminati Broederschap (Illuminati Brotherhood) I am Hiltom Rothschild, a member of the Rothschild family, one of the 13 families of the Illuminati brotherhood. I'm here to let you know that you've come of age and are eligible to participate in building the 🌎 world. It is a calling and a privilege to honor him with pride and gratitude as not everyone will ever be chosen by the LIGHT, many are called but few are ch

Robot Uprising Update: Robot Waiter, Fasta Pasta, South Terrace, Adelaide CBD, South Australia

On the second evening of my partner, Enigma, and I's weekend stay in Adelaide we decided to have dinner at Fasta Pasta . Strangely enough our hotel staff, at the Alba, had not mentioned Fasta Pasta as an option for an evening meal while their restaurant is closed for refurbishment, even though it is literally next door on the corner of South Terrace and Pultney Street. You may be aware that Fasta Pasta is an upmarket Italian restaurant franchise with its beginnings in Adelaide. Currently they have 19 restaurants Australia wide (with the majority in South Australia - we even have one in Gawler, our home town). I've never had bad food at a Fasta Pasta, and their food never looks like a franchise meal. You always feel you're at a restaurant that's a little bit more quality than your typical hotel/motel meal. Maybe it's because you don't see as much pasta based meals on an Aussie pub menu. Despite the name, it's not all pasta. I went with a basic plate of fish a

Four Years into a Post Pandemic World and Secondary COVID-19 Might be a Thing?

Social distancing 2020 style. A fter not being too far from COVID-19, potentially patient zero in Australia back in 2020. Four years later my partner finally tested positive for the virus. Then I inevitably caught it as well. You might think, so what, but I'm honestly surprised we've lasted this long. My partner works at an aged care facility that has fought off numerous outbreaks over the years, and continues to do so. Workers at her facility take RAT tests daily so you know pretty quick if you test positive. Workers then have to isolate at home for at least seven days until they're clear. COVID-19 symptoms can vary in intensity and you may not get the full range (at least to my knowledge and experience). My partner seemed to get it fairly bad with tiredness, aching joints, loss of taste and smell, along with cold and flu like symptoms (sore throat, congestion etc). While we did try to social distance, keeping our distance, hand washing, and not sleeping in the same room

The First US Presidential Debate 2024 - America You're Standing In It

M ost of the time I get my fill of American political news from clips of The Daily Show , which I know many people accuse of being more political left leaning than balanced with its humour. As such it was my first port of call when looking for commentary on the recent, first US Presidential debate for 2024. I say first because I don't know if they'll do another one. I'd strongly advise they don't. Getting your news from a comedy show isn't ideal, even one as arguably intelligent as The Daily Show, because they're focussed on what can be laughed at, more than serious analysis. As such their coverage very well could be making both candidates look more foolish than they may actually be. As such I decided to watch the full replay of the debate so I could get more of a sense of who both candidates are and how they come across in, what should be, their ideal platform - debating the opposition. Before Donald Trump became President I was a fan. I watched every season o

TET.Life (The Extraordinary Tourist Life)

Search This Blog